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by Victoria Avery (Volume Editor), Wanja Kimani (Volume Editor)
Drawing on new research, centring Black voices and perspectives, and celebrating Black Cambridge history, Rise Up focuses on the period from 1750 to 1850, when Britain became the world's first industrialised nation and one of history's largest empires. At the same time, Britain played a central role in the Atlantic slave trade, trafficking more captive African people than any other European power. Millions were forcibly abducted and transported to work on British-owned plantations in the Caribbean and Americas.
In Britain, Black and white anti-slaverygroups and individuals campaigned for abolition. Despite opposition, laws were gradually enacted to abolish the slave trade in 1807, and enslavement in 1833. However, other exploitative systems including apprenticeship and indentured labour took their place. Financial compensation was awarded to former enslavers while the formerly enslaved received nothing. This is the story of the fight to end Atlantic slavery, its aftermath and ongoing legacies. It is told through the stories of individuals from across the Black Atlantic - many silenced or pushed to the margins. It interrogates historic objects and artworks from collections across the University of Cambridge and beyond, in conversation with responses from contemporary artists. Despite the passing of almost two centuries since Britain outlawed slavery, the struggles for autonomy, equality and social justice continue today.Author Biography
Victoria Avery is Keeper of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Fitzwilliam Museum and Professor of European Sculpture at Cambridge University. Her recent publications include Black Atlantic: Power, People, Resistance (2023), Feast & Fast: The Art of Food in Europe, 1500-1800 (2019) and Michelangelo: Sculptor in Bronze (2018).
Wanja Kimani is a visual artist, writer and curator whose research explores diasporic cultural histories and the evolving relationship between the body and the land. She has curated and collaborated on international exhibitions with artists, primarily from East Africa. In 2022, she represented Kenya at the 59th Venice Biennale and is currently pursuing a practice-led PhD at Chelsea College of Arts, UAL.
