Art Calendar / Art - 12 April 2022 by C. Mauer

The World Reimagined

is a UK based arts education project that aims to highlight the dimensions of the impact of the

transatlantic slave trade in order to realise racial justice.

An interview with the artistic director of the project, Ashley Shaw-Scott Adjaye -

"Art is our greatest unifier".

Yinka Shonibare - The World Reimagined - Globe Render

©Yinka Shonibare

The World Reimagined is a UK arts education project that will see over 100 globe structures installed in seven UK cities from August to October 2022. The sculptures will be created by established as well as undiscovered artists to bring to life the reality and impact of the transatlantic slave trade.

The mission of this project is to show the dimensions of the impact of the transatlantic slave trade in order to realise racial justice.

9 themes will be covered by the Globes from "Mother Africa" and "The Reality of Being Enslaved" to "Still We Rise" and "Expanding Soul". The host cities are Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool City Region, London and Swansea. Participating artists and icons include 2004 Turner Prize nominated artist Yinka Shonibare CBE, as well as Zak Ové, Sir Trevor McDonald, Lakwena Maciver, Maxim (The Prodigy), Nicola Green and Kimathi Donkor.

------

Alethea & Art received an interview from Ashley Shaw Scott Adjaye, Artistic Director of The World Reimagined. She is also the Global Research Director at Adjaye Associates, an award-winning architectural practice, as well as a member of the Prince's Trust International Africa Board.

The idea

4 years ago, English actress Michelle Gayle and Dennis Marcus had the original idea for The World Reimagined. They realised that the Transatlantic Slave Trade is taught differently in the UK. There is no historical mention of the enslaved people, their descendants, the UK's role in the creation of the trade and the legacy of the trade. 

Then in May 2020, when the organisers saw the extraordinary outpouring of global emotion following the murder of George Floyd, they realised that the public wanted to understand the history of slaves and their descendants. They managed to motivate a team to tell not just a "Black story", but a story of all the descendants of enslaved peoples around the world - with a focus on the UK. This became The World Reimagined.

Ashley Shaw-Scott Adjaye spoke to Alethea & Art Magazine about the inception of the project, how far racial justice has come in the UK and what role art and culture should have in our society.

"Art is a crucial part of humanity. It has the extraordinary capacity to transcend the various divisions we have created

language, faith, etc. - and offer us a way to relate to each other. Art is our greatest unifier, our greatest teacher."

Ashley Shaw-Scott Adjaye

Alethea & Art Magazine: How much commitment and what kind of people did it take to get “The World Reimagined" off the ground? Has there ever been such an initiative in the history of the UK?

Ashley Shaw Scott Adjaye: The initial idea for The World Reimagined came about from a conversation four years ago between actress Michelle Gayle and Dennis Marcus. They recognised that the way in which the Transatlantic Slave Trade was taught and understood in the UK, was very different to how it was understood in the African, Caribbean and American countries. And that understanding directly shapes our ability to make racial equality a reality.

In the UK, we celebrate with pride the Trade’s abolition - but the people who were enslaved and their descendants; Britain’s role in the Trade’s creation; and the Trade’s devastating legacy are usually missing from how history is told. This is not ‘Black History’, this is all of our history. Out of this conversation came the idea to address this by creating an arts and educational project which aimed to address these omissions and celebrate the huge contribution the descendants of the enslaved peoples have made across the world - with a focus on the UK. This became The World Reimagined.

Over the next two years Michelle and Dennis brought together a fantastic group of people with an interest in racial justice and whose lived experience and work in a range of professional spheres, set about clarifying the aims and very ambitious scale of the project and sought to raise funds so the project - the biggest of its kind ever in the UK - could become a reality. And now with a team of more than twenty people working on the different artistic, community, learning and heritage strands of the project, it is an incredibly exciting to see those ideas start to come together as more people engage and we get closer to the creation and launch of the Globe Trails in seven cities across the UK. We are also very grateful for the support of our official presenting partner, SKY who are taking this journey with us and with their commitment, ensure it reaches as many people as possible.

Alethea & Art Magazine: “The World Reimagined“ - Journey of Discovery - will explore 9 themes and apply art to a globe. Can you describe the symbolism?

Ashley Shaw Scott Adjaye The Globe Trails will have nine Globes that are inspired by the themes of the Journey of Discovery – from Mother Africa to Reimagining the Future – and a tenth Globe that speaks to the city and its community. They will be created by a range of artists including our Principal Artists with national and international reputations, five commissioned artists from the Caribbean, entrants from our Open Call competition and many other established and emerging artists from across the UK. Each Globe will start as the same blank canvas but all the different creative ideas and energies will inspire and encourage reflection on the trails, with potentially millions of people being able to reconsider and reimagine their understanding of racial justice.

Alethea & Art Magazine: What role should the colonial past be given in British historical consciousness?

Ashley Shaw Scott Adjaye The history of Britain should simply be taught and understood by the public. There is not a certain era or event that should be privileged. We simply need access to information and transparency about how Britain came to be what it is today.

Alethea & Art Magazine: What stage do you think racial justice is at in Britain? 

Lady Ashley Shaw Scott Adjaye: When we first began developing this project it was unclear to us where Britain was on the journey towards racial justice but we believed in offering the history no matter how large the audience was. Then in May 2020 when we saw the extraordinary outpouring of emotion after the murder of George Floyd we understood that a significant portion of the public wanted to understand this history.

Alethea & Art Magazine: Did the participating cities have a particular connection to colonial history?

Ashley Shaw Scott Adjaye: All of the host cities have their own relationship to this history. From the actual trade to abolition to the Windrush generation to today, each city has a path that was shaped by this history. It’s an incredible moment for our host cities, who are committed to creating a lasting legacy through this project. Our host cities include: Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool City Region, London, Swansea.

Alethea & Art Magazine: Can you articulate what role arts and culture should have in our society?

Ashley Shaw Scott Adjaye: Art is a critical part of humanity. It has the extraordinary capacity to surpass the various divisions we create — language, beliefs, etc — to offer us a way to relate to each other. Art is our greatest unifier, our greatest teacher.

Alethea & Art Magazine: Can you tell us about a particular moment that moved you in the course of your initiative?

Ashley Shaw Scott Adjaye: There have been so many moving and emotional moments in this project and we expect many more as it goes live. However a critical moment was nearly three years ago when we brought the project to Yinka Shonibare CBE. He was the first artist we approached and we asked for his advice on how to express this history through form. He often uses a globe motif in his work that examines race and cultural identity and the complex relationships between Europe and Africa.

When he suggested we use a globe as our form the project crystalised and came into focus. He created the first globe and named it The World Reimagined. This name embodied the spirit of our project and so we named the organisation after Yinka’s piece. We are hugely grateful for Yinka’s belief and support when this project was just an idea. He propelled us forward. 

Alethea & Art Magazine: Thank you very much for the interview.

Find out more:

theworldreimagined.org

The interview was conducted by Claudia Mauer.

10 April 2022

 Art Calendar, 31 March 2022

Tentative Words Change Everything

sculptures by Turner Prize-shortlisted Nathan Coley light up Sussex. The artist exclusively answers some questions about the project to Alethea & Art Magazine.

"You imagine what you wish for"

a slogan chosen by Nathan Coley for our time. 

April 2 to August 29, 2022 - held in the County of Sussex

Read more

Tentative Words Change Everything ©Keith Hunter