glasgow slavery museum

If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please contact the editor here. We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments. In his role as curator, legacies of slavery and empire, Miles Greenwood will work with colleagues to create new displays demonstrating how enslaved labour is “woven into the city’s physical environment and material culture”. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. “This is when Glasgow really takes over the global trade, hence the city’s colonial history is synonymous with tobacco and the tobacco lords,” he explains. Hayman also suggested a statue or memorial to the victims of slavery should also erected in Glasgow. The university won praise for admitting it had “received significant financial support from people whose wealth at least in part derived from slavery in the 18th and 19th centuries”. I have visited the International Slavery Museum in the Maritime Museum at Liverpool, and I understand that Bristol’s Museum marks the city’s major role in the slave trade. Much of the Egyptian Halls has been empty for 40 years. Earlier this year, Glasgow Life appointed its first curator to look specifically at the legacies of slavery and the British Empire. Glasgow Life, which manages 11 museum sites, has appointed a curator to focus on the city’s links to the slave trade.. Designed by Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson, the A-listed warehouse building has been empty for decades and the list of major repairs has long-threatened its future. The Museum of Modern Art is expected to be the venue – the building was originally the mansion of sugar baron William Cunningham. Now it has been earmarked as a site for a possible museum of slavery following an architecture competition and public vote. They hold about 1.6 million objects including over 60,000 art works, over 200,000 items in the human history collections, over 21,000 items relating to transport and technology, and over 585,000 natural history specimens. Free entry. Thursday, April 12, 2018 at 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM UTC+01. pin. Much of the Egyptian Halls has been empty for 40 years GLASGOW’S at-risk Egyptian Halls should become Scotland’s museum of slavery, according to a public vote. Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. Free entry. The process predates current calls for a radical rethink of our public statues, museum collections and street names as the global Black Lives Matter movement forces a new focus on both contemporary and historical wrongs, including the slave trade. The campaign for Scotland to make amends for the past has gained added impetus following the decision by Glasgow University to publish a report into its own historic links to the slave trade. Glasgow's slavery links revealed by interactive walking tour, September 2020, News, Architecture and the built environment is an integral part of our society and we hope to provide a useful platform for debate, information and inspiration. This statue of Scottish engineer James Watt (1736 - 1819) was given to The Hunterian by Watt’s son in 1833. Signing ceremony. He added: “When we walk around Glasgow, not so far from Union Street, we can see many remnants of Glasgow’s grisly slave-related history: the Merchant City, Virginia Street and Jamaica Street to name but a few. A NATIONAL museum dedicated to illuminating colonialism, imperialism and slavery while supporting the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement could be developed in Glasgow. The Scottish Government can say as a nation that we are deeply sorry for the horror we created 200 years ago – there is nothing wrong in saying sorry.". If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO here. But much of it has been empty for 40 years and the building has suffered serious damage and decay. ©Copyright 2001-2021. He argues the Sugar Shed is the ideal location for a national "museum of human rights", highlighting not just slavery but also other historical injustices such as the Highland Clearances. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. Many streets in Glasgow's city centre are named after businessmen involved in the slave trade. The gallery – known as GoMA – was once the home of William Cunninghame, who made a fortune in the 18th century from the slave trade and tobacco plantations in Virginia. And the building has been put to a similar use before. 0141 276 0788. In Glasgow we have large signs marking our Merchant City, but nary a word about what these merchants traded. The five-storey building, which dates from the 1870s, is one of the last remaining structures by … clock. GLASGOW’S at-risk Egyptian Halls should become Scotland’s museum of slavery, according to a public vote. Glasgow councillor Graham Campbell has previously said a museum could be opened in the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) due to its links to the slave trade. Most famous is the painting by American artist James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), in which the so-called ‘Sage of Chelsea’ is depicted as a … We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. Currently GoMA is home to collections of contemporary art. Our latest 'Legacies of Slavery in Glasgow Museums and Collections' blog post examines the letters from Tobago sent by Scottish merchant John Foreman in the late 1700s. GLASGOW is on the brink of marking its role in the slave trade with a major commemoration of its past. Speaking in the new documentary, produced by actor and director David Hayman, Moxam said the Scottish Government “ought to be aware ... that if it were to go the route of independence then I would expect that Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean would make a direct appeal for reparations formally to Scotland, to the independent Scottish government”. