Know Yourself
NINE RED Presents… (CIC) was born in a place where people of different backgrounds, cultures, religions and nationalities worked and played together, and where fun and fellowship were at the heart of everything.
Those experiences remind us that there is more that connects us than divides us. We celebrate cultural diversity through art exhibitions, events and workshops, with a special focus on Black History Month and Black British history all year round.
Art is a powerful tool for expression, learning, therapy and healing. We use our creative skills to bring communities together, to inspire, and to share the stories that shaped the world we live in today.
Exhibitions
Each exhibition is tailor-made for your space and audience, and comes with a workbook for KS3 learners aged 11–14.
Workshops
Interactive creative workshops that build towards a multi-media performance created and produced by the participants themselves, drawing on the exhibition themes.
Events
Theatre and multi-media performing arts events celebrating multi-cultural arts, histories and heritage.
Book nowFour exhibition strands, one story
Each strand works on its own or as part of a full Black History Month programme. Every one can be booked as an exhibition, a hands-on workshop, or a package for schools and community groups, and is tailored to your space, audience and learning goals.
Minds That Changed the World
Black Pioneers, Inventors & Innovators
Blood banks, open-heart surgery, the three-position traffic signal, the gas mask, modern psychiatry in Africa: many of the ideas that shape everyday life began with Black scientists, doctors and inventors whose names are rarely taught.
This strand celebrates pioneers of African, African-American and African-Caribbean descent, including Dr Charles Drew, Dr Daniel Hale Williams, Garrett Morgan and Professor Thomas Adeoye Lambo, alongside British trailblazers in science, medicine, politics, law, architecture and education.
- Exhibition: portrait-and-story panels that fit a hall, library, foyer or corridor.
- Workshop: our “Guess Who?” pioneer card game, then an invention challenge where participants design a solution to a real problem.
- Schools & community: assemblies, STEM and careers weeks, and staff network events.
Ideal for: KS2–KS4, STEM and careers events, libraries, NHS and workplace networks.
Book this strandFootprints Through History
Black British History
Black people have been part of Britain’s story for almost 2,000 years. This strand follows their footprints: from the African soldiers of the Roman army on Hadrian’s Wall and the Ivory Bangle Lady of Roman York, to John Blanke, trumpeter at the Tudor court, and on to Olaudah Equiano, Ignatius Sancho and Mary Seacole.
Our illustrated timeline boards run from Roman Britain through the Tudor and Georgian eras, abolition and the industrial age to the Windrush generation and Britain today, with hidden faces and local stories along the way.
- Exhibition: timeline boards and portrait panels, with a KS3 workbook.
- Workshop: participants choose a figure from the timeline, trace their footprints, and turn the story into spoken word, art or performance.
- Schools & community: history-curriculum sessions with a teacher manual and lesson plans, plus Windrush Day and heritage events.
Ideal for: KS3 history, libraries, museums, heritage and council events, Windrush Day.
Book this strandQueens, Healers & Trailblazers
Black Women Through History
From the queens of ancient Kemet and Kush to the nurses, writers, campaigners and leaders of modern Britain, this strand puts Black women at the centre of the story.
Meet Phillis Wheatley, whose poems were published in London in 1773; Mary Seacole, who nursed soldiers in the Crimea; Claudia Jones, whose Caribbean carnival helped inspire Notting Hill Carnival; Lilian Bader, one of the first Black women in the RAF; and Diane Abbott, Baroness Valerie Amos, Elsie Owusu and Kanya King, who opened doors in politics, architecture and music.
- Exhibition: portrait-and-story panels celebrating women across the ages.
- Workshop: a poetry and spoken word session where participants write to, or as, a heroine of their choice, with optional crown-making.
- Schools & community: Women’s History Month, International Women’s Day, Black History Month, and girls’ and women’s groups.
Ideal for: KS2–KS4, girls’ and women’s groups, women’s networks, libraries and community centres.
Book this strandCradle
The Black History Timeline
Cradle begins where humanity began, in Africa. It is a walk-through timeline that starts with the cradle of civilisation and the Nile Valley, through Kemet, Nubia and the Kingdom of Kush, the empires of Mali and Songhai, Great Zimbabwe and Benin.
From there it follows the story through the transatlantic slave trade, resistance and abolition, migration and the Windrush generation to the present day. It includes our Medu Neter posters, which show how ancient Kemetic writing shaped the alphabet we use today.
- Exhibition: a large wall or floor timeline that visitors walk through from start to finish.
- Workshop: groups build their own timeline with event cards, then write their names in Medu Neter.
- Schools & community: a whole-school Black History Month launch, transition days, festivals and family days.
Ideal for: whole-school events, KS2–KS3, museums and libraries, festivals and family audiences.
Book this strandOur Black History exhibitions on tour
From school corridors to museums and community halls, here is a look at our Black British History, Ancient Africa and Black History Month exhibitions in venues across Luton and Bedfordshire. Tap any photo to view it larger.
Culture, memory and performance in motion
Island Lime
Filmed at locations across the region, Island Lime celebrates and explores Caribbean culture across the 33 island nations, with their diverse customs, cultures and traditions.
Book nowSugar & Spice & all that’s nice
A reflective look at the islands of the Caribbean, offering a snapshot of island life: individual cultures, histories, myths and legends, and the goods that were traded and exported.
Housed in 24 wooden shipping crates, a subtle nod to our ancestry, the installation shows how important the Caribbean was, and still is, to world trade in rum, sugar, tobacco, spices and fruit.
Book now
Black British History
Black British History explores the contributions made by people of colour to Britain and the world since 2AD.
From the African auxiliary unit on Hadrian’s Wall, to John Edmonstone, the formerly enslaved man who taught taxidermy to Charles Darwin, to Queen Charlotte, these people and events helped shape the world we live in today.
Timeline themes include:
- The Black Egyptian origins of Western civilisation and the construction of race.
- The African Romans and the cosmopolitan nature of Roman civilisation.
- The Black Tudors and Black Georgians.
- Black Britons in the industrial age.
- Hidden faces and important stories.
Ancient African Civilisations
Great Zimbabwe, Olmec, Songhai, Egypt, Kerma, Kemet, the Kingdom of Kush and Nubia.
This strand charts the achievements of Africa and her descendants across the globe since the dawn of time, beginning with Africa as the cradle of civilisation and the birthplace of humanity.
It explores the Nile Valley civilisations, highlighting Kemet, Nubia, the Kingdom of Kush, Great Zimbabwe and the Olmec, and shows how colonisation, the transatlantic slave trade and the Scramble for Africa hid major histories from view.
Book nowBlack History Month exhibitions, workshops, presentations & performances
Our wider programme includes spoken word, performance, costume making, traditional dance, oral history, Caribbean cultural exploration, and presentations on inventors, scientists and innovators of African, African-American and African-Caribbean descent.
Sound with Vision Workshop
A spoken word and performance workshop. Participants write their own spoken word piece and perform it using instruments, movement and visual art, while exploring the traditions that gave rise to spoken word.
Island Lime Workshop
Participants learn Caribbean carnival costume making and traditional dance from St Kitts and Nevis, while exploring the history and culture of the islands and the many migrations that shaped Caribbean culture.
Presentations & Performances
Presentations celebrating inventors, scientists and innovators of African, African-American and African-Caribbean descent, and their contributions to science, medicine, politics, law, architecture and education.
Bring an exhibition, workshop or performance to your space
Every offer can be tailored to your audience, venue and learning goals, whether you are programming for a school, community organisation, cultural venue or public event.
Book now