Bicentenary of the Parliamentary Abolition of the Transatlantic
Slave Trade
A programme of activity at the British Museum
22 March 2007 – 13 January 2008
To commemorate the 200th
anniversary of the Parliamentary Abolition of the Transatlantic
Slave Trade the British Museum has devised a programme of
exhibitions and public events which highlight not only the
abolitionist campaign of the 19th century but the
important part played by enslaved people in their liberation. The
programme also acknowledges the continuation of forms of slavery
down to the present day. The display of La Bouche du Roi
by Benin artist Romauld Hazoumé forces us to confront the horrors
of a slave ship whilst reminding us of modern forms of economic
bondage. The exhibition Inhuman Traffic provides an
overview of the Slave Trade through an examination of the
commodities which encouraged such a barbaric use of labour. The
public programme offers an opportunity to explore these themes
further, the focal point being a commemorative public day,
‘Resistance and Remembrance’, on the 25th
March, the anniversary of the passing of the act in Parliament.
La Bouche du Roi, an artwork by Romauld
Hazoumé
22 March - 13 May 2007
Room 35, Admission free
The structure of La Bouche du Roi is based on a famous
late-18th century print of the Liverpool slave ship the
Brookes, and is both a powerful memorial to the horrors of
the Transatlantic Slave Trade and a thoughtful reminder of its
terrible and enduring legacy. It is a multi-media artwork, the main
components of which are over three hundred ‘masks’ made from
plastic petrol cans used by motorcyclists who run black market fuel
between Benin and Nigeria. The cans and motorcyclists are metaphors
for modern forms of enslavement and resistance respectively. Liquor
bottles, beads and cowrie shells are included as examples of
material which was used to barter for slaves, as are tobacco and
spices, their aroma mixing disturbingly with the terrible sounds
and smells of a slave ship. The artwork has been recently acquired
by the British Museum with the help of the Art Fund and the British
Museum Friends. After the display at the British Museum, it will
embark on a British Museum Partnership UK tour to Hull, Liverpool,
Bristol, Newcastle and the Horniman Museum, London. The tour is
funded by Arts Council England, with additional support from the
Dorset Foundation
Resistance and Remembrance:
Marking the 200th anniversary of the Parliamentary
Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Sunday 25 March 2007, 14.00 – 18.30
Venues across the Museum, Admission free
Join us for an afternoon of reflection and acknowledgement at
the British Museum to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the
Parliamentary Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Placing a
strong emphasis on resistance to the slave trade, the day will
include poetry readings, storytelling and dramatised
contemporary accounts of life as a slave. The day will culminate at
17.30 in a Ceremony of Remembrance in the Museum’s
Great Court. In association with the Royal African Society and
Rendezvous of Victory
Inhuman Traffic: The Business of the Slave
Trade
24 May 2007 – 13 January 2008
Room 69a, Admission
free
This small exhibition explores how the
Transatlantic Slave Trade functioned. Gold and Ivory
first brought European traders to West Africa, and tobacco, guns,
textiles, sugar and rum enabled trade to flourish. The
display examines the commodities involved in the Slave Trade
and the way Africa, Europe and the Americas were linked in a
global trade network. The exhibition covers more than 500
years and examines both the Parliamentary Abolition of the
trade in 1807, and important resistance leaders including
Toussaint l'Ouverture, Olaudah Equiano and Nanny of the
Maroons, and their struggles to
end enslavement.
Public Programme
In addition to the event on the
25th, the Museum has planned a full programme of
lectures, events and seminars as well as a film season exploring
the legacy of the Slave Trade. The film season will include a
mixture of contemporary and classic films and is organized in
partnership with the London Borough of Camden. Highlights of the
programme include a special event on 8 March, ‘Ghana after 50
years of independence’, featuring a keynote address by the
Ghana High Commissioner to the UK and a panel discussion on Black
History and contemporary Britain featuring Paul Gilroy, Lola Young,
Gus John and Jean Stubbs (26 April). A special event ‘The Word from
Africa’, celebrating African languages in literature, music and the
visual arts is planned for 2 June in partnership with Africa
Beyond.
Mind-forg’d Manacles: William Blake and
Slavery
A Hayward Gallery Touring / British Museum Partnership UK
Exhibition to commemorate both the bicentenary and the
250th anniversary of Blake’s birth.
From April 2007 an exhibition of William Blake’s work will tour
to venues in Hull, Glasgow and Manchester. For Blake
(1757-1827) the idea of slavery was fundamental to his art and
writing. He was fervently opposed to slavery and bitterly
contemptuous of the forces in Britain that tried to prolong it.
He viewed slavery as both a physical and a mental state. A
person or a nation with false ideas, such as a belief in or
condonement of slavery, was enslaved. To have limited perceptions,
to pursue materialistic ends, to affect superiority over others, to
follow conventional religion or science was to be held with
‘mind-forg’d manacles’ of one’s own making. In Blake’s art the
contorted body expresses emotions through extremes of
transformation. Mentally restricted figures are enclosed within
themselves, while those free of mental shackles fly upwards like
birds.
For further information or images please contact Hannah Boulton
on 0207 323 8522, hboulton@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
Notes to Editors
- Tour dates for La Bouche du Roi are:
- Hull, Ferens Art Gallery: 2 June – 15
July 2007
- Liverpool, International Slavery
Museum: 4 August – 2 September 2007
- Bristol’s City Museum: 15 September –
28 October 2007
- Newcastle, Laing Art Gallery: 10
November 2007– 3 February 2008
- Horniman Museum: 5 December 2008 –1
March 2009
- Tour dates for Mind-forg’d Manacles
are:
- Hull, Ferens Art Gallery: 7 April – 20
May 2007
- Glasgow, The Burrell Collection: 3
November 2007 – 6 January 2008
- Manchester, The Whitworth Art Gallery:
26 January – 6 April 2008