Threads of the Past: Joshua Donkor and the Changing Face of The Holburne Museum

“We are a byproduct of those who come before us and we exist because of them. They inform our perspectives of the world”

-Joshua Donkor 

Picture this: you’re in Bath, at The Holburne Museum, to celebrate Joshua Donkor’s solo exhibition, I Have More Souls Than One. As you step into the grand building, you walk down a corridor where the walls are covered in graffiti by street artist Mr. Doodle. The contrast between the colonial architecture and the contemporary street art—once confined to East London construction tunnels—offers a subtle but undeniable shift in the museum’s ethos. 

Installation view. Entrance to The Holburne Museum, Bath. 2025. Photo Courtesy: The Holburne.

This, you quickly realize, is not an ordinary museum.

As you continue, you pass by a photo printer that produces Andy Warhol-style portraits of you and your friend. It's a playful, almost surreal experience, placing your likeness within the iconic tradition of portraiture, capturing your moment alongside artistic legends.

You ascend the stairs, and the first thing that catches your eye are large woven canvases, cutting through the museum’s permanent collection. These works by Diedrick Brackens, a queer Black artist from Texas, stand in striking contrast to the colonial legacies embedded in the Holburne family collection. The textured, almost visceral quality of these pieces, reminiscent of loom woven cloth, prevalent within many West African cultures, quietly beckons you to reconsider the complex and often painful histories of colonialism, trade, and enslaved African labour.

You ascend another level and encounter an unseen work by the legendary Sir Frank Bowling, an abstract expressionist whose art speaks powerfully to postcolonial identity. His piece Dan with Map, a deeply emotional portrayal of his son Dan, captivates you with its shifting gradients and hidden forms. The ethereal nature of the painting invites you into an intimate dialogue with the artist’s personal history and legacy. It’s a quiet but impactful commentary on familial ties, migration, and the postcolonial experience. 

Sir Frank Bowling, Dan with a Map, 1967. Acrylic and silkscreened ink on canvas. Photo Courtesy: The Holburne.

And then, you reach the heart of the experience: the exhibition of your friend, Joshua Donkor. His powerful portrait of his grandmother, rendered with the meticulous skill of an old master, immediately evokes a deep, nostalgic connection. The wisdom etched into her face speaks volumes, whispering the same Twi proverbs you heard as a child. The portrait not only reflects his personal heritage but also embodies a shared cultural memory, highlighting the themes of legacy and identity that run through his work.

Exhibition Entrance, I Have More Souls Than One. Photo Courtesy: The Holburne.

As the day unfolds, your joy of celebrating Donkor’s success begins to evolve as you are introduced to the book: Breaking the Dead Silence: Engaging with the Legacies of Empire and Slave-Ownership in Bath and Bristol’s Memoryscapes. The deeper connections between the exhibitions become clearer. - to invite a powerful conversation about colonial history, identity, and legacy.

I think it is important to provide some context on The Holburne Museum for those unfamiliar with it. Located in Bath, England, it is the city's first public art gallery, the Grade I listed building is home to fine and decorative arts built around the collection of Sir William Holburne (1793-1874). He lived with his growing collection which are hosted in the museum including portrait miniatures, porcelain, embroideries and portraits by some of the greatest artists of the eighteenth century. 

It is also the fact that, “some of Sir William Holburne’s inherited wealth derived from plantations in the West Indies, the business of which involved trading in people as well as produce and materials.” But what does this have to do with the current exhibition series?

Installation shot, I Have More Souls Than One, 2025. Photo Courtesy: The Holburne.

As Chris Stephens, Director of the Holburne Museum, highlights, portraiture has long been a medium through which questions of identity, legacy, and social status are explored. The concurrent exhibition of Donkor’s work signals a shift in the museum’s approach to its colonial past, inviting visitors to reconsider what has been omitted from traditional art history, offering a chance to reckon with the museum’s ties to colonialism while presenting contemporary perspectives on identity and history to lead to a place of understanding and repair.

Now why Joshua Donkor? Fundamentally, he was born in Bath and his earliest experiences of art were witnessing the collection of Sir William Holburne on visits to the museum with his parents, a Ghanaian father, who admitted that he had little knowledge of art and interest until Josua taught him how to engage with it, and his British mother racialised as white. Other than that, the artist, who had previously undertaken a residency with The Holburne, has an undeniable talent. Chris Stephens, Director of the Holburne Museum, said: “We first worked with Joshua in 2022. The power and potency of his works is remarkable and we’re delighted to be working with him once more, introducing his work to wider audiences at the Museum this spring.”

Installation view, I Have More Souls Than One, 2025. Photo Courtesy: The Holburne.

I would argue that his art speaks for itself. Former Black Cultural Archives director Lisa Anderson, would agree, as she recently identified him as one of ‘The New Vanguard’ by of emerging Black British artists reshaping contemporary art. Donkor’s persistent and careful excellence in his craft has allowed him to continue stacking up numerous accolades, honors and collection features such as the Tate Collection commission (2022), Young Masters Highly Commended Prize (2023), and commissioned artwork with the National Library of Wales (2024) to name a few.

