For ten years, a pioneering cohort of volunteer guides at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) has been quietly reshaping how major cultural institutions interpret history, colonialism, and representation. Spearheaded originally by Janet Browne, the V&A’s Senior Producer for Audience Development, the African and Caribbean Heritage Tours program was established to uncover and highlight the often-overlooked presence of African and Caribbean peoples threaded through the museum’s vast collections.
As the program marks its tenth anniversary, several of the original guides have shared their personal and professional reflections on a decade defined by intellectual growth, emotional resonance, and a profound transformation in public museum engagement.
“Reflecting on my early tour days to now” by Pennie Mendes
When Pennie Mendes joined Janet Browne’s pioneering project, she had already spent a decade working as a museum guide. Yet, as a white woman with over twenty years of living and working in the Caribbean, she felt an intense sense of trepidation about interpreting histories shaped by colonialism, enslavement, and representation.
Before taking her formal assessment, Mendes decided to test herself by introducing an African Heritage object into a regular Highlights tour. Standing beside the marble Bust of a Black child in the Europe 1600–1815 Galleries, she explained how young African boys were captured or bought during the 18th century, separated from their families, and displayed as ornamental servants within elite European households and royal courts.
A Black visitor listening nearby approached her and remarked, “Lady, you are a brave person.”
The encounter left a lasting impression, helping Mendes understand that museum objects are never inert or decorative. When connected to the realities of a colonial past, they provoke discomfort, reflection, anger, sadness, and dialogue. Her role, she realized, was not merely to dispense information, but to foster a space where difficult histories could be explored openly.
Over the past decade, Mendes has witnessed an extraordinary transformation within the V&A. The museum’s collections have expanded significantly to include a wide selection of African Diaspora objects created by contemporary artists. Works such as Hew Locke’s Souvenir 4: Princess Alexandra, Sokari Douglas Camp’s Wrestling with Oil Shell BP, and Thomas J Price’s Tasman Road, Figure 2 address social, political, and environmental issues. Acquisitions like Virgil Abloh’s Sculpture Bag IKEA and Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of Melissa Thompson sit alongside collaborative documentary projects, including Charlie Phillips’s photographs of the Notting Hill Carnival and Unity 2026, a goldsmithing project connecting artists in Africa and Britain.
“Guiding the unseen” by Joy Johnson
For Joy Johnson, stepping into the V&A a decade ago as an African Heritage Guide brought buzzing nerves and a notebook in hand. Reflecting on the ten-year milestone, she describes the journey as peeling an onion, with every layer revealing unexpected insights and deepening her curiosity.
Early in her tenure, Johnson received a Highly Commended Marsh Award from the Marsh Charitable Trust for her voluntary service in sharing vital stories—an experience she remembers as warm, affirming, and slightly surreal. Beyond the accolades, the intellectual stimulation provided by V&A staff, research exchanges, and workshops with guides from other museums broadened her worldview.
Not every moment went entirely to plan. Johnson recalls an early Caribbean Heritage tour where she lost her bearings and led visitors on an unplanned, winding journey through galleries that likely did not exist on any official map. Fortunately, the group remained good-natured, teaching her a permanent lesson in setting visible markers before embarking on a tour.
Over the years, the connections forged with visitors have remained a central highlight. Whether sharing stories or transforming into a “disco queen” at the annual staff and volunteer Christmas party, Johnson treasures the community of storytellers she has helped build.
“My 10 Years” by Nadia Denton
Nadia Denton views her decade-long tenure as a volunteer African Heritage guide as a profoundly rewarding chapter both personally and creatively. Connecting the public to the histories behind museum objects proved that there is an expansive public appetite for historical storytelling.
Denton recalls the intellectual foundations laid by visiting lecturers S.I Martin and Robin Walker during early training sessions. Among her favorite objects is the 17th-century marble Bust of a child, attributed to Joannes Claudius de Cock, which consistently moves audiences with its tender depiction of a young African boy. Another highlight is The March, a Brussels tapestry from the Art of War series featuring a soldier of African descent—a detail many visitors would otherwise walk past.
Delivering a bite-size version of her tour during a V&A "Friday Late" event in collaboration with the media platform GUAP demonstrated the strong resonance these histories hold for young adults eager to explore the presence of people of African descent in early European art.
Avril Horsford
Reflecting on the tenth anniversary, Avril Horsford experiences a sense of pure delight, contrasting sharply with the theatrical nerves she felt before her very first tours a decade ago.
Horsford notes that the African Heritage tours developed a unique dynamic, often resembling a "call and response" culture reminiscent of Caribbean church services. Rather than passive listeners, audiences actively engaged, clapping, laughing, weeping, and adding historical details mid-sentence. This expressive gallery etiquette created an enduring bond between the guides and their audiences, transforming professional interactions into warm, lifelong community connections.
Kim Sheldon
For Kim Sheldon, the tour often begins with a simple instruction: "Step closer."
Guiding visitors toward Denys van Alsloot’s 1616 painting, The Ommegang in Brussels on 31 May 1615: The Triumph of Archduchess Isabella, Sheldon directs attention away from the grand banners and thousands of faces to find three unexpected figures: a camel driver, a drummer, and a young boy fanning a king with feathers.
For Sheldon, pointing out these quiet, undeniable details provides the powerful reassurance that African people were present in European history long before modern assumptions suggest. Bridging historical paintings with contemporary works like Sokari Douglas Camp’s Wrestling with Oil Shell BP, Sheldon’s tours trace the journey from being painted into the edges of another culture’s story to creating art on one’s own terms.
Stella Akintan
Stella Akintan’s journey as an African Heritage Guide began with a literal jump for joy upon receiving her appointment, building naturally on years of community-led Black history education.
Akintan highlights the rigorous research, expert insights, and collaboration that underpinned the development of both the European and Caribbean gallery tours. While the tours have regularly drawn crowds of 60 to 100 people eager for representation, they have also sparked complex conversations about historical injustices and the repatriation of artifacts, such as the Ethiopian Crown and associated religious regalia, which remain restricted by legislation such as the Heritage Act 1983.
Despite the challenges, Akintan emphasizes the profound privilege of contributing to a movement that has inspired similar programs across the British Museum, Tate Modern, and independent London tours.
Marking the milestone anniversary, V&A Director Tristram Hunt presented certificates and letters of recognition to the guides, honoring a decade of dedication, storytelling, and cultural transformation within the museum.