Carmen
'Carmen' is a powerful tribute to Dame Carmen Munroe, a national and local icon whose trailblazing career has shaped British cultural life. Venice Biennale Golden Lion-winning artist Dame Sonia Boyce honours Carmen’s legacy, celebrating her landmark roles in Desmond’s and Doctor Who as well as her ground-breaking work in theatre and her role as a founding member of Talawa Theatre company.
In ‘Carmen’ (2025), Sonia Boyce delves into the life and career of trailblazing Guyanese British actress Carmen Munroe, who reshaped perceptions of Caribbean migrants in the UK through her performances in such West End plays as Lorraine Hansberry’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun,’ and her roles on popular British television programs including ‘Doctor Who: The Enemy of the World’ (1967 – 1968), ‘The Persuaders’ (1971 – 1972) and ‘Desmond’s’ (1989 – 1994). Part portrait, part historical document, Boyce’s film traces Munroe’s impact as an artist and activist.
‘Carmen’ was first conceived in 2022 as part of a landmark commission by King Charles III marking the 75th anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush on Britain’s eastern shore. The royal commission brought together leading contemporary artists to create portraits honouring 10 pioneering members of the Windrush Generation - Caribbean migrants who, like Carmen Munroe, arrived in Britain between 1948 and 1971. Despite facing widespread political, economic and social discrimination, these brave individuals played a pivotal role in the reconstruction of post-war Britain.
During Boyce’s portrait session with Munroe, she amassed such a wealth of material that she was compelled to develop a more expansive project. The result, shown in the UK for the first time, is a powerful two-channel film: one screen lingers on Munroe as she watches a montage of her own performances, while the other screen displays significant dates and milestones in her career. The two feeds interweave fact and sentiment, history and personal anecdote, illuminating Munroe’s ambition, tenacity and prowess in her craft, while emphasizing her own voice and perspective.
It has been one of my career highlights to have had the pleasure of working with the iconic, and simply fabulous, Carmen Munroe. I'm also incredibly proud and honoured to be a part of Wandsworth’s London Borough of Culture programme. The programme has been so joyful." Dame Sonia Boyce
‘Carmen’ (2025) was made with support from Wandsworth Council as part of the Mayor of London’s London Borough of Culture initiative.
[Image: Carmen (video still), 2025, Sonia Boyce. Two channel colour video with sound. Duration: 12:05 min. © Sonia Boyce. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2025. Courtesy the artist, Hauser & Wirth and APALAZZOGALLERY]
The Making of Carmen
A European Premiere in Wandsworth
About Sonia Boyce
Dame Sonia Boyce OBE RA is an interdisciplinary artist and academic working across film, drawing, photography, print, sound and installation. In 2022, she presented ‘Feeling Her Way’ for the British Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale in Italy, for which she was awarded the Golden Lion for Best National Participation.
Boyce came to prominence in the early 1980s as a key figure in the burgeoning British Black Arts Movement with figurative pastel drawings and photo collages that addressed issues of race and gender in Britain. Since the 1990s, Boyce has shifted significantly to embrace a social practice that invites improvisation, collaboration, movement, and sound with other people. Working across a range of media, Boyce’s practice today is focused on questions of artistic authorship and cultural difference.
[Image: Sonia Boyce in her studio, 2025. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth Photograph: Lily Bertand-Webb. © Sonia Boyce. All Rights Reserved, DACS/Artimage 2025]