The glass blower reflecting black history through art

By ITV Central Producer & Presenter Monifa Bobb-Simon

A self-employed plumber from Lichfield who's worked for more than two decades in the industry has spoken of his journey into becoming one of Britain's only black glass blowers.

Christopher Day has produced a series of artwork to help encourage a new narrative about black history.

While studying Glass and Ceramics at the University of Wolverhampton, he began researching about racism and injustices.

It took him down a path of self-reflection, where he looked back on his own identity while growing up mixed-race in Derby.

His artwork is now used as a form of self-expression, where he is also able to engage people in conversations about race.

With a lack of diversity in glass blowing, Chris also feels it's important to inspire more people into the sector.

He added: "When I came here, I was looking for artists like myself. I was hoping there would be somebody here to have a conversation with, where they'd had the same experience as me growing up and we could put that into a piece of artwork - but there was nobody."

And despite the barriers Chris has faced in front of him, he's determined to shine a bright light on our collective past.