Una White

Who was Una White?

Una White was an ordinary citizen of Birmingham, England. She achieved posthumous notability when her name was placed, in 12 feet high illuminated lettering, on Birmingham Central Library for three weeks, as an art installation by Joshua Sofaer part of the city's Fierce! festival. The sign was illuminated from 17 May-3 June 2007

Her name was suggested for use in the artwork, by her daughter Carol, after a public appeal for people to nominate a friend or family member who deserved to have their name in lights. Una was selected from a number of entries, by a panel which comprised advertising mogul Trevor Beattie, broadcaster Mark Lawson, celebrity agent Jonathan Shalit, fashion designer Jemima French, and This Morning presenter Alison Hammond.

Sofaer said the project was "aimed at encouraging people to think about the meaning of celebrity", and that:

I wanted people to think about who they want as their role models. There might be unknown ones which are better than Posh Spice.

Formerly a hairdresser, White came to Britain from Jamaica in the 1960s and trained as a nurse before working at St Margaret's Hospital in Walsall.