These Things Matter

These Things Matter: Empire, Exploitation and Everyday Racism is an ambitious and thought-provoking exhibition that explores the ideas and relationships that perpetuated slavery and systems of empire and their long-term impact.

This co-curated exhibition (curated in partnership with the Bodleian Libraries and Oxford-based charity Fusion Arts), presents six examples of colonial material from the Bodleian collections that, in a variety of ways, normalise oppression based on assumed racial superiority. These Things Matter reveals how everyday communications were essential to maintaining the British Empire and the transatlantic slave trade. Discover how maps, letters and even the Bible were edited deliberately to help carry out, and retain support for, the trafficking and trading of African people.

Visit the online gallery

The exhibition features selected artefacts from the Bodleian Libraries' colonial collections, alongside seven contemporary responses from artists selected by the MoC and Fusion Arts: Bunmi Ogunsiji, Grace Lee, Amina Atiq, Dirty Freud, Nilupa Yasmin, Mahdy Abo Bahat and Johannah Latchem.

Among these, and the item that inspired the project, is a shortened version of the King James Bible that was amended to omit key passages that it was thought might incite rebellion. Published in 1807, the Slave Bible had all ‘references to freedom and escape from slavery’ excised, while passages encouraging obedience and submission were emphasized. It was developed so that missionaries could teach a ‘pro-slavery version’ of Christianity to enslaved people in the Caribbean.

An exhibition born from collaboration and co-creation

With this exhibition, Museum of Colour sought to create a specific response methodology that enabled working with artists and the public in order to shed light on history in new and innovative ways.

Following a process of public workshops, six items were chosen from the collections at the Bodleian Libraries as the basis of These Things Matter.

Artists were commissioned to reflect on the selected exhibits, and to use their creativity to open up perspectives on these historic materials that aimed to reinforce psychological domination. Six artists were each commissioned to respond to a particular chosen item, while a seventh artist responded to the exhibition as a whole.

These Things Matter opened critical dialogues about shaping a more inclusive and participatory way of curating and creating, notably seen in the public workshops which enabled members of the community to choose the final exhibition items from the Bodleian collections.

The exhibition calls the visitor to consider the ways in which our thinking has been framed by those who have come before and how behaviour in the UK is informed by activity far beyond these shores.

In a land that prides itself on civility, These Things Matter.

Developing inclusive processes of creation and curation.

These Things Matter was co-curated by Museum of Colour, People’s Palace Projects, Bodleian Libraries, and Fusion Arts, and used collaborative processes and a partnership approach throughout. Funded by and with thanks to Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

Visiting the online gallery

The online gallery for These Things Matter is a rich and rewarding experience – visitors to the gallery are first invited to take part in a quiz and the gallery’s structure invites the visitor to immerse themselves in the content and allow time to reflect on the material that the artists are presenting and exploring.

A live launch for These Things Matter – November 2022

The These Things Matter exhibition launched at the Bodleian Libraries in November 2022. Hosted by co-curators Samenua Sesher, Founder and Director of the Museum of Colour, and Antony Brewerton, Associate Director for Academic Library Services and Keeper of Collections at the Bodleian Libraries. Guests at the launch listened to poet Amina Atiq reading her powerful response work and shared Caribbean food and conversation. A visitors’ book captured reactions and invited visitors to help come up with a word that could best describe colonial psychological abuse.

These Things Matter - the film

Filmmaker Derrick Kakembo was commissioned to create a short film that captured the impact, learning, and legacy of These Things Matter, and recorded the journey of co-creation and response practice. This film engaged with and explored the perspectives of the three co-curators – Samenua Sesher (Museum of Colour), Madeline Slaven (Bodleian Libraries), and Kieran Cox (Fusion Arts) – and four of the seven artists commissioned. A small screening was held on 12th July at Queen Mary University of London, followed by a Q&A with the co-curators and artist Mahdy abo Bahat. This event was well-received, with audiences eager to know more about and engage with the exhibition and gave voice to how vital this work is to the artists and creatives involved.

https://vimeo.com/video/841682614

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