Crown Agents Bank
Crown Agents Bank is a UK-regulated transactional bank helping governments, NGOs, and financial institutions move money where it’s needed most, especially in hard-to-reach and emerging markets. With a legacy dating back to 1833, the bank specialises in FX, cross-border payments, and trade finance, providing vital infrastructure that enables global finance to flow into under-served economies.
Crown Agents Bank approached HYPHN to curate a Black History Month exhibition that would celebrate Black creativity and storytelling within the context of their newly opened London Bridge office. The brief was to produce a meaningful cultural moment that honoured Black narratives while seamlessly integrating into a corporate space, all without disrupting day-to-day operations.
We curated Reclaiming Narratives, a site-specific exhibition featuring a diverse group of Black artists whose work explored themes of identity, legacy, and reclamation. Our team handled artist sourcing, exhibition design, storytelling, and spatial planning to ensure the artwork complemented the office environment while sparking conversation and reflection across staff and visitors.
The exhibition was so well received that it remained up for an extra week beyond its scheduled run. Staff praised the transformation of their workspace, and one artist sold her first painting after over a decade of creating: a powerful moment of impact. Reclaiming Narratives helped Crown Agents Bank bring cultural storytelling into a financial setting, making their new space feel intentional, inclusive, and alive.
