Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

The Sound of Croydon is the launch exhibition in a new Museum of Croydon gallery, which celebrates the life and music of one of Croydon’s most significant historical figures: the Black British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, 150 years after his birth.

We worked with the Museum team and curator Natalie Mitchell to shape the visual system and spatial design for the exhibition, building on the wider Museum of Croydon visual identity that we created. Early in the process, the team shared an archive photograph showing Coleridge-Taylor seated at his piano in his living room, surrounded by patterned wallpaper and an eclectic arrangement of framed photographs. This image quickly became the foundation of the design approach.

A key aim of the exhibition was to prioritise inclusivity by avoiding the sterile, reverential feel that can make traditional galleries intimidating for first-time visitors. Instead, the exhibition adopts the atmosphere of a welcoming living room. Victorian-inspired wallpaper wraps the walls, while the photographs that form the core narrative appear in framed borders and are hung in a deliberately informal composition, echoing the original archive image. Sofas offer space to pause, and at the centre of the room stands a piano that visitors are invited to play – reinforcing the idea that this is a lived-in, participatory space rather than one simply to observe.

The interpretive text guides visitors through Coleridge-Taylor’s life and beyond – from his childhood in Croydon and formative training at the Royal College of Music, to the breakthrough success of Hiawatha, his international reputation, his advocacy within anti-racist movements and his untimely death. The exhibition concludes by exploring his legacy, including the musical achievements of his daughter Avril Gwendolen Coleridge-Taylor and contemporary artists who continue to draw inspiration from his work.