National Museums Liverpool Blog - international slavery museum

Hello,

On Wednesday I gave a talk for the West Derby Society at the very grand Lowlands built in 1846.  The taxi driver, on being told what I did for a living, said something along the lines of ‘great museum, but not everyone in Liverpool supported and profited from slavery.’  I explained that we don’t say that, we talk about Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, and of course we focus on Liverpool, it is after all where we are located, Liverpool took the trade to a new level, there were over 5,000 slave voyages made from the port plus several other  facts. I also pointed out that new research is shedding light on the diverse range of people (plantation owners/profiteers not the enslaved) that were awarded compensation under the 1833 Abolition Act (there was a Slave Compensation Commission) which shows that it was not just MP’s or the well-known merchant families but regular business folk too who profited from the enslavement of Africans.

The conversation made me realize what aspects of history people often prioritize or remember, and indeed what they might remember to forget.  It was a timely thought as I have been carrying out some research on historical consciousness - how people view the past - mass inertia and the manipulation of the past, whether it be by governments or the public in places and locations which have been affected by terror and trauma such as World War II landscapes (concentration camps,  extermination centres, buildings used by the SS) and sites of genocides in Rwanda and the Balkans to name a few.  

An article  by the archaeologist Paul Mullins (who I first met during my PhD research on African American archaeology at Ransom Place in Indianapolis) on WWII landscapes in Finland, particularly Oulu which was occupied by the Nazis,  succinctly sums up some of the ways of remembering and forgetting: Some communities have chosen to efface Nazi materiality as thoroughly as possible; others have aspired to leave it an “open wound”; and many more chart a middle ground.

The next CSIS seminar on the 21st May by Joanna Ewart-James (Anti-Slavery International) focuses on the Staff Wanted Initiative: hotels’ responsibility to respect human rights and reduce workers’ vulnerability to exploitation, trafficking and forced labour and on 12th June ISM is hosting an innovative workshop in partnership with the University of Liverpool on the benefits of implementing organizational change to combat human trafficking.

Bye for now,
Richard

We recently got some lovely feedback from a couple of our members. If you’ve ever wondered about joining the National Museums Liverpool membership scheme this is what it means to John and Cynthia from Southport:

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The last thing on our minds when my wife and I visited the then recently opened International Slavery Museum was to become members of National Museums Liverpool. It was fairly shortly after we moved to Merseyside and we were becoming more and more excited at the vibrancy of the area and Liverpool especially. Therefore, I suppose we were in just the right frame of mind when Sarah approached us to ask if we would like to become members of the new membership scheme and we have not for one moment regretted the decision.

The most important thing for us is feeling a part of the organisation which means that we care about the institution. We have particular pride in the groundbreaking International Slavery Museum and the new Museum of Liverpool.

Membership events enable us to get a better understanding of, for example, new exhibitions. We get great talks by the curators who explain the background and what they are trying to achieve at the various sites and it also gives us a chance to talk to the people who are making it happen. 

Overall it is probably the basis for the pride we take living in Merseyside as passionate advocates for the city of Liverpool and the surrounding area. 

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Find out more about becoming a member.

I am just back from the Inclusive Museum conference in Copenhagen.  I gave one of the plenary papers alongside Kigge Hvid CEO of INDEX: Design to Improve Life, which leads the Danish government's mandate to advance the humanist tenets of Danish design and W. Richard West Jr., President and CEO, The Autry, Los Angeles and founding Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.  Amareswar Galla the Executive Director, International Institute for the Inclusive Museum, Denmark & India said he was pleased ISM was represented; not only for its current work, but that it would highlight the host country’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, something which had caused a heated debate in Denmark. 

Kigge gave examples of how INDEX aims to ‘develop sustainable solutions to global and local challenges’.  There were some intriguing examples and as someone with an interest in design I found the ELEMENTAL MONTERREY social housing scheme particularly fascinating as it consists of three story buildings with a framed void that can be expanded by the owners as and when needed – what they call ‘Incremental Design’.  Richard ‘Rick’ West, Jr. is a well respected museum professional and ended his talk - which had focused on the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience of which he is a Board member – with a quote from the website of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum  on the Danish peoples opposition to the Nazis in WWII.  A thought-provoking end to our session.

The conference was held in the imposing National Gallery of Denmark ‘Statens Museum for Kunst’ where I had the opportunity of checking out the art galleries, and the Royal Library ‘Det Kongelige Biblioteks’ with its iconic modern extension known as the ‘Black Diamond’ by Danish architects schmidt hammer lassen.  I don’t claim to be Andrew Graham-Dixon but found myself captivated by Peter Paul Rubens The Ascent to Calvary, rather unnerved by Elmgreen & Dragset’s Please, keep quite (2003) and invigorated by wonderfully vibrant examples of Danish experimental and abstract works by the likes  of Ib Geertsen and Paul Gernes. I also visited the Danish Design Museum which has an excellent exhibition on Post-War British textiles as well as some superlative examples of Danish modernist furniture.  I might sound a bit of an anorak but I could have spent hours looking at the chairs by some of the great Danish designers like Arne Jacobsen and Finn Juhl.  

