Photographer Neil Kenlock (1950) moved to London from Jamaica in 1963 and became determined to document black pride in the face of racial prejudice. Building on his background in protest photography, Kenlock’s portraits of the black British community convey a similar sense of empowerment.

This photograph of Nurse Olga Grant was taken while Kenlock visited his wife Judith who was also training to be a nurse. Nursing was taken up by many British Caribbean women during this period, as the profession was highly regarded in Caribbean society. Posed in her pristine uniform for a photograph which would probably be sent back to relatives in the Caribbean, Olga Grant appears confident in her vocation.

The V&A acquired ten photographs by Kenlock, including a photograph of his wife Judith, as part of the Staying Power project. Photographs by Kenlock’s contemporaries Charlie Phillips and Armet Francis were also acquired as part of the project. Staying Power is a five year partnership between the V&A and Black Cultural Archives. The project aims to explore black British experience from the 1950s to the 1990s through photographs acquired by the V&A and oral histories conducted by Black Cultural Archives.