Student exhibition celebrates Mary Seacole

An art exhibition by LJMU students to celebrate the life of pioneering nurse Mary Seacole is now on display at the university.

‘Remembering Mary Seacole’ was developed by students on the BA Fine Art, MA Fine Art, and MA Art & Science programmes, in collaboration with nursing students.

The works were first exhibited as part of ‘Mary Seacole; A Figure of Care’ at St George’s Hall earlier this year, exploring her legacy as a nurse and entrepreneur during the Crimean War.

This work will serve as a reminder to our student nurses that Mary Seacole’s life and legacy continues to inspire our next generation of nurses and that their important work today is recognised by the city in the making of this exhibition.

Maggie Ayliffe, Programme Leader in Fine Art

The artworks were developed in response to the 2026 commission for a new marble statue of Seacole at St George’s Hall.

Initiated by the Hall’s Charitable Trust as part of a broader commitment to address historical imbalances in civic representation, the commission invited students to work alongside the shortlisted artists to reflect on whose lives are memorialised in public space and how they might best represent the life and work of Mary Seacole.

They evolved from conversations between the art students and student nurses, who shared their stories of nursing in Liverpool. The works were also informed by consideration of critical perspectives on public monuments and memory in the post–Black Lives Matter era.

The exhibition is now on display at LJMU’s School of Nursing and Advanced Practice in Tithebarn Building.