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local community. Glasgow City Council “are poised to announce” plans to set up a museum about Glasgow’s links with the slave trade. As well as a museum of slavery, campaigners want plaques erected at statues and on streets connected to slavery. Today Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS) welcomes Sir Geoff Palmer, OBE, as chair of a new independent steering group that will recommend how Scotland’s existing and future museum collections can better recognise and represent a more accurate portrayal of Scotland’s colonial and slavery history. Graham Campbell, an SNP councillor in Glasgow who is descended from slaves in Jamaica, is one of the leading voices campaigning for Scotland to make amends for its past role, and for the establishment of a museum of slavery. Castle Street, Glasgow, G4 0RB. Miles Greenwood Glasgow Life Glasgow Life, which manages 11 museum sites, has appointed a curator to focus on the city’s links to the slave trade. Castle Street, Glasgow, G4 0RH. Campaigners want to see Scotland apologise for its role in the slave trade, and for there to be some form of reparations to counties such as Sierra Leone, from where many slaves were taken, and Jamaica where many captives were sent to work. It is understood that the council is on the cusp of taking action. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. James Watt, Statues and Slavery. Now the organisers of the contest, the Alexander Thomson Society, say public interest in the matter means they cannot wait any longer. Source: The International Slavery Museum. He said the museum should be at GoMA given the building’s past links to the trade. They are managed by Glasgow Life. A Gannett Company. St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art. Chosen by Jules Koch, Museum Studies postgraduate student, University of Glasgow. The ramping up of the campaign for some form of "reparative justice" from Scotland came as one of Jamaica’s leading voices, the journalist and broadcaster Earl Moxam, warned that Jamaica and other Caribbean nations would likely seek reparation from Scotland in the event of independence. Picture: Colin Mearns/The Herald . Glasgow Museums Resource Centre (GMRC) Free entry. This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. The proposal was made by Gavin Fraser of Polmont, who said the halls “represent a culture and a period in history synonymous with slavery and its profits”. North Street, G3 7DN Glasgow, UK. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . Zandra Yeaman, of the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER), said: “It’s particularly heartening to know that the hundreds of people who took part in the public vote also support this initiative. Get involved with the news in your community, This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Editors' Code of Practice. "That is the obvious place," he said, adding: "The city must make a gesture.". Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. Council leader Susan Aitken said they were poised to make an announcement in the near future about a "comprehensive piece of work" that would be regarded as a "brave thing to have undertaken.". In August, Glasgow University signed a memorandum with the University of the West Indies agreeing to spend £20m in reparations after research found the city had benefited from slavery to … “This A-listed building has now been vacant for 40 years and was recently listed as one of the 14 most endangered cultural sites in Europe.”. That was an English thing. 0141 276 1625. Glasgow Museums is the group of museums and galleries owned by the City of Glasgow, Scotland. As seen by his signature on this guinea bank note in Glasgow Museums’ collection John Robertson was the Cashier for the Glasgow Arms Banking Office in 1778. The Glasgow Arms Bank was originally established as Cochran Murdoch & Co. in 1750, changing to Speirs, Murdoch & Co in 1763. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? 0141 276 1625. Any move to open a permanent or temporary exhibition would involve facing the role the slave trade had in the development of Glasgow, particularly the Merchant City. “But beyond this contextual reference to slavery, we see the remnants of its lucrative life within Glasgow’s fine buildings from the 19th century ... with nothing to commemorate or recognise this history.”. The five-storey building, which dates from the 1870s, is one of the last remaining structures by celebrated architect Alexander “Greek” Thomson. AN INDEPENDENT research group is being set up by the Scottish Government to investigate the potential development of a museum highlighting Glasgow’s connection to slavery. Provand's Lordship. “The building started off life as the home of the Egyptian Halls Fancy Bazaar Company, which was an emporium styled on the Egyptian Halls in London, and included exhibition space, lecture and performance spaces, a restaurant and market. The Mitchell Library. Museum of Slavery proposal wins Egyptian Halls public vote Published 15 June 2020 A proposal to turn Glasgow’s Egyptian Halls into a Museum of Slavery has won a public vote. This follows campaigns to raise awareness of the issue led by the likes of MSP Graham Campbell, who himself is descended from enslaved people in Jamaica. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local community. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please contact the editor here. Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art (Goma) is one of the sites run by Glasgow Life Scotland’s Programme for Government, published earlier this week, has announced that the government will sponsor an independent expert group to recommend how the country's existing and future museum collections can better recognise and represent a more accurate portrayal of Scotland's colonial and slavery history. Glasgow Green, Templeton Street, Glasgow, G40 1AT. GLASGOW, Scotland — In Scotland, a history of slave trading hides in plain sight. 'Slavery and Glasgow' displays selected highlights of an exhibition about Glasgow's connections with slavery and the abolition of slavery, and was launched to coincide with Black History Month, 2002. