The inspiring portrait subjects represent different genders, ethnicities, disabilities, socio-economic backgrounds and LGBTQ+ communities. They were nominated by their peers because they have made or are making a positive impact in Keble, Oxford and the world.
The 28 individuals include alumni, undergraduate and graduate students, current staff and Fellows. All the images were made by portrait artist Fran Monks. On creating this third exhibition, Fran comments:
“It has been a delight to create a new series of portraits, five years after the first set went up in Hall in 2019. It seems like there is no end to the list of interesting and inspiring people in the Keble community. This time it was particularly fun to find a fresh set of locations for the new sitters, many of whom chose corners of College that they personally find meaningful.”
This project has been made possible by a generous donation. Sincere thanks to the donor, and to all those who took the time to nominate individuals, to the members of the selection panel chaired by the Warden, to the final 28 for allowing us to share their stories and agreeing to have their pictures displayed in Hall and online.
Thanks also to Fran Monks for her skill and dedication, and to Stuart Cooper and his team at Outback Rigging. To colleagues in the Alumni and Development Office, in particular to Hannah Shaw for coordinating logistics, and Boriana Boneva for creating this booklet and the accompanying website. Finally, thanks to Governing Body and our many colleagues across the College for their continued support.
About Fran Monks
Fran Monks is a British portrait artist. She is best known for celebrating the under-celebrated through her painterly portraits of individuals who are shaping our world. Her website, How To Make A Difference, features her interviews and portraits of remarkable people, dating back to 2004.
Monks’ work has been acquired by the Science Museum London,
the National Portrait Gallery, the Thackeray Museum and the Bodleian Library. She has exhibited in the Oxford History of Science Museum and the Ashmolean Museum. She has been widely published in national and international magazines and newspapers. Her portraits are currently on display: in several Oxford Colleges; Examination Schools, Oxford; Lancing College, West Sussex; and Selwyn College, Cambridge.
Monks trained as a photographer at the Corcoran School of Art and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC and Central St Martin’s School of Art, London.
About Outback Rigging
Outback Rigging has provided expert rigging installation, equipment-hire and venue management services throughout the UK for twenty-five years. Previous clients have included Olympia London, the Pitt Rivers and the Oxford Museum of Natural History. The Keble portrait exhibition presented its own unique set of challenges. Outback has devised an elaborate but subtle suspension system which protects the Butterfield interiors and presents the photographs in the best possible light.