This Black History Month, International Slavery Museum launches a year-long series of workshops set around themes of transatlantic slavery and its legacies.
The free sessions follow a model of ‘call and response’ to create dynamic and open dialogue. The conversation this inspires will be instrumental in creating a new museum that is relevant to its audiences and effectively represents truth, trauma, and collective memory.
The first call – How do we curate slavery? – which sets the foundation for the rest of the series, will consider the ongoing questions the museum’s multi-disciplinary curatorial team are grappling with while developing new displays. Jean-Francois Manicom, Senior Curator at London Museum Docklands, will be the first guest speaker.
Attendees can answer the call either in person, at 5.30-7.30pm, on 23 October 2025, at University of Liverpool (Rendall Building, Lecture Theatre 8), or online.
Book tickets here.
From the griots along Africa’s Atlantic coast, to Oromo protests in Ethiopia or gwijo songs down on the Cape, music is at the heart of cultural life across Sub-Saharan Africa. And where there is music on the continent, be it for worship, for celebration, or for storytelling, the audience are actively invited to participate. The lead singer asks questions throughout their song, and the audience answers. This is call and response, and the spirit of exchange and empowerment which the museum’s sessions aim to evoke.
Miles Greenwood, Lead Curator of Transatlantic Slavery and Legacies, said: “The system of transatlantic slavery saw millions of Africans ripped from their homes and forcibly displaced halfway around the world. For hundreds of years, the songs enslaved people sang on plantations across the Americas raised the call, and those that toiled alongside the singer responded.
“Practices such as call and response were elements of tradition, identity and resistance that could not be stolen, and it is hard to imagine a more appropriate method to collectively work towards a new future for International Slavery Museum.”
The next three calls in the series:
- How do we represent the violence of maritime history? An in-person event at the Royal Albert Dock and Museum of Liverpool, Saturday 24 January 2026, 11am–3pm, with lunch provided (available to book from 13 December)
- How do we remember slavery through movement? An in-person event at the Black-E arts and community centre, Thursday 23 April 2026, 5–8pm, with dinner provided (available to book from 12 March 2026)
- How has slavery harmed the climate? An online event, Thursday 9 July 2026, 5.30–7.30pm (available to book from 26 May 2026)
International Slavery Museum and Maritime Museum are now closed as part of major redevelopment works which will create new and improved galleries and revitalised displays.
Both museums are due to reopen in 2029
Find out more: Waterfront Transformation Project.