Artist Esme Layne, one of the Wellingborough residents who submitted work, said the exhibition is a “public representation of black Britishness”.
Growing up during the seventies and eighties, Esme says she experienced racism that left her “with a sense of not belonging”.
She said: “While I consider myself a black British artist, my ancestry is Caribbean, Barbadian, as well as Nigerian origin.
“Those aspects of me heavily inform my art because I think I am constantly on a search for who I am.”
Esme’s oil on canvas self-portrait, which she describes as “honest” and “authentic”, is on display in the theatre’s gallery alongside hand-drawn sketches and collages.
“For the painting, I’ve used Nigerian markings on my face, which I’ve changed so they feel right to me. That’s part of my DNA.”
She said the black community has been “under-represented” in art, which she said can have more impact than words.
