BRITAIN · PEOPLE · MEMORY
1987—2027
40 years of Black History Month in the UK
EXPLORE THE COLLECTION
Abomey’s palaces preserve histories of craftsmanship, royal authority, women’s political and military service, and the violence of slave trading and colonial conquest. Objects, oral testimony and…
The Kingdom of Benin grew around an Edo royal capital in present-day Nigeria. Its earthworks, court institutions and extraordinary artworks reveal a history of political ambition,…
Around Kumasi, surviving Asante shrine buildings preserve a distinctive architecture of courtyards, earthen walls and symbolic reliefs. Their history connects skilled makers and religious communities with…
Ile-Ife’s sculptures belong to a wider history of workshops, trade, spiritual authority and urban life. Archaeology is revealing the glassmakers and built spaces behind a city…
Black British photography developed through studio work and magazine commissions, close knowledge of neighbourhoods and experiments with landscape. Photographers also collected the objects of everyday life.…