Events

There are a broad range of events taking place in Scotland and throughout the UK in 2007 to mark the Bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade. Click on a heading below to jump down to more information about a particular event:

Aberdeen City Council
BBC
Capoeira
City of Edinburgh Council
Community Knitting Installation
Curation of Aberdeen and the Slave Trade Exhibitions
Film-making/Graphic Novel Workshops
'Indian Peter' Storytelling
Kidnapped
Maritime Woodcarving
National Trust for Scotland
Day Conference at Pollok House
The Search for Scipio Kennedy's Home

Aberdeen City Council
Aberdeen City Council Arts Development Team are running a number of events and activities to mark the Bicentenary with a larger project named 'Our Stories of Slavery: Aberdeen, Africa and the Americas'. For more information please contact WhiteSpace (01224) 523640.

BBC
Among many other things, the BBC are producing two 20 minute programmes about the abolition of the slave trade for schools. There will be a supporting website which will go online in May. See www.bbc.co.uk/abolition for further details.

Capoeira
Learn the history, movements, techniques, music and tradition of Capoeira, a Brazilian martial art of Nigerian origin, created by enslaved Africans during the 16th Century. Workshops will be lead by a professional Capoeira dancer and run by citymoves dancespace.

Saturday 21 July: 11am - 1pm; 8-12 year olds; 2pm - 4pm; children 12-16 year olds

Sunday 22 July: 11am - 3pm; 16 years and over; citymoves dancespace

City of Edinburgh Council
The City of Edinburgh have commissioned a plaque to commemorate Harriet Tubman. They plan to hold a launch event for the plaque.

See www.cac.org.uk

Community Knitting Installation
The knitting is a forum for debate and discussion around a range of issues. The knitting project will provide an informal learning environment where groups and individuals will be able to learn about Aberdeen and slavery. Participants will create a striking, contemplative and thought provoking installation in textiles, a medium traditionally associated with the slave trade. The installation will be an emotional response informed by factual information.

May until August

Curation of Aberdeen and the Slave Trade Exhibitions
Groups of older people will have the opportunity to curate a series of small exhibitions in libraries across the city on the theme of 'Aberdeen and the Slave Trade'. Working with Montgomery Development Education Centre, the participants will use information from the project researcher and utilise Aberdeen City and University of Aberdeen archives to scrutinise and respond to their findings in an imaginative and creative way.

Film-making/Graphic Novel Workshops
These workshops are for young people who will have the opportunity to work alongside keepers, curators and artists using film to research and illustrate collections at Aberdeen City Council and University of Aberdeen relating to slavery. Fairtrade Aberdeen will inform the workshops, giving the participants the opportunity look at how trading fairly can lift the world’s poorest nations out of poverty.

19 May until 7 July

'Indian Peter' Storytelling
The Arts Development team will be collaborating with The Scottish Storytelling Centre and professional artists to introduce the story of Peter Williamson in an informative and accessible way. These exciting storytelling sessions will be contemporary and engaging, whilst highlighting the exploitation of children in his time and the present day. The sessions will be aimed at children and their parents, and encompass public and community groups of all ages.

23 July to 3 August

Kidnapped
A lively and dynamic re-enactment set in and around the Tolbooth Museum. Two chances to learn all about the hidden history of Aberdeen in the 18th century when the magistrates kidnapped children from the city and sold them off as indentured servants in America. Meet the kidnappers and the children and get a chance to participate in the later trial of one of the children, Peter Williamson, who returned to Aberdeen and wrote a book about his experiences.

Saturday 16 June and Saturday 15 September

Maritime Woodcarving
Take part in the ancient craft of woodcarving in this exciting workshop, which will begin by looking at resources held in Aberdeen Maritime Museum archives, and allow you to work with a wood carver in response to your findings. The finished piece will be on view at Aberdeen Maritime Museum as commemoration of the atrocities of the tranatlantic slave trade.

6 – 10 August

National Trust for Scotland
The NTS has released the following information sheets outlining commemorative events taking place involving the National Trust:

This is Our Story (PDF, 951Kb)
Remembering David Livingston and the East Coast Slave Trade (PDF, 544Kb)

If you need more information, contact Karen Carruthes at the David Livingstone Centre.

Email: kcarruthers@nts.org.uk. Tel: 0844 493 2207

Day Conference at Pollok House

There will be a Day Conference at Pollok House in Glasgow on Scotland and the Slave Trade, with particular reference to the west of Scotland.

Saturday 27 October (Black History Month)

For further information, please contact Derek Alexander, Archaeologist, NTS, on 0141 616 5120 or Debbie Jackson, Education Officer, NTS, on 0141 616 5117.

The Search for Scipio Kennedy's Home
An excavation will take place at Culzean Country Park, Ayrshire, in search of the home of the freed slave Scipio Kennedy. Scipio Kennedy lived with the Kennedy family at Culzean during the 1700s, first as a slave and then as a paid servant. He married and had a family. An estate map indicates that he had his own home in the castle grounds - the excavation will search for evidence of this home. Visitors to the country park are welcome to watch the excavation and ask questions!

The excavation is part of the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) funded project 'This is Our Story', commemorating the Abolition of the British Slave Trade. The excavation will take place 10 - 16 September during Scottish Archaeology Month.

For more information, contact: Derek Alexander, Archaeologist, NTS on 0141 616 5120.

There will also be a travelling display about Scotland and the Slave Trade, plus a display about archaeology and Scipio Kennedy at Culzean, at the same time. Entry to Culzean Country Park is free for NTS and NT members. There is a charge for non-members. All visitors are welcome.