About the event
This talk focuses on the enslavement of white Europeans on the Barbary coast of North Africa between the 16th and 19th century, a time which saw over a million individuals kidnapped from their homes and sold into systematic enslavement. Learn about the capture and transportation of people from the village of Baltimore, Ireland; the relationship between European Barbary pirates/corsairs and African enslavers; and discover how former slaves’ knowledge was used to understand strategic military plans.
Learn about the role Olaudiah Equiano played in the shaping of Cambridge and London society for the black population. Discover the impact of his autobiography on societies, and the role it played in changing perspectives on the slave trade in British society. Equiano was a man of many talents, and his success as a talented campaigner and competitive businessman and leader will also be discussed.
With Dr Carol Brown-Leonardi, lecturer and researcher currently working at the Open University in the Department of Geography (FASS) and Global Studies.
With Ruqayya Bryce and Sonita Alleyne.
This session explores the themes in the Black Atlantic through music and conversation. Using the evocative power of music and sound, the session explores memory and a sense of identity both personal and collective, while also acting as a tool for processing complex emotions.
With Ruqayya Bryce and Wanja Kimani.
What does it mean to responsibly manage stories, objects and the collection and acquisition of them, and how do we choose who and what to remember? How should institutions engage with differing interpretations of history? This conversation will ask these questions and focus on how institutions can navigate the challenges around managing contentious histories.
With Ruqayya Bryce and Darold Cuba.
How can we have a more comprehensive understanding of our histories? How might this impact national identity? What is the balance between acknowledging the difficult chapters alongside the more positive ones? How do we trace these legacies into our understandings of who we are collectively? With both memory and identity in dispute, what are the ways we need to discuss these questions to be inclusive of the spectrum of historical behaviours and how they shape contemporary society’s ideas of itself?
With Ruqayya Bryce and Adiva Lawrence.
Do we need reparative justice, and if so, what forms might it take? Why is the idea of reparations to the descendants of the enslaved so divisive? What does it mean for the descendants of enslavers, do they owe anything? The overall aim is to hold a conversation where we can listen and share knowledge and ideas. For people resistant to acknowledging the contribution of the institutions of slavery to Britain’s wealth, power and prestige; how can we have this discussion in a way that opens doors as opposed to closing them?
We pile meaning on our hair, changing the cut, style and colour to influence how the world sees us – and how we see ourselves. Hair is always with us and is a part of our body which we can modify at will. And if this is true today, it was also true in the ancient past. So for one afternoon only, we’re going to be getting hands-on with ancient hair and embodying the styles of the classical past here in our atmospheric Cast Gallery.
Early Years Studio is a fun, creative, immersive experience for children aged 0–4. The sessions are designed with early years development in mind. Artists draw upon their expertise as early years facilitators and use the Kettle’s Yard ethos and collection to create sessions where babies, toddlers and their carers can experience and learn together.
Join us at Kettle’s Yard for a panel discussion about our current exhibition Material Power: Palestinian Embroidery, with exhibition curator Rachel Dedman and artists Aya Haidar and Maeve Brennan. In this panel discussion the speakers will discuss themes emerging from the exhibition, such the role of Palestinian embroidery today and the ways in which this traditional practice is expressed in contemporary art.
£10 (£8 Friends, £5 Students), booking required
