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Heather Agyepong

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Heather Agyepong
Born
Heather Akosua Agyepong

1990 (age 34–35)
London
Alma mater
Known forPhotography, visual art, acting
Websitewww.heatheragyepong.com

Heather Agyepong (born 1990)[1] is a British-Ghanaian photographer, visual artist and actor, living in London.

Early life and education

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Agyepong was born and raised in London and is of Ghanaian heritage.[2] Her mother moved to England from Ghana in her teenage years.[3] She earned a National Diploma in Performing Arts from City of Westminster College; a BSc in Applied Psychology from the University of Kent; and an MA in Photography & Urban Cultures from Goldsmiths, University of London.[4]

Career

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Agyepong is a multidisciplinary artist, who has worked in photography, visual art, theater, film, and television.

Photography

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Agyepong's photography work has focused on mental health, activism and the African diaspora. It has been shown at the Tate Modern museum and the Centre for British Photography, and is part of the collections at the Mead Art Museum, the Autograph ABP, the Hyman Collection, the Centre National des Arts Plastiques, and the New Orleans Museum of Art.[5][6]

In 2024, Nikon released a short film titled The Mind in Focus, in which Agyepong describes how photography connects with her mental health.[7]

For her photography, she has been awarded the Photo London x Nikon Emerging Photographer Award and the Photographers Gallery New Talent Award.[6]

Visual arts

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Wish You Were Here was a work commissioned by the Hyman Collection.[8] In it, Agyepong channels the American vaudeville performer Aida Overton Walker, by posing for a series of fake postcards.[9] The work addresses physical and mental wellbeing.[10]

Another of Agyepong's works is The Body Remembers, a solo performance that "explores how trauma lives in the body, particularly for Black British women across different generations."[11][12][7]

Theater

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Agyepong has performed in several plays. She received recognition for her 2024 performance in Shifters, written by Benedict Lombe and directed by Lynette Linton. For that performance, she was nominated for "Best Actress" at the 2025 Olivier Awards.[13] In a review in The Independent, Alice Saville gave the play four out of five stars, saying, "Agyepong gives glimpses of vulnerability before building her walls up again, higher than before."[14]

In her acting, Agyepong cites Viola Davis and Michaela Coel as major influences.[3]

Television

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In 2023, Agyepong starred in the Amazon Prime Video series The Power, based on the science fiction book by Naomi Alderman. As of 2025, she is part of the forthcoming Netflix project called Joy, which follows the story of the first baby conceived through in vitro fertilization.[15]

Personal life

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On March 25, 2023, Agyepong was asked to leave the Museum of Modern Art in New York City after a disagreement with another museum attendee at an exhibition called Black Power Naps. The museum subsequently issued a public apology, saying it will increase efforts to "protect the experiences of Black visitors and visitors from Indigenous communities and communities of colour."[6]

Group photography exhibitions

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  • Starting Something New: Recent Contemporary Art Acquisitions and Gifts, Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts, 2019–2021[5]
  • Wish You Were Here, Format Festival, Derby, 2021[16]

Awards

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Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2020 Sylvia Kemi Short film
2023 Snowfalls in the Summer Young Anita Short film

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2020 Enterprice Emily Episode: "When We Roar, Dem Run"
2022 This Is Going to Hurt Rachel Miniseries; 1 episode
2023 The Power Ndudi Main cast

Theatre

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Year Title Role Venue Notes
2013 Antigone Tiresias T24 Drama, Canterbury
2015 4.48 Psychosis Voice #2 T24 Drama, Canterbury
2016 Switch Matilda Swoon Tricycle Theatre, London
Still Barred Yaz Battersea Arts Centre, London
Hatch Amma Boateng Hackney Showroom, London with Talawa Theatre Company
Girls Haleema Soho Theatre, London with Talawa Theatre Company
2017 Jagged Edge Colette Rich Mix, London
Best Friends Vicky Ovalhouse, London
So Many Reasons Melissa Ovalhouse, London
Sankara Flore Royal National Theatre, London
2019 Noughts & Crosses Persephone Mira Hadley Pilot Theatre, York
2022 Celebrated Virgins Sarah Theatr Clwyd, Mold
2023 School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play Ama Lyric Theatre, London
2024 Shifters Des Bush Theatre, London (then West End Transfer Duke of York)

Collections

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Agyepong's work is held in the following permanent collections:

References

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  1. ^ a b "Heather Agyepong - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  2. ^ "The photographer who became a warrior". BBC News. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b Sampson, Annabel (31 March 2023). "Introducing Heather Agyepong: why the radiant star of the 'intoxicating' Shifters ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠is one to watch". Tatler. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
  4. ^ "CV". Heather Agyepong. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Starting Something New: Recent Contemporary Art Acquisitions and Gifts". Amherst College. 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Seymour, Tom (28 March 2023). "MoMA apologises to artist Heather Agyepong, who was ejected from exhibit intended as safe space for Black visitors". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
  7. ^ a b Helm, Leonie (20 November 2024). "Nikon ambassador Heather Agyepong explores how photography can be a healing tool for mental health". digitalcameraworld. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
  8. ^ "TALKS | ART IN THE CITY - Heather Agyepong". Arnolfini.
  9. ^ "2 Art Gallery Shows to Explore From Home". The New York Times. 28 May 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Aesthetica Magazine - Making the Space". Aesthetica Magazine. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  11. ^ "DIG 21: Heather Agyepong | The Body Remembers". Tramway. 15 October 2021.
  12. ^ "Fuel Presents The Body Remembers By Heather Agyepong Exploring Trauma & Healing In The Lives Of Black British Women". Theatre Weekly. 4 August 2021.
  13. ^ Dillon, Luke (4 March 2025). "Olivier Awards 2025 Nominations Announced". www.westendtheatre.com. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
  14. ^ Saville, Alice (22 August 2024). "Epic new romcom Shifters has West End audiences swooning – review". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
  15. ^ Bardsley, Ella (13 December 2024). "Heather Agyepong Features In Wonderland's Winter 24 Issue". Wonderland. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
  16. ^ O'Hagan, Sean (3 January 2021). "New year arts: Observer critics pick the culture to get us through to spring". The Observer. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  17. ^ "Heather Agyepong – Jerwood Arts". Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  18. ^ "The stars of the future vie for top prize at the South Bank Sky Arts Awards". The Times. 29 May 2018.
  19. ^ "Announcing Heather Agyepong and Joanne Coates Awardees of the fourth Jerwood/Photoworks Awards". Photoworks. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
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