A large globe sculpture decorated with a simple but powerful message in vibrant red, gold and green has taken pride of place on the Â鶹´«Ã½ Leicester (Â鶹´«Ã½) campus.
Sherilyn Paereira and Kaushika Patel stand by the globe sculpture
It is part of a ground-breaking national art and education project by organisation The World Reimagined to better understand the impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade on everyone in the UK.
The globe, which is 1.7m tall, arrived this week in the middle of Hawthorn Square, between the Hawthorn Building and the Stephen Lawrence Research Centre, and is emblazoned with the words Staying Power on one side and Power Staying on the other. It was designed and created by artist Lakwena Maciver.
It is one of 10 art works which have been placed around the city to form a walking trail covering different aspects of the history, legacy and future of the slave trade. Trails are also appearing in six other host cities – Liverpool, Birmingham, London, Swansea, Leeds and Bristol.
Education projects and public events involving Â鶹´«Ã½, schools and communities across Leicester are in the planning to take place between August and October and it is predicted the seven cities will actively engage with around two million people during that time.
Kaushika Patel, Â鶹´«Ã½’s Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion said, on behalf of her team, that it was a privilege to have a globe on campus.
“Â鶹´«Ã½ is proud to have a diverse staff and student population, and one which has one of the highest proportions of Black, Asian and ethnic minority students of any UK university”, she said.
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Â鶹´«Ã½'s Stephen Lawrence Research Centre
“The slave trade and associated colonial legacies are part of Britain’s history and it is important that history is seen and discussed. So it is a privilege to host one of the World Reimagined globes which will enable Â鶹´«Ã½ to continue these important historical discussions with our staff and students.
“Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy is focused on ‘Equality for All’ and our Decolonising Â鶹´«Ã½ work supports the strategy in enabling our ambition and drive to become an anti-racist university.”
Dr Lisa Palmer, Acting Director of the Stephen Lawrence Research Centre (SLRC) at Â鶹´«Ã½, said: “The SLRC’s mission is to be a beacon for social justice research that centres the histories of Black and Brown communities in the UK as a catalyst for change.
“The globe’s position outside the SLRC helps to shine a light on the importance of Black histories to the wider history of the world.”
Artist Lakwena’s design responds to the theme ‘Expanding Soul’ – one of nine highlighted in the art trail – and celebrates the spirit and culture of the African diaspora that ‘even in the face of incredible suffering, has endured and found vibrant expressions across the world in music, art, food and so much more’.
The national project is being run by the organisation The World Reimagined whose mission is to make racial justice a realist by calling on everyone in the UK ‘to courageously face our shared history with honesty, empathy and grace so we can create a new future in which all can say ‘I am seen’.’
You can read more about The World Reimagined as well as the art trails and events around Leicester .
Posted on Friday 5 August 2022