Diversity UK honours filmmaker Horace Ové

Diversity UK yesterday honoured pioneering filmmaker Horace Ové with a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the creative industries. Mr Ové, whose work was celebrated at this year’s Somerset House exhibition ‘Get Up, Stand Up Now’, curated by his son Zak Ové, was honoured for his prolific career documenting racism, the Black Power movement in Britain and the Windrush generation over many decades. The award was presented by Lopa Patel MBE, Chair of Diversity UK and collected on Horace Ové's behalf by his son Zak Ové.

Lopa Patel MBE, Chair of Diversity UK, said “Horace Ové is a pioneering filmmaker, writer and photographer, who recorded the birth of the British Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, including the first Black Power meeting with Stokely Carmichael, Allen Ginsberg and Michael X, founders of the black power movement. Through film and photography, Mr Ové has documented the rise of the Notting Hill Carnival and the naissance of Black artists in this country. Generations of creative entrepreneurs are indebted to his visual acuity in charting the history of the Windrush pioneers, challenging racism and cataloguing the wealth of artistic talent in underrepresented communities. It is a great pleasure to acknowledge a lifetime of effort by Horace Ové with this award”.

The presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award took place on Monday 25th November 2019 at Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP in London at the annual Diversity UK Paul Stephenson Lecture, which is named in honour of the social worker who, in 1963, led the boycott of the Bristol Omnibus Company for discrimination that eventually paved the way for the Race Relations Act of 1965. Previous recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award include Dr Stephenson himself; Lord Simon Woolley, Co-Founder & Director of Operation Black Vote (OBV); entrepreneur Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones and leading equality campaigner, Elaine Sihera.

The award was presented by Lopa Patel MBE, Chair of Diversity UK; Rita Hunt, Anne-Marie Taylor and Ramesh Vala OBE, Trustees of Diversity UK alongside Anil Bhanot OBE, Chair of the Ethnic Minority Foundation and Jubilee Easo Partner, Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP, who are co-sponsors of the lecture.

On accepting the award on behalf of Horace Ové , Zak said "I am so honoured and pleased to accept this award on behalf of my father. The Get Up Stand Up Now exhibition was a celebration of over 50 years of black creativity in Britain which started with my father and the Windrush Generation. I think it is important to celebrate Black History as part of British History and feel that we need a dedicated space in the UK so that more people can see the works of black artists. I am so inspired by tonight's speaker (Tom Ilube CBE) and the work that Diversity UK is doing and hope that we can create a collaboration to make my vision of a Black History museum a reality. ”

About Horace Ové

Born in 1939 in Belmont, Trinidad, Horace Ové is a British filmmaker, photographer, painter and writer. One of the leading black independent filmmakers to emerge in Britain since the post-war period, he holds the Guinness World Record for being the first black British filmmaker to direct a feature-length film called ‘Pressure’ in 1975.

Horace Ové came to Britain in 1960 to study painting, photography and interior design. His entry into the film world was working as a film extra on the set of the 1963 Joseph Mankiewicz epic Cleopatra after its production moved to Rome. On returning to London, Ové went to study at the London School of Film Technique.

He has built a prolific and sometimes controversial career as a filmmaker, documenting racism and the Black Power movement in Britain over many decades through photography and films. His documentaries such as Reggae (1971) and Skateboard Kings (1978) have also become models for emerging filmmakers.

In parallel to his career in films, Ové's photography, which has been exhibited internationally over the decades, recorded the birth of the Notting Hill Carnival and charted its growth through the 1970's and 1980's from the early beginnings with the first Windrush generation to the pumping sound systems, fashions and street dancing of the younger generation. Ové has had exhibitions at the National Portrait Gallery, London, in 2005, as well as the Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate Liverpool, the Whitechapel Gallery and a retrospective of his film and photographic work at the Barbican. His work also featured in the Tate Britain exhibition "How We Are: Photographing Britain".

Horace Ové has won many awards and accolades, including a CBE in the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours when he was recognised for his contribution to the film industry in the UK.

About Zak Ové

Zak Ové (b. 1966, London) is a British/Caribbean artist with a multi-disciplinary practice across sculpture, film and photography. His work is informed in part through the history and lore carried through the African diaspora to the Caribbean, Britain and beyond with particular focus on traditions of masking and masquerade.

