A warm welcome to Keble and our special photographic exhibition celebrating the rich diversity of the College community. This is the second exhibition of its type and it will remain in Hall until 2024.
The 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 major, positive difference to 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 photographer Fran Monks. On creating this second exhibition, Fran comments:
“It has been such a privilege to meet and make portraits of a second set of 28 remarkable individuals from the Keble community. The resulting pictures invite you to look up and be curious about why each person was selected. As I made photographs, I heard tales of resilience and tenacity. I hope these new faces and stories will inspire a further generation of Keble change makers.”
This project has been made possible by the generosity of Mike Thomas (Keble 1965).
Sincere thanks 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.
To Gill Butter, Principal Heritage Officer at Oxford City Council for her support of the project. 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 Boriana Boneva and Kirsty Rose for creating this booklet, the accompanying website and arranging the logistics for the installation. Finally, to our many colleagues across the College for their support in pulling the project together.
About Fran Monks
Fran Monks is a British portrait photographer. 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 photographs are currently exhibited in Examination Schools, Oxford and several Oxford Colleges.
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.