Our social event in June was a visit to Greenwich to view the art installation The World Reimagined. This was described as ‘a journey of discovery through nine themes’ each of which addressed one of the aspects of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans. It consisted of a ring of large globes laid out on the lawn in front of the National Maritime Museum – a very appropriate setting given the involvement of Britain’s navy in the slave trade and then in its abolition.
Each globe was created by an artist for the national World Reimagined exhibition. Overall, 103 globes have been sited in various cities linked to the transatlantic slave trade. The themes for the exhibition were: Mother Africa; The Reality of Being Enslaved; Stolen Legacy: The Rebirth of a Nation; Abolition & Emancipation; Complex Triangle; Echoes in the Present; Still We Rise; Expanding Soul; Reimagine the Future; Community.
It is easy for us Brits to look across to the United States and think ‘slavery was a reality over there that had, and still has, a profound impact on their way of life. Whereas over here we can excuse ourselves – slavery was an economic event that had relevance then but is irrelevant now’. Not true! The exhibition made it clear that today’s Britain is very much the offspring of yesterday’s trade. Much of the British Industrial Revolution was financed by the profits of the slave trade; the grand civic buildings of Victorian England were often monuments to the generosity of ship owners and cotton traders. And the black Afro-Caribbean community that has had such a profound effect on the British way of life exists because of the slave trade.
So, there was plenty to talk about when we repaired to the Museum Café for a drink and a chat. A thoroughly interesting and worthwhile event.
Although the globes have now left Greenwich you can still see the beautiful designs online and read about the artists and discover what inspired them here.
Review by Tony Brewer and Helen Warner
