The expansion of Liverpool’s International Slavery Museum (ISM) is part of the Waterfront Transformation Project, a 10-year redevelopment of Liverpool’s historic waterfront.
Paul Reid is head of the International Slavery Museum. He speaks to blooloop about the expansion, and the opportunity it presents to do things differently.
A career in community work
Reid’s career began in youth and community work.
“I was in community work for the London Borough of Lambeth for a good number of years, focusing on work specifically with black young people,” he says.
He always had an interest in community development, so his focus was on young people within the context of their wider community:
“From youth and community work, I moved into democracy and town centre management. I think this is an important next step. In the process, I was the town centre manager for Brixton for a period.”
He also spent a considerable amount of time supporting the third sector from town centre management, working for the London borough of Lambeth, before leaving the local authority and becoming director of the Black Cultural Archives.
“I joined the BCA in 2006, and left in 2019,” he says. “There is direct relevance to the International Slavery Museum, although I would argue that it had all been pointing in this direction. It was about establishing and building upon the work of the serious organisational transformation to create a major heritage destination in Brixton.”
The Black Cultural Archives
Reid and his team raised around 7 million pounds, and transformed a grade two listed Georgian building in the town centre:
“When we launched BCA, thousands of people attended, which was fantastic.”
After he left in 2019, Reid set up a company called Disrupt Space Ltd. This manages artists and, through an events programme, connects them to collectors and people passionate about art. It also represents artists in business transactions and supports them on their creative journey.
Reid joined the International Slavery Museum (ISM), part of National Museums Liverpool, as interim head in 2021. He says:
“ISM would have, no doubt, started through the work of community activists, negotiation with institutes of power, and discussions around how we can raise awareness about the enslavement of Africans and to realise our dreams, at the same time holding onto our integrity and authenticity. There would have been, as with the Black Cultural Archives, this need from the local community to deliver a major institution.”
The International Slavery Museum
The project will, he says, be amazing:
“Immediately next to ISM / Maritime Museum is the Dr Martin Luther King Jr building. Apart from some archive and heritage assets that are located there and a programme of pop-ups, the space is largely vacant.
“We will be moving from the third floor, where we’re based now, to the second floor. A bridge is being built that joins the two buildings, realising this asset as part of the waterfront transformation project. We are in the process of visioning and working it up.”
This will be, he feels, an opportunity to do things differently:
“Far too often, there is this impression that a museum, by right of the fact that it exists, holds the expertise and knowledge, which it then gives it to the people.
“The missed opportunity is what could have been done together. I’m keen to be part of a co-produced museum. I want us to come together and sit around tables to imagine what this could be. I want to plan and build it together, so when we launch the new facility, there are so many more people owning the outcome and celebrating the success.
“Answering questions now on what it’s going to be assumes that we have all the answers.”
Community-led regeneration
ISM will be an exercise in community-led regeneration.
“It is about working with people who have experience and expertise, who are committed to this subject,” he says. “It is for us to gather together to look at the critical questions that we want to address now and going forward.
“Traditionally, museums place an emphasis on putting objects in cases, with a tendency to put everything out on display and in some cases, there’s a book on the wall.”
“Visitors and learners go in, they read, have a look, and then they leave. I’m keen to explore with people the question: what do want of our museum today? We can Google for information about the enslavement of African people. But what experiences and journeys do we want people to have? And when they complete that journey, what are their options for there?
“So, we’re keen to sit with people who have an interest in this. Everyone from heritage professionals through to activists, through to the young person who knows what young people are interested in. I’m keen to get in many circles. I want to set up groups and hear back from people. And I want the outcome of those processes to help shape the project.”
Community will be at the heart of the International Slavery Museum
Community is at the heart of this project. It is important, Reid says, to acknowledge that the very word ‘museum’ can be a problem for some people. There’s a lot of work to do in this regard:
“It means doing things differently,” he explains. “But there is no single answer. For example, we are determined to outreach on this project. Community engagement staff will go into the community. We’ll be mapping our stakeholders, both the stakeholders that we know and the stakeholders that we have no relationships with. This will lead to quite targeted invitations for people to get involved.”