However, I was less impressed with the shop stocking a Danish version of Helen Bannerman’s Little Black Sambo – we have an English version in our racism and discrimination collection. I mentioned this in my talk as I actually use the image and afterwards was approached by a Danish museum professional that was glad I had raised it as this form of racist caricature was not something widely discussed in Denmark.  A positive move is that she was including the image to provoke such a debate in a forthcoming exhibition on Danish media history.

Closer to home, our recent screening of PBS America’s The Abolitionists was well attended and we are hoping to screen episodes 2 & 3 for those of you who do not have Virgin or Sky so watch this space.

Farvel as they say,
Richard

Come along to the International Slavery Museum next week and hear author Elayne Ogbeta read from her book Anansi & the Dutchy Pot. 

Greedy Anansi loves his food so much and gets himself into trouble in this entertaining introduction to the Anansi series.  Anansi and the Dutchy Pot is an inspiring Caribbean folklore tale re-told for the younger generation. After storytelling, why not take part in our Anansi craft session?

The date for your diary is Thursday 28 March at 1, 2 and 3pm. Follow this link for additional information.

Hello,

I was in London recently for a series of meetings. I usually have a few hours to kill before getting the train back so I often have a bit of a busman’s holiday, checking out a new exhibition or snooping around some gallery.  I always seem to end up frantically rushing back to Euston in rush hour too.  This trip was no different and although I like to think I’m an experienced visitor to the capital at one stage I had to ask a postman, a shop assistant in Liberty’s, and two bobbies where the nearest tube station was.

London is a fascinating place, and at times for me, quite claustrophobic, which takes some doing for such a megacity. Getting off the tube at Westminster I was greeted with the click click of tourist cameras looking up towards Big Ben (technically the Elizabeth Tower, Big Ben is the great bell and it is partly built with good old Yorkshire stone).  I doubt Big Ben is seen as one part of the complex of the Palace of Westminster, the meeting place of two houses of the Parliament of the UK, but rather a big old clock which conjures up images of London, and indeed England, like a red bus, the Queen  etc  the list goes on.  For me personally other than seeing someone with a camera dangling from their neck or constantly checking a tube map, I could not tell you who was a tourist or not, and for me, that’s what I like about London. 

I walked down Millbank and fell into Tate Britain, located in a rather imposing but beautiful building with a classical portico entrance (not too dissimilar from our very own Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. building) which was funded by sugar magnate Sir Henry Tate and which opened in 1897.  I saw the rather controversial Chapman family collection of wooden sculptures, which although seemingly authentic artifacts were apparently made quite recently by the artists Jake and Dinos Chapman. 

Back up North I have just received some good news regards our Transatlantic Slavery touring exhibition which has reached Guyana as part of the 250th anniversary of the 1763 Berbice Slave Revolt.  The exhibition has been on the road since 2008 and has previously been hosted in Nigeria and Brazil. 

Keep an eye out for some of our exciting events later this month, particularly on the 28th, such as the UK premier of PBS America’s The Abolitionists  and in conversation with the artist Nicola Green which I am hosting. Hopefully see you there.

Bye for now,
Richard

Museums in Liverpool are the most popular in England outside London, according to the 2012 visitor figures issued by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA).

The Museum of Liverpool attracted more than 1 million visitors, and was the most visited museum in England, outside of London.

This wasn't the only success story though. The number of visitors to the Walker Art Gallery increased by 40%, mainly due to the popular exhibition ‘Rolf Harris: Can you tell what it is yet?’ The International Slavery Museum saw a 9% increase and visitor numbers to the Lady Lever Art Gallery increased by 7%.

Dr David Fleming, Director National Museums Liverpool, said:

"In 2012 National Museums Liverpool had our most successful year ever, with more than 3.3m visits. We attract more people now than we did during Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture five years ago, and nearly five times as many as a decade ago.

We are thrilled that the Museum of Liverpool is the country's most visited museum outside of London. We are equally thrilled that it has been awarded the Council of Europe Museum Prize for 2013, proving that the Museum's success has been noticed internationally.

Our museums and galleries are exciting and emotional places to visit - that's the secret of our success. We want our venues to inspire and educate, and also be fantastic for families. Across all our museums we like to try new things and reach new audiences. The big challenge is maintaining this success when public funding is shrinking."

Here's an appeal from Vikky Evans Hubbard at the International Slavery Museum:

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Daniel Baird, who runs our fabulous Capoeira Club on Saturday mornings, is off to train in Brazil soon. While he is there he works with groups of young people in the favelas, helping his 'Mestre' (master or trainer) train them in Capoeira.

Capoeira teaches discipline, self respect and respect for others as well as elements of self defence, dance, music and African Brazilian cultural identity and is a powerful tool in the fight to keep young people of the favelas off the streets and way from drugs and crime.

Daniel will be visiting a group he has previously trained in the Quinta de Boa Vista e Lapa favela in West Rio and would like to take some gifts for the kids in the ghetto there.

We are wondering if any of you have any old kids or teens size football shirts you don't want anymore you could donate to them? Especially from North West teams - Liverpool, Everton, Manchester United and others they would possibly have heard of in Rio.

