Third-year student Jada Richard (History of Art, 2022) has completed a painting commission that now hangs in Worcester College’s Cellar Bar. Worcester College, a near neighbour to St Peter’s, asked Jada to create a twenty-first-century reimagining of a painting in its collection by Edward Halliday. Halliday’s painting, Conversation Piece (1937), shows Worcester’s Main Quad occupied by a large group of white men—typical of Oxford in the 1930s. Worcester was keen to see a new work that reflects the diversity of Oxford students today.
Worcester College said of the project,
‘The work is a new interpretation of Edward Halliday's iconic 'Conversation Piece' from 1937. Over 80 years after the original, the new painting aims to represent the wider range of gender identities, ethnicities, disabilities and sexualities of today's Worcester and was funded by the College's EDI Fund. It now hangs in the Cellar Bar as a proud testament to the diversity of our community.’
Jada studies History of Art at St Peter’s College and is also a practising artist. She said,
‘My time at St Peter’s College and the University of Oxford has been filled with new experiences, development, and growth; this commission is a testament to that journey. Worcester College was keen to represent the wider range of students now attending Oxford University, and St Peter’s provided me with the space to bring this vision to life. The enthusiasm and support I have felt from the College remind me how grateful I am to be able to evolve not only as a student, but also as an artist within this community.’