Speaking on his work in an article titled: ‘Joshua Donkor—Legacy, Narrative, and the notion of Duality,’ Ghanaian-American writer Bella Danso stated: 

“Through exploration of multimedia and oil paint, Donkor’s work surveys a rich time capsule of memory as the painter delves into the generational narratives of his mixed race Ghanaian-British heritage and the voices of the members who embody those narratives. Inspired by traditional British portraiture and his cultural connection to Ghana, Donkor’s use of mixed media and found objects create a dynamic and immersive atmosphere that transpires the narrative and content of his artwork outside the physical boundaries of his paintings. Donkor achieves the transient element of his work by introducing his audience to subtle, but strategically placed details such as the presence of family photographs, personal belongings, and handwritten letters embedded into the foreground of much of his work. The almost ghostly and symbolic nature of these details amongst the stunning visuals of Ghana and the figures he depicts create a passing imprint of memory and homage to generational legacy and personal voice. Donkor’s incorporation of these familial accounts and blend of British and Ghanaian artistic and cultural narratives serve as pivotal anecdotes towards the themes of identity, legacy, and connection to the land that continue to inform the dual nature of Donkor’s personal identity.”

                            -Bella Danso

Joshua Donkor, Worlds Apart, 2023. Oil paint, image transfers and graphite on canvas, 120cm by 90cm. Photo Courtesy: The Holburne.

You can’t help but be moved by his paintings. The accuracy of the renderings mirror that of his Italian renaissance influences, and in particular the portrait of his father (his principal muse) Ancestral Foundations, Emmanuel illustrates this relationship. Speaking on the painting he said:

 “…the pose was quite reminiscent of a painting I had seen which often depicted figures with a raised hand in blessing harking back to the religious iconography "Salvator Mundi". I wanted to use this composition as a way of capturing some of the pressures that I feel my Dad carries with him. Having been born and raised in Ghana, thoughts of his family and memories are always with him. Both nostalgic beautiful memories and also a sense of responsibility, this is what I was attempting to capture. The images used for the transfers are from old Ghanaian photo albums which hold images of my Dad as a child and his family growing up in Burma Camp, Accra.”

-Joshua Donkor

Joshua Donkor, Ancestral Foundations, Emmanuel. Oil on Board, 35cm by 50cm. Photo Courtesy: The Holburne.

The works of the Bath native, rooted in family dynamics and historical memory, are perfect for The Holburne’s vision, as they offer a potent reflection of both personal and collective histories. His use of multimedia, such as photographs and letters, creates multi-layered narratives that not only reflect his complex diasporic identity, but also open up portals to the worlds of others, including his parents and that of those who came before them and the other sitters he works with. 

As scholars Campion and Sutherland (2024) argue, museums must engage with the complexities of colonial history in order to accurately reflect our shared past. Donkor’s art, which delves into the intersections of heritage and identity, plays a critical role in the Holburne Museum’s reckoning with its colonial legacy. His work serves as both a personal and public dialogue, inviting the viewer to reconsider the silences that have long existed in traditional museum narratives.

“Legacy is incorporated into so much of my work,” Donkor says. “These paintings incorporate so much history, so much memory, so many relationships and family dynamics” (Danso, 2024). His art becomes a bridge between the past and present, urging viewers to reflect on how history—both personal and collective—shapes our understanding of identity and heritage.

The inclusion of Donkor’s work in the Holburne Museum’s programming signals a critical step toward creating a more inclusive, thoughtful space for art and dialogue. By showcasing contemporary work alongside the iconic portraits of figures like Bacon, Warhol and Bowling, the museum reimagines the boundaries of portraiture and challenges audiences to reconsider the legacies of colonialism and their impact on art and culture. 

This is not the first time that the museum has attempted to challenge audiences in this way. In 2021 The Holburne Museum in Partnership with Boys in Mind screened a film exploring the legacy of slavery in the South West. The film saw young people respond to Holburne's redisplay of a book from a Plantation in Barbados. Captured on film, Lucia’s response to the redisplay: “I can only hope that that display will impact other people as much as it has impacted me... It’s not black history and white history, it’s one history”—echoes sentiments that reflect the inclusive vision of the Holburne Museum, which seeks to engage visitors in a broader, more inclusive conversation about shared history.

By presenting Donkor’s and Bowling’s works together, the museum continues to foster a critical dialogue that repositions traditional museum narratives. As Campion and Sutherland (2024) observe, “Repositioning museum objects can reposition traditional museum hierarchies and historical narratives.” The exhibition creates an opportunity to disrupt and expand the Western art canon, fostering a more inclusive, multifaceted understanding of art, history, and identity for future generations.

Joshua Donkor’s I Have More Souls Than One is on at the Holburne Museum until 5 May 2025.

Bibliography

• Campion, L., & Sutherland, R. (2024). Revising the Museum: Colonial Legacies and New Directions in Curatorial Practice. London: Routledge.  

• Danso, B. (2024). Joshua Donkor - Legacy, Narrative, and the notion of Duality - an interview with Joshua Donkor.  

Chantel Akworkor Thompson

Agents of Change Editor, MADE IN BED