The article reports on the exhibition “Rise Up: Resistance, Revolution, Abolition” at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England, which highlights overlooked figures of the transatlantic abolitionist movement. It features contemporary portraits by British-Nigerian artist Joy Labinjo, including her 2022 works depicting Olaudah Equiano and Phillis Wheatley, alongside historical paintings like Thomas Gainsborough’s portrait of Charles Ignatius Sancho. Labinjo’s paintings fill gaps where no visual records of these revolutionaries exist, drawing on historical sources to create accurate, vivid representations.
This exhibition matters because it addresses historical erasure by using contemporary art to bring visibility to Black revolutionaries and abolitionists who were rarely portrayed in their own time. By pairing modern works with canonical portraits, the show challenges traditional art historical narratives and educates audiences about figures who shaped the fight against slavery. Labinjo’s contributions underscore the power of art to recover lost histories and inspire new understanding of social justice movements.