A new historical exhibition which aims to spotlight the rich history of 900 black people who lived in Tower Hamlets more than 300 years ago launches tomorrow.
Hundreds of people who lived in Tower Hamlets in the 17th and 18th Centuries have been rediscovered through ground-breaking community research allowing the exhibition to tell their story.
Communities of Liberation is a historical exhibition and creative art project which aims to present and reimagine the lives of black people who lived in the area as early as the Tudor period.
Out of a pool of 905 people discovered by the team, the producers then chose particular individuals to research and represented their lives through audio and visual artworks, including short stories, reimagined interviews, and sketches.
Engagement and Learning Officer of Tower Hamlets Local History Library, Genova Messiah, 34, highlighted the importance of this exhibition for the borough’s residents.
Messiah said: “When I was a kid, I never learned about a black or brown person living in Tower Hamlets.
“For you to see your history in a book that is 300 years old in London makes you think ‘oh my gosh’ my heritage is here as well.”
The team behind the exhibition consists of historical consultants and six producers, all Tower Hamlets residents.
The researchers scoured baptism, marriage, and burial records as well as runaway slave notices, with the earliest record coming from 1567.
Some historical figures whose lives are creatively interpreted include Rose, a 15-year-old servant girl baptised at St Stepney church in 1699, and Pompey, a 25-year-old sailor and trumpet player discovered in a runaway slave notice published in 1721.
Many people found in the records did not have surnames, making it difficult to trace their lineage to the modern world.
Creative consultants helped the producers imagine the lives based on only fragments of evidence.
Producer Nadia Hirsi, 24, said she felt privileged to work on a history that is often obscured.
Hirsi said: “I felt very acutely aware that we are bridging this information gap for people in Tower Hamlets.”
The exhibition is only an early stage of a much larger project, which will include a book based on the research to be launched on 27 March.
There are also plans for a public art memorial to replace the statue of slave-trader Robert Milligan, which was removed from the West India Docks in 2020.
Communities of Liberation will be touring the borough of Tower Hamlets, commencing at the Tower Hamlets Town Hall from tomorrow until March 29.
Picture credit: Tony T
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