ARTIST DENZIL Forrester is to receive a fellowship from Morley College in recognition of his outstanding teaching.

Forrester, one of the most prominent figures of the contemporary British art scene, will be presented with a Morley Fellowship at a special event at the adult education college in Lambeth on Tuesday.

Particularly known for his paintings depicting black British culture from the late 1970s onwards, Forrester taught painting and drawing at Morley for 30 years before finally retiring in 2016.

He came to Morley in the early ‘80s when John Flemons, then the head of fine art at Morley, attended Forrester’s MA exhibition at the Royal College of Art and was so impressed that he invited him to teach.

Today, Forrester’s painting Boys in the Hood features as part of the Morley Art Collection at the college. He has most recently been honoured with the installation of a mural, Brixton Blue, which was commissioned by Art on the Underground and can be seen now at Brixton Underground station.

The awarding of the Morley Fellowship acknowledges Forrester’s long service of outstanding teaching at Morley and continued close engagement with the college since his retirement.

As well as a formal presentation of the Fellowship Award there will be a screening of Denzil’s Dance, a film that features his work as he goes to Jamaica for the first time to sketch in the dancehalls. The film will be presented by its director, Julian Henriques, professor of cultural studies at Goldsmiths, University of London.