Wales and Slavery - Touring Exhibition

Mon, 17 Sep 07 15:46:00

 

With at least 12 million people taken across the Atlantic into slavery, the transatlantic slave-trade represents one of the darkest eras of our history. This autumn, to mark the 200th anniversary of the Act which abolished the trade, a thought provoking new exhibition, 'Everywhere in Chains: Wales and Slavery', comes to The National Library of Wales, offering visitors the opportunity to explore Wales's role in the slave trade and the fight against it.

 

The exhibition tells the story of Wales's relationship with slavery, beginning over 2,000 years ago before the arrival of the Romans, through the horrors of the transatlantic slave routes, to the modern world. It is the touring version of a main exhibition, now on display at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea. The exhibition will be on display at The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth from 8 September until 3 November.

 

Andrew Green, Librarian of The National Library of Wales, welcomed the exhibition and said: "The transatlantic slave trade was linked with many aspects of the social, political and economic development of Wales and had an impact on almost everyone. The people of Wales have also been at the forefront of the fight against slavery: lobbying governments, helping escaped slaves and campaigning for human rights. This exhibition looks at both supporters and opposers of the slave trade in Wales and explains the legacies of slavery in modern day music and popular culture. Many of the archives in the exhibition are part of the collections of The National Library and are being exhibited for the first time."

 

The exhibition was officially launched at 4.00pm on Wednesday 12 September at The National Library by Prof Charlotte Williams, author of 'Sugar and Slate'. The book about her upbringing as a black girl in Llandudno in the 1960s was the 2003 winner of the Wales Book of the Year competition.

 

Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Heritage, Rhodri Glyn Thomas said "2007 is a time to reflect on, and learn from, the struggles of the past and to pay tribute to all those who campaigned for abolition. I would encourage people of all ages to take time to visit this exhibition, which also asks important questions about identity, human rights and modern forms of slavery."

 

Three sets of the exhibition will tour Wales until 2009. 'Everywhere in Chains' can also be seen at Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery in Bangor and the Nelson Museum in Monmouth until the end of October.

           

'Everywhere in Chains' has been created through a partnership between Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales with The National Library of Wales, University of Wales, Bangor and CyMAL: Museum Archives and Libraries Wales - part of the Welsh Assembly Government. The touring version of the exhibition has been funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.

 

For more information, please contact:

Siôn Jobbins, NLW Press Officer, 01970 632 902 sij@llgc.org.uk

 

The exhibition is open from 8 September – 3 November 2007.