Women weave the past into the present

Exhibition inspired by the role of women in the
Slave Trade and its Abolition to tour the West Midlands

Participant Jackie Brown from Highgate, Birmingham, holding an abolitionist propaganda print An exhibition about Birmingham’s abolitionist women and Black enslaved women who campaigned for the end of slavery, featuring work by 11 Birmingham women is to tour the West Midlands from 13 November 2007 following a successful showing at the city’s celebrated arts centre, The Drum, during October.

‘Interwoven Freedom – Abolitionist Women in Birmingham’ is a collection of textile bags, text panels and an audio documentary created by Sparkbrook African and Caribbean Women’s Development Initiative (SCAWDI) in partnership with English Heritage to commemorate the 2007 Bicentennial of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade Act.

Drawing on the tradition of the abolitionist women who created and distributed workbags filled with anti-slavery manifestos, participants wrote their own manifestos by mixing historical facts with vivid fictional stories and powerful poems. They wove these references from their past and personal histories along with images of slave ships, photographs and Jamaican and Ghanaian flags into workbags made from Fair Trade cotton and African cloth.
 
English Heritage’s Outreach Department worked with SCAWDI to explore slavery and abolition in the city through the project, which gives a voice to the pivotal but often overlooked women in the abolitionist movement. For example, it was women, who in 1833, presented the largest single anti-slavery petition to Parliament.

The women taking part in the project visited archives, exhibitions and historic sites linked to slavery and worked with creative writer Ava Ming and textile artist Karina Thompson. They have interwoven their own personal response to the slave trade with the story of freedom.

Suzanne Carter, Outreach Officer for English Heritage in the West Midlands, said: “This is an exciting and powerful exhibition, which English Heritage and SCAWDI are proud to present. We are working hard to engage with new audiences through creative projects like this one, which promote a sense of place and identity and encourage a greater understanding of our diverse histories.”

The exhibition also features photographs documenting the project by well-known Birmingham based anthropological photographer, Vanley Burke, and is accompanied by interpretive panels, a book and audio commentaries.

‘Interwoven Freedom’ will tour 7 venues in the West Midlands between November 2007 and May 2008. Confirmed tour dates and venues are as follows:

13-28 November 2007
BBC Birmingham
The Mailbox, Birmingham, B1 1XL 
Tel: 0121 567 6767
Open: Mon-Fri 0930-1800, Sat 0930-1700, Sun 1100-1700

30 November - 5 January 2008
Walsall Museum
Lichfield Street, Walsall, WS1 1TR
Tel: 01922 653116
Open: Tues-Fri 10-5, Sat 1000-1600. Closed 24-26 Dec & 1 Jan 08

8 January - 9 February 2008
Orchard Learning Resources Centre
The University of Birmingham, Hamilton Drive, Selly Oak, Birmingham B29 6QW
Tel: 0121 415 8454
Open: Mon-Thurs 0830–2000, Fri 0830-1900, Sat 1000-1800

12-25 February 2008
Afro Caribbean Millennium Centre
339 Dudley Road, Winson Green, Birmingham B18 4HB
Tel: 0121 455 6382
Open daily: 1000-1600

27 February - 26 March 2008
Ludlow Museum Resource Centre
7/9 Parkway, Ludlow, Shropshire SY8 2DF
Tel: 01584 813665
Open daily: 0930-1700, closed Thurs & Sun

1-28 April 2008
Wednesbury Museum & Art Gallery
Holyhead Road, Wednesbury WS10 7DF
Tel: 0121 556 0683
Open Tues-Fri 100-1630, Sat 1400-1430

1-19 May 2008
St Paul’s Church
St Paul’s Square, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham B3 1QZ
Tel: 0121 236 7858
Open Mon-Fri 1015-1615

All details are published on the English Heritage website
www.english-heritage.org.uk/interwovenfreedom

NOTES

English Heritage is the champion of England’s historic environment. It exists to encourage people to understand, value, care for and enjoy the historic environment – both through sites and programmes of education and outreach.

SCAWDI
The Sparkbrook Caribbean and African Women’s Development Initiative (SCAWDI) is a small voluntary organisation founded in October 1997. It was established to equip local black women with the skills to actively engage in neighbourhood renewal and regeneration,

The women who participated in ‘Interwoven Freedom’ are: Jackie Brown, Verona Black (Joy), Annette Campbell, Elsie Hughes, Michelle Hughes, Pam Hughes, Elvia (Sister) Ible, Gwenneth Jones, Varlene McFarlane, Fredericka McFarlane and Barbara Willis-Brown.

ISSUED ON BEHALF OF ENGLISH HERITAGE BY GNN WEST MIDLANDS TEL 0121 352 5514

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