Working with children will be key:
“Are we not building this for the future adults who will reach back, take the baton, and run with it? We need to be speaking to young people. We need to be speaking to them in different settings so that it is not just the high-achieving young people that are going to do well with their lives, but also those young people that are deemed to be hard to reach.”
The importance of collaboration
Collaboration with professionals who work with young people will be important to facilitate the processes behind establishing both what young people want, and what they need.
Reid says: “Lots of young people don’t want to talk about ‘slavery’. I would argue that this is often about how it’s presented. It conjures up pain, anger and maybe embarrassment.”
Significant numbers of young people at first may not want to discuss black history. But with careful facilitation and the selection of heritage items, you can get a completely different response.
“I’ve done work in this area, which can extend into the study of black history. Significant numbers of young people at first may not want to discuss black history. But with careful facilitation and the selection of heritage items, you can get a completely different response.”
International Slavery Museum and BLM
The Black Lives Matter movement has been impactful:
“There is no doubt that Black Lives Matter has made an important contribution. It has helped to set a political environment that is open and willing to listen. Now it is for people to fill the gaps in terms of what those solutions look like. What does doing things differently look like?”
“It’s one thing to put our fist in the air and to go down on a knee in terms of what we don’t want. But what’s the manifesto? What are the demands?
“From ISM’s perspective, we can focus on creating a magnificent museum where we are not just inviting people in to look and to read, but to take part in justice and social change. This is where this particular museum, a museum of conscience, a museum that is ready for a new conversation, can take a lead.”
Evolving museum technology
The possibilities of digital, he feels, are endless:
“Virtual reality, augmented reality, 360-degree experiences, the linking up with other museums through virtual galleries to be able to come to one space and connect with all these different, wonderful resources outside of your immediate environment… Shall we go on?”
You may well imagine a time when the shift towards digital and virtual moves at a pace that might even question physical resources
“That’s where we’re at now. You may well imagine a time – and not wanting to do myself out of a job – when the shift towards digital and virtual moves at a pace that might even question physical resources.
“I’m of a particular generation that likes vinyl records. But technology moves at a pace that makes it difficult to predict the future.”
International Slavery Museum’s mission
In terms of the museum’s mission, Reid says:
“We can talk about ISM’s mission being to raise awareness around Liverpool’s role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. We could finesse that as a statement and leave it there. But I’m also interested in the fact that we are at the International Slavery Museum focused here on co-production.”
“Liverpool is a special, even unique space with regard to this subject, in terms of the transformation to Liverpool through the enslavement of African people and exploitation thereof. We learn so much from Liverpool, as the United Kingdom, as Europe, as the world was transformed through its role and the industrial revolution, et cetera.
“We can see that Liverpool was key and central to this. Liverpool didn’t just take part, but also resisted abolition. It’s a fascinating and difficult history.”
A global focus
However, this subject extends way beyond Liverpool:
“It extends way beyond the United Kingdom, way beyond a focus on the middle passage. trans-Atlantic slavery transformed the world. The world, as we know it today, is based upon a period where millions of people were enslaved and exploited for hundreds of years.”
“There is a lot to do when involved in this subject, and in creating environments where people can feel shame, blame, guilt and anger. To arrive at a point where we can learn, find out more and make a difference.
“We can address issues of today, and we can change things for the future. I want a museum that is relevant with purpose.”
Are collections key?
Rather than focusing on the museum’s collections, Reid says:
“I would ask you to think about things differently. We can confidently talk about our collection. But my vision for ISM is to be finding out much more about what exists in the community. That might be knowledge that exists in the community, or objects, or oral histories; the type of work that engages communities.”
“I want to know what projects have taken place, what we like about the current exhibition, what we don’t like about the current exhibition, what we need to change. I’m interested in how we are going to engage and involve people. Again, it’s coming back to co-production.
“Yes, we can talk about pre-colonial Africa and the middle passage. Of course, we can move on and talk about reparations, art projects, civil rights and black achievement. We can wax lyrical about all of this very relevant work and themes.”
However:
“I am saying very clearly that it’s not necessarily about what heritage assets ISM has but rather about what we have collectively, to learn and to tell stories in our own voice and our own image.”
All images kind courtesy of Liverpool Museums
