#whoisthis?

Help find the participants in Raphael Albert’s beauty pageant photos

Raphael Albert, Miss Black & Beautiful Sybil McLean with fellow contestants, Hammersmith Palais, London, 1972. From the portfolio 'Black Beauty Pageants'. Courtesy of © Raphael Albert/Autograph ABP

Raphael Albert documented hundreds of popular beauty pageants and other events in west London’s black community from the 1960s – 80s. Very little information about the people featured in his photographs has survived, can you help us find them?

He worked freelance for newspapers such as West Indian World and then had a long and successful career as a promoter of beauty pageants that included Miss West Indies in Great Britain and Miss Black and Beautiful. Many of these images will be presented for the first time in a major new retrospective of his work that opens at the Autograph ABP gallery at Rivington Place, London, in July.

Autograph ABP has therefore launched  campaign on social media to try to locate as many of his subjects as possible so that they can be invited to attend the opening of this historically important exhibition.

All this week and next they will be publishing a selection of his photographs on there new Instagram feed www.instagram/autographABP with the hashtag #whoisthis?

Please share these photographs with your friends and across your social media networks to help us find the people in the photos. If you can help identify anyone please email us at info@autograph-abp.co.uk