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. Demonstrators take a knee for George Floyd during a Refugees Welcome and Black Lives Matter protest rally in Glasgow organised by Stand Up To Racism Scotland. Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. This artwork depicts the Foulis Academy of the Fine Arts, established in 1754 within the University of Glasgow buildings on the High Street. “CRER has been campaigning for this for over a decade now, and even the Scottish Parliament have now shown their support. Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. Glasgow, we were told at school, became rich on the tobacco trade. Glasgow Museums has a number of portraits of the Scottish historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881). Zandra Yeaman of the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER), which is also campaigning for a museum of slavery, said there was a “growing recognition of the need to represent the realities of empire, colonialism, slavery and migration within mainstream heritage and history”. Slavery? Campbell also raised the question of whether streets in Glasgow named after merchants involved in the slave trade should be renamed. Across the world in the summer of 2020, statues that seemed permanent and secure are being re-evaluated. Free entry. How many times did I walk along Jamaica Street, and over Jamaica Bridge before I made the connection between Glasgow’s street names and slavery? He is photographed at the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow. People's Palace . For more information on Glasgow Museums visit Glasgow Life museums pages. We think it’s time Scotland had a space to fulfil this need”. But the announcement, which had been set for April, was delayed due to the pandemic. It is understood that the Gallery of Modern Art in the city has been named as a possible site for a new museum commemorating Scotland’s role in the Slave Trade. Published from its offices at 200 Renfield Street Glasgow and printed in Scotland by Newsquest (Herald & Times) a division of Newsquest Media Group Ltd, registered in England & Wales with number 01676637 at Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe HP10 9TY – a Gannett company. 200 Woodhead Road, South Nitshill Industrial Estate, Glasgow, … The privately owned Union Street site, which has spent years under advertising hoardings, has housed retail units, offices, studios and restaurants. An object in the museum’s collection with particular relevance to Glasgow is a stunning painting of ships on the Clyde in 1832 by Robert Salmon. She added that “cities like Liverpool, London and Bristol have found a way to address this through dedicated spaces – museums, archives and learning centres. Its founders were Andrew and Robert Foulis who sought funding from the wealthy merchants of the city to start their school. Miles Greenwood’s remit will be to ensure the city’s museums continue to tell the story of the impact, which is still seen today reflected in society’s inequalities. The campaign for Scotland to acknowledge its role in the slave trade will heat up this week as a new two-part documentary, Slavery: Scotland’s Hidden Shame, begins on BBC 2 on Tuesday night. He also supports the idea of twinning towns and cities in Scotland with places in Africa and the Caribbean where Scots were involved in slavery. Hayman said: "The first thing we have to do is apologise. In the 18th and 19th Centuries Greenock and nearby Port Glasgow were Scotland's gateway to a lucrative in trade in sugar, tobacco, rum - and sometimes humans. Hosted by The Mitchell Library and Glasgow Libraries. However, the Alexander Thomson Society said: “While the building doesn’t have the historic relevance that GOMA does to Glasgow’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, it is still located in the heart of the city, close to the river, and to Jamaica St — so named for the connection between Scotland and Jamaica, the place where the majority of Scottish slavers were based. Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. Glasgow Life, the charity that manages the city’s museums, has appointed Miles Greenwood as its first Curator focussing on the legacies of slavery and empire, to continue to tell the story of the impact the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans and the British Empire has had on Glasgow. Campaign grows for Glasgow museum to mark Scotland's role in slave trade By Nan Spowart Journalist The Glasgow Museum of Modern Art has been earmarked as the perfect spot for a temporary exhibition until a dedicated museum is opened A CAMPAIGN for a Scottish Museum of Empire, Colonialism, Slavery and Migration is gaining momentum. Statues always make an argument. Equalities minister Christina McKelvie said the Scottish Government wants to “consider how we can reflect on Scotland’s role in the slave trade”. Sir Geoff Palmer, OBE, To Chair Empire, Slavery & Scotland’s Museums Steering Group. More than a year ago. Councillor Graham Campbell previously suggested Glasgow’s Museum of Modern Art (GOMA) — once the home of a tobacco and sugar merchant — as a site for such a centre. “We’ve asked the Scottish Government to fund a comprehensive scoping study to begin to make this a reality, and the use of the Egyptian Halls as a potential venue should definitely be explored further.”, Get involved with the news in your community, This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Editors' Code of Practice. Glasgow City Council supports the idea of a museum to slavery – although not a specific location. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO here. Millions died as a result of the slave trade, and it is seen as one of the worst crimes against humanity in history. The gallery – known as GoMA – was once the home of William Cunninghame, who made a fortune in the 18th century from the slave trade and tobacco plantations in Virginia. 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