This book will accompany the forthcoming exhibition 'Resistance, Revolution and Reform: Cambridge and the Caribbean in the Age of Abolition' and complements the museum's critically acclaimed first Legacies exhibition catalogue, Black Atlantic: Power, People, Resistance (2023).
Based on new interdisciplinary research, and centering Black voices and perspectives, Resistance, Revolution and Reform focuses geographically from Africa and the Caribbean to Britain, and chronologically on the period from 1750 to 1850. Ambitious in scope, it addresses themes including plantation violence and exploitation, ongoing resistance to enslavement throughout the Black Atlantic, rebellions and revolutions (for example, in Jamaica, Haiti, Barbados and Guyana), and the role of the visual in propagating and enshrining exploitative systems, as well as resistance against them and ongoing campaigns for justice as exemplified by Abolitionism. It considers the Black presence in Georgian Britain with a particular focus on untold stories of people and things with Cambridge/shire connections. In doing so, it considers an impressive range of historic works of art, objects and artefacts, many drawn from the outstanding collections of Cambridge University's museums, libraries and colleges, with contextualization and critique provided by contemporary artworks by Black makers whose practice lies within this field of discourse.
It is envisaged that this new catalogue will be similar in format, design and tone to Black Atlantic, appealing to the same broad audiences - both exhibition visitors and audiences beyond the museum - with its cutting-edge scholarship and accessible and engaging approach.
As in Black Atlantic, the structure and contents will reflect the arrangement of the exhibition. To ensure multi-vocality and diverse perspectives, it will have five thematic essays reflecting the major strands of the show, each by a different author, including the two curator-editors. These will be supplemented by six short contributions ('Artists' Voices') by contemporary makers whose work is being included in the exhibition. The text will be illustrated in full colour throughout, with images of the 160 or so exhibition works alongside comparative pictures, which will provide additional context. Each exhibition work will be accompanied by a 75-word narrative caption and tombstone information.
