Few Worcester images are as iconic as Edward Halliday’s 1937 Conversation Piece – now it has a rival.

The original painting, which hangs in the Provost’s Lodgings, shows a group of male students posed on the steps outside the dining hall in the Main Quad. For Jacob Byfield (2022), the painting offered a prompt to rethink how Worcester envisions itself. In his role as JCR Arts Rep, Jacob secured funding from the Worcester EDI Fund to create a contemporary interpretation of the iconic image.

The scene has, of course, been recreated before. In 1979 – the year women were first admitted to Worcester – a photographic recreation stuck closely to the original, save for a set of bagpipes which couldn’t be located. In 2018, an all women version was photographed (with bagpipes!), demonstrating how far the College had come in equality of opportunity.

The latest version is the first since Halliday’s to put paint on canvas thanks to the talent of Jada Richard, a History of Art student at St Peter’s College. This contemporary take on the iconic scene aims to celebrate the wide range of ethnicities, disabilities, gender identities and sexualities of today’s students.

Jada’s painting is now proudly displayed in the Cellar Bar, a testament to the diverse community which calls Worcester home.