What are statues for? London’s controversial historical figures explored
By News Desk
Should statues memorialising Britain’s colonial past remain, or should they give way to more creative and inspiring ways to reimagine our multiracial history and culture?
This question, and many more, will be discussed as part of Being Human, the UK’s national festival of the humanities.
Goldsmiths, University of London, will host events on the highly contested topic, ‘What Are Statues for?’ including a walking tour, workshop and round table debate at The Albany Arts Centre in Lewisham.
The workshop and tour come after the Government’s recently published guidance on how organisations should decide on the fate of “historic” statues.
The events will be led by Milly Williamson, Senior Lecturer of Media Communications and Cultural Studies. Linked to the event young filmmakers will work with Freddie Osborne, Lecturer in Digital Film and Video at Goldsmiths, University of London to produce a documentary film on the controversial statuary and voice their perspectives.
As the crucible of Britain’s naval dominance, the tour will examine the many symbols of naval power that dominate the public realm, from the Royal Observatory in Greenwich to the Anchor on Deptford High Street, to the statues of Sir Frances Drake, Horatio Nelson and Robert Blake on Deptford Town Hall. A walking tour will take a journey through Lewisham, exploring the meanings of figures connected to the slave trade and colonisation.
A day of creative workshops and a roundtable will probe the history of Britain’s Imperial Statues, including those at Deptford Town Hall.
Speaking in advance of the workshop and tour Dr Williamson said: “A lot of the debate about statues makes the assumption that they naturally occurred like mushrooms in the early dawn, when in fact there was a great deal of intentionality aimed at shaping viewpoints about the present day when they were constructed and constricting possible futures like the end of colonial rule. These workshops aim to end the cosy notions that these statues represent history and instead to ask and answer the more grounded questions that will be essential in deciding their fate.”
Questions the roundtable is set to answer include: ‘How did they come to be memorialised and why?’ ‘How do statues of figures connected to the slave trade and British colonisation symbolise British history and culture?’ ‘Are they part of ‘invented traditions’ of national belonging based on racial domination?’
Both events are free of charge and require advance booking via the Being Human Festival website.
