Sky Arts - Visual Arts Award

Barbara Walker – Winner of the Sky Arts Visual Arts Award

Being Here

Being Here was a landmark exhibition accompanied by a twice sold-out publication. Bringing together more than 70 works from the 1990s to the present, it offered the first comprehensive survey of Barbara Walker’s compelling figurative practice. Centred on themes of visibility and erasure, the exhibition highlighted Walker’s unwavering commitment to transforming perceptions of Black presence and belonging.

The presentation included early realist paintings, finely rendered pencil drawings, embossed works, and the groundbreaking new commission Soft Power—a hand-drawn wallpaper series honouring six Manchester residents of the Windrush generation. Across these works, Walker powerfully explored both the conditions of our time and the historical narratives that shape them.

Intensely observed and profoundly empathetic, Being Here stands as a remarkable testament to the inspirational impact of Walker’s art.