Split across Liverpool, Bristol and Hull, the landmark 1992–93 exhibition ‘Trophies of Empire’ was initiated by artist Keith Piper and the Bluecoat Gallery, co-organised with Arnolfini and Hull Time Based Arts. The exhibition responded to two interconnected historical issues: first, the connection of each host city to the history of British imperial power and the transatlantic slave trade; and second, the 1992 quincentenary of Christopher Columbus’s colonial ‘discovery’ of the Americas. Gathering together new artistic commissions and live art performances, each element of ‘Trophies of Empire’ was designed to interrogate and challenge the life and legacy of British colonialism.

With the participation of Keith Piper and Bryan Biggs (Bluecoat Gallery), this event brings together artists, academics and people involved in ‘Trophies of Empire’ to look in detail at this far-reaching exhibition. The afternoon will begin with an in-conversation between Piper, Biggs and Louis Hartnoll (Afterall), and is followed by a roundtable led by Research Fellow Dr Anjalie Dalal-Clayton (University of the Arts London). In between the two public discussions, attendees will have the chance to look through a range of materials related to the exhibition held in the Arnolfini Archive.

This event is organised in collaboration with Afterall as part of their Exhibition Histories research and publication project. For more details about this project, please visit Afterall's site: https://www.afterall.org/

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