Throughout October, explore a trail of four positive, affirming and joyful murals across Canary Wharf that celebrate Black History Month, created by interdisciplinary artist Jasmine Kahlia.
Developed through a series of interviews with Kahlia’s subjects and her own Jamaican, Indian, Somali, and Yemeni roots, each mural is inspired by the Black entrepreneurs, scientists and artists who built their careers or rooted their lives here. Drawing on varying influences, from Jamaican, Caribbean and Central American folkloric art styles to freedom, liberation and self-discovery, the murals turn Canary Wharf into a portrait of the people who move through it.
The free to visit temporary trail commissioned by CWG can be viewed alongside Canary Wharf’s outdoor, permanent public art collection of over 100 sculptures, murals and integrated architectural works, designed to punctuate the district with forms that stimulate, inspire or simply give pause for thought as viewers go about their day.
The Trail:
Folkloriq – North Colonnade
Folkloriq is a piece that examines contemporary art from the Caribbean and Central America. The intention behind the piece is to bring forward the saturated and sunny colours of the diaspora, using the principle colours of red, yellows, and green, which are contrasted with the solid black lines, which are reminiscent of illustrated books that Kahlia grew up reading like Anansi and Jamaica Tag Along. The pieces also bring through neon, plastic and synthetic colours to symbolise the advance in culture and Western habitat in the city. The piece talks to the complexities and traditions of the intergenerational stories of our diaspora.
Facin our Dreamz – Upper Bank Street
Facing our Dreamz is a large piece featuring many prominent and accomplished individuals that live, work and study in Canary Wharf. Spanning a range of professions from life sciences to AI to sport and finance, Kahlia undertook many interviews to bring this piece – and their stories to life. This piece recognises the hard work and effort each person has taken to build their careers, pathways and accolades. Each portrait took around three hours to design and finish, with colours selected that shone through each personality.
Blaq Excellence – Montgomery Square
Blaq Excellence is a heartfelt piece about liberation, freedom and creative flow. It examines fluid movement, belonging and recognises the full diaspora, sampling colours of all skin tones into a single piece. Kahlia deliberately selects honey brown, mahogany, ginger brown, cedar and tawny brown to blend into the main focal character. Against them she sets one deliberate shade of blue, babylike and fresh, holding the browns in relief. The intention is recognition, familiarity and pride, and space is made for all three.
Heartest Truth – George Street
Heartest Truth is a piece that focuses into the snapshots of a successful career. Each scene depicts a moment many can resonate with when embarking on their career. These specific scenes are structured as: Downfall, Triumph, Connection and Freedom.
The colours are chosen from the heart space and reflect many natural elements, borrowing hues from landscapes, seascapes and sky. Daytime and evening tones play out across the work, with gradients, accents and details complementing the poetry.
The composition plays masculine and feminine space against each other. At its core the piece is about humanity, nature and self-discovery.
Jasmine Kahlia, artist, when speaking about the project said: “This is not simply artwork. It’s a moment. Not just for myself, but for families and ancestors of the featured individuals. It continues to be a massive journey for equal rights. Years of intentional work, diplomacy and focus, facing sacrifices and losses, in the quest for success, despite the reality of societal discrimination and racism. There is intergenerational talent and innovation that lives in Canary Wharf. To be accomplishing highly in our careers is no mistake. Although the collection is temporary, the sentiment and intention is permanent. In a culturally mixed city like London, Black History is everyone’s collective history.”
Lowri Harries, Associate Curator – CWG said: “The Canary Wharf public art collection is completely free to view, open all year round and designed for people to encounter naturally throughout their day. It belongs to whoever is passing, so it’s important that it also reflects our diverse working and residential population.
Jasmine’s murals do exactly this. The murals are directly inspired by the careers, journeys and feelings of her subjects and their personal sense of belonging to the area, allowing them, and those with similar experiences, to recognise themselves within it and feel a real sense of connection.”
Jasmine Kahlia’s Black History Month trail will be available to view for free during the entire month of October. To find out more details about the Canary Wharf permanent art collection and download the art map, head to www. canarywharf.com/see-do/art-on-the-wharf/
Our thanks to Kahlia’s subjects:
Hawaa Cumar – Aviado Bio
Folarin Gbadebo – Aviado Bio
Charles Nwankpa – Gen3
Deborah Ojutalayo – Aviado Bio
Danis Noor – Aviado Bio
Jermaine Kingsman – SUIT’D
Kevin Buckle – Black Deaf UK
Telesha Reid – Cancer Survivor & Activist
Hillary May – Michael Knight Theatre Company
Shocka – Rapper & Mental Health Campaigner
Pearline Bent – Property Developer & Minister
Michelle Raymond – TedX Speaker, Culture Strategist
Simi Roach – Playwright & Actor
Pettra St Hillaire – Beautician & Aesthetics Practitioner
Michael Young – Property & Investment
Daniel Kemdeng – CEO, Africa Coffee Trading
Grace Buckle – British Heavyweight Boxing Champion
Jaiye Elias – Marketing & Comms Lead
Michael Donkor – Certified Financial Planner & Chartered Wealth Planner
Shane Parmar – CEO, ONDA+ Health Tech
Sonia Noor – Primary School Teacher
Notes to Editors
Media Enquiries
CWG Press contact:
Emma Hammond t: +44 7754 667639
ENGIE Press contact:
Alanna Rooney
Tel. UK: +44 7739072404
Notes to Editors
About Jasmine Kahlia:
Jasmine Kahlia, is an Acclaimed Audiovisual Art Director from London & Barcelona. Her outstanding interdisciplinary work is a whole universe.
From her intricate and complex Live-Looping sets, to her visceral and bold Paintings + Illustrations, to her raw and delicate Literature pieces, or her daring and vivid Short Films, once you examine the high calibre and detail of Jasmine Kahlia’s work, it is striking, unwavering and real.
Her work is in demand and often examined and revered by scholars for it’s cultural significance. Her recent exhibition Chosen One [Artworks East] was extended due to high demand and the exhibition attracted support from Association of Jamaicans UK.
She creates work in Spanish, English and Catalan, and has had her interdisciplinary work showcased publicly and purchased both regionally across the UK and also in Spain, Gambia, Peru, Mexico, Germany and USA.
Jasmine Kahlia has contributed significantly to the UK Arts Sector since 2016 in many capacities and has been platformed by some of the largest Arts Institutions across Europe.
www.jasminekahlia.com
About CWG
CWG is the developer of the largest urban regeneration project in Europe. CWG develops, manages and currently owns interests in approximately 9 million square feet of mixed-use space and over 1,400 Build to Rent apartments. Canary Wharf’s retail offering is ranked the UK’s number one shopping destination by Green Street.
CWG is committed to turning sustainability ambition into impactful action. Examples include purchasing 100% electricity from renewable sources since 2012, our partnership with the Eden Project creating a place for nature and people and working to deliver our Science-Based Targets.
CWG has created a 24/7 city where people can live, work and thrive and enjoy all the benefits that Canary Wharf provides: great transport links, access to 16.5 acres of green spaces and waterside living; and a wide range of amenities including an award-winning arts and events programme. Canary Wharf’s retail and leisure offer includes over 90 bars, cafes and restaurants with more than 330 shops, including 8 grocery stores, pharmacies and health clubs all within 15 minutes’ walk. CWG recorded its highest annual footfall of more than 76 million in 2025.