Grace Farms Lectures with Concert | Dr. Hannah Rose Thomas and a chamber ensemble of the London Philharmonic Orchestra

Experience a Grace Farms Lecture by artist, scholar and advocate Dr. Hannah Rose Thomas with a performance by a chamber ensemble of the London Philharmonic Orchestra Dr. Hannah Rose Thomas has established a portrait painting practice, harnessing art as a tool for advocacy. Her work has received critical acclaim, with exhibitions in prestigious places, including Buckingham Palace, the UK Houses of Parliament and the Saatchi Gallery. Through her portfolio of portrait paintings, she seeks to elevate the voices of the marginalized and prescribe dignity to the persecuted and forcibly displaced. To do so, Thomas incorporates early Renaissance and iconography painting techniques into her work. Central to Thomas’s practice is an understanding of portraiture as an act of gifting – an offering of attention, dignity, and presence that honors the irreducible humanity of each individual. Her work also reflects a deep ethic of hospitality, creating space for encounter, listening, and relational exchange between artist, subject, and viewer. The concert continues this dialogue through music, with a chamber ensemble of the London Philharmonic Orchestra performing a program responding both to Thomas’s work and to Grace Farms. In 2023, Grace Farms hosted the U.S. launch of Thomas’s book, Tears of Gold , as well as a temporary exhibition of her work. The book features portraits of Yazidi, Rohingya, and Nigerian women who have suffered violence in areas of conflict and tells the women’s stories, providing a testimony to their humanity and resilience in the face of adversity. As of 2025, Thomas’s life-size portrait painting, Nasreen , of modern slavery survivor Nasreen Sheikh, has been on view in the With Every Fiber exhibit at Grace Farms. Nasreen was created using egg tempera paint mixed from natural pigments — a technique traditionally used for religious art. Thomas’s use of iconography and early Renaissance painting techniques and gold leaf for portrait paintings is symbolic of the restoration of dignity and the sacred value of each individual. In 2025, players of the London Philharmonic Orchestra recorded Woven in Tears , a composition by Evan Williams commissioned by Grace Farms. Woven in Tears was especially written for the With Every Fiber exhibit, and responds to Thomas’s portrait, Nasreen . The London Philharmonic Orchestra also performed at Grace Farms’ 9th Annual Benefit in 2024. Join us before the Lecture for a Natural Pigments Workshop with artist and Grace Farms Educator Grayson Kennedy .