Ové’s artworks explore the interplay between old world mythology and what he posits as ‘potential futures’, a space where he reinterprets existence into the fantastical. Ové uses modern materials, a sound clash of Caribbean and African colour and the reinvention and appropriation of everyday objects to bring his characters and scenarios to life. His work is a celebration of the power of play, the spirit of imagination in the blurring of edges between reality and possibility, flesh and spirit. In this way, Ové seeks to rewrite a history for the future through heralding the past in a new light.

Ové has presented solo sculpture installations in the Great Hall at the British Museum, London, UK; San Francisco Civic Centre, San Francisco, CA; Forecourt of Somerset House, London, UK; The New Art Centre, Roche Court, Salisbury, UK and Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Yorkshire, UK. In 2019 he presented work in the Frieze 2019 Sculpture Park, Regent’s Park, London. He curated the major exhibition GET UP STAND UP NOW: Generations of Black Creative Pioneers at Somerset House, London, 2019. The exhibition was featured in The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Observer, ID Magazine, Vice and The Evening Standard, amongst others.

He currently has a solo presentation The Invisible Man and The Masque of Blackness in the B. Gerald Cantor Sculpture Garden at LACMA, Los Angeles, CA, on view until 3 November 2019.

Ové’s works feature in a number of museum collections throughout the world, as well as in private foundations and collections such as British Museum, London, UK (Where it is the first work acquired by a Caribbean artist); Newark Museum, New Jersey, USA; Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida, USA; Modern Forms, London, UK; David Roberts Art Foundation, London, UK; Jameel Collection, Saudi Arabia; Facebook Corporate Collection, London, UK; 21 C Museum, Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Beth De Woody Collection, New York, USA; Walid Kamhawi Collection, Dubai, UAE; Frédéric de Goldschmidt, Brussels, Belgium; Levett Collection, London, UK; Pizzuti Collection, Columbus, Ohio, USA; Salsali Private Museum, Dubai, UAE.

In 2019 his work was acquired by The International Slavery Museum, Liverpool, UK and Royal Ontario Museum, Canada.

About Diversity UK

Diversity UK is a think tank to research, advocate and promote ideas for improving diversity and inclusion in Britain. It is an evidence-based initiative that seeks to influence policy, enhance civic engagement and improve the perception of the minority ethnic community in Britain. Diversity UK delivers its objectives by undertaking research, facilitating debates, hosting roundtable meetings and producing white papers. It also hosts the annual Paul Stephenson lecture on race equality and inclusion.

Founded in 2012, Diversity UK is a registered charity (No: 1155189) in England & Wales run by Mrs Lopa Patel MBE as Chair; Ms Rita Hunt; Ms Anne-Marie Taylor and Mr Ramesh Vala OBE as Trustees.

About the Diversity UK Lifetime Achievement Award

The Diversity UK Lifetime Achievement is presented by the Trustees to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of human rights, workplace equality, the arts & creative industries; improved the integration of communities, dialogue and understanding between different individuals and groups; challenged society on disparities in how people from different backgrounds are treated; and campaigned for greater visibility for Britain’s under-represented minorities.

Previous recipients of the Diversity UK Lifetime Achievement Award are:

• Dr Paul Stephenson OBE for dedication to equality and inclusion (2016)
• Lord Simon Woolley for his work on race equality & inclusion at Operation Black Vote (2017)
• Mr Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones for championship of inclusive entrepreneurship (2017)
• Ms Elaine Sihera for her outstanding contribution to equality and inclusion in Britain (2018)

About The Ethnic Minority Foundation

The Ethnic Minority Foundation (EMF) is a national registered charity created in 1999. It is an independent organisation that seeks to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice in society, and address the growing inequalities in the world system. EMF’s social justice programme has sought to tackle some of the most difficult issues facing societies today. It has worked to try and protect children from exploitation; safeguard the rights of women and other vulnerable groups; tackle poverty and seek social applications for new technologies. Currently most of its work is focused on social enterprises and providing services and opportunities to local communities.

For further information, visit www.emfoundation.org.uk

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