Solo Exhibition at Art Space, Marylebone Parish Church by Artist Michelle Baharier
Funded by Arts Council England. Commissioned by London Transport Museum.
Artist Michelle Baharier brings her national portrait project, Filling in the Gaps, to Marylebone Parish Church Art Space for a solo exhibition marking the third presentation in a touring UK programme. Opening on 4 March 2026, the exhibition brings together painted portraits of disability rights activists whose work has transformed access and inclusion across the UK’s public transport system.
The project, commissioned by London Transport Museum and supported by Arts Council England, features ten new portraits created through close collaboration with transport accessibility activists whose voices have shaped the movement for accessible public transport in the UK.
Each painting incorporates symbolic elements reflecting the sitter’s story, from transport iconography such as the TfL roundel to personal objects like the detailed fan in Sharon’s portrait, weaving activism, identity, and lived experience into Baharier’s compositions.
A Landmark Moment in Disability History and Public Transport
This art commission represents the first time the history of the disabled people’s movement has been presented on a national scale, told through portraiture and the personal perspective of the activists who drove change. The series also builds on Baharier’s earlier commission with Disability Arts Online. Several of the earlier portraits will enter the museum collection alongside the new works, including the portraits of Baroness Jane Susan Campbell and Sue Elsegood, known for her activism in the 1980s, during which she chained herself to buses to protest the lack of accessibility for wheelchair users, highlighting the contradiction that while society could put a man on the moon, it struggled to ensure basic accessibility for disabled individuals.
After the previous touring venues including Turf Projects (Croydon) and SHARP Gallery (A hospital gallery in Stockwell), the solo exhibition’s presentation within the Art Space of Marylebone Parish Church brings the project into a historic civic setting. The church’s long-standing commitment to community engagement provides a resonant backdrop for a project centred on visibility, justice, accessibility and public space.
Art, Activism and Social History
Filling in the Gaps invites visitors to reflect not only on transport access, but also on wider themes of dignity, care, and the right to move freely through society.
Baharier says: ”Let’s not forget that public transport being accessible isn’t just about disability. It’s also about a little child in a push chair or a pram, a mother or a father with children, a grandmother. It’s about older people with their shopping trolleys and walking sticks. I believe that campaigning to make transport accessible needs to be thought about widely.”
Baharier’s portraiture foregrounds the individuals behind decades of campaigning, challenging viewers to consider the human stories behind legislative and infrastructural change.
Following the full exhibition tour, the portraits will enter the London Transport Museum Collection at the end of 2026, securing the project within the national archive of transport, disability activism, and social history.
Exhibition Information:
Title: Filling in the Gaps
Artist: Michelle Baharier
Venue: Art Space, Marylebone Parish Church, 17 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LT
Dates: 4 -26 March 2026
Private View, 4 March 2026, 5:30-8pm
Commission: London Transport Museum
Funded by: Arts Council England
Access: Free entry | Disabled Parking Available
Press & Image Enquiries:
Michelle Baharier
Email: mbfcsra@gmail.com
Phone: 07952 481566
Portfolio: https://michellebaharier.co.uk