If any of you have any football shirts that have been outgrown or are no longer needed, Daniel and I would be very grateful if you could donate them.

The deadline for any donations is 25th March. Please leave any donations at the information desk in Merseyside Maritime Museum, marked for the attention of Vikky Evans Hubbard. Thank you.

Louise Beard, media assistant writes:

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This Friday is the annual International Women’s Day (IWD). The day has been observed since the early 1900s but has grown in significance more recently and is now recognised across the world. Interestingly, in many countries including Cuba, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Zambia, IWD is an annual holiday which sees men honouring women that they know with various small gifts and flowers. It’s a day that puts women’s rights and achievements on the map.

You may be thinking that women have gained equality and that attitudes have shifted over the past century, and to an extent, you’d be right. However, women remain underrepresented in business and politics, are paid less than men, and globally women’s education, access to healthcare, and violence against them is worse than that of men. IWD draws attention to these differences.

There are a number of events taking place at NML venues to mark IWD. Here’s my pick at what’s happening at the museums:

Looking globally at women’s lives, the International Slavery Museum is hosting a talk on Saturday 9 March. Chair of the International Female Genital Mutilation network (FGM) and midwife, Dorcus Akeju, OBE will be raising awareness of and discussing female genital mutilation which affects thousands of girls and women in the UK and millions worldwide. Booking is essential.

On Sunday 10 March the Museum of Liverpool will be having a special performance called Suffragettes - a Liverpool story. On 6 February 1918 the right to vote was finally granted to women. Hear the fascinating story of the suffragettes’ struggle and their highly significant Liverpool activity in this performance by Jane Murdoch.

These events looks at different aspects of women’s lives or their representation and raise awareness of the different struggles women faced or still face on a local, national and international level.

More International Women's Day events across our venues can be found here.

Hello,

First of all I would like to wish members of the global Guyanese family a Happy Republic Day for tomorrow.  On 23 February 1970 the Forbes Burnham led government proclaimed Guyana, The Co-operative Republic of Guyana and ended Guyana’s constitutional tie to Britain. Guyana though remains a member of the Commonwealth.

The birth of Guyana as a republic is now also closely associated with the annual Mashramani festival or ‘Mash day’, derived from the Amerindian language which according to the Guyanese Ministry of Culture, Youth & Sport means ‘the celebration of a job well done’. The festival has a carnival atmosphere and is one of the most spectacular annual celebrations in Guyana.

As some people already know I am very proud to be of Guyanese descent.  My father was born in Kitty, Georgetown and moved to the UK in the 1950s to join the RAF.  He was a keen cricketer and some of his pictures were used in our Beyond the Boundary exhibition in 2010.  We also have a "Cuffy Dollar" on display - a silver coin commemorating Guyana’s Republican status in 1970, which was kindly donated by my dad.  The face of the coin shows Cuffy, a national hero, who on the  23 February 1763, led what become known as the Berbice Slave Rebellion, an uprising of enslaved Africans against their brutal and degrading living and working conditions under Dutch rule.   So 2013 is 250 years since this momentous event. 

Berbice was a Dutch colony until 1814 when it was ceded to the British and along with Essequibo and Demerara become British Guiana in 1831, governed from Georgetown, previously known as Stabroek.  The Dutch influence is still very visible though, one of the main newspapers is the Stabroek news and New Amsterdam is one of the largest towns.  There is also a clear Liverpool link as the family of William Gladstone, Liverpool born four times Prime Minister, owned sugar plantations in West Demerara such as Vreed-en-Hoop.

I have visited Guyana on several occasions, the last time in 2008 when I presented a paper at the Commonwealth Association of Museums conference, held at Umana Yana in the capital, Georgetown.  As part of the conference delegates also spent two days in the Iwokrama rainforest reserve, located in one of the few pristine rainforests left in the world.  It’s always good to see the family and not only because I get to eat roti and polouri!

Bye for now,
Richard

Over the last three months the International Slavery Museum education team have been working with a group of young actors from the Street Life Foundation. The group used the painting by William Windus, 'The Black Boy', on display in the International Slavery Museum, as the starting point for a new play 'The Stowaway' written by group leader, Caroline Ihiekwe.

As part of their research the group worked closely with the education teams at the Maritime Museum and Museum of Liverpool, to find out what everyday life was like in Victorian Liverpool and how it affected children and young people of all classes. Mark, a member of the Street Life acting team, tells us more:

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This is my second show I have had the privilege to perform for Street Life. 'The Stowaway' rehearsals were intense, but I have loved every minute of it. Since October we have rehearsed every Sunday at the International Slavery Museum and now, three months on, have a finished show.

Our performance will be on Tuesday 19 February at 1.30 and 3pm.  Unlike our previous show, we have a lot of group scripted work, which was a challenge for some of us but throughout the creative process the group have grown stronger and stronger and now, eventually, the show is complete. We are also in the process of filming the play in and around the Maritime Museum and Museum of Liverpool, so look out for that exciting film debut to come!

So please everyone come and see a show that has had a lot of time and effort put into it, and see how we have interpreted the William Windus painting, ‘The Black Boy’.