The International Slavery Museum (part of National Museums Liverpool) is a national museum dedicated to presenting the history, impact, and ongoing legacies of transatlantic racial slavery.
The Museum officially opened on 23 August 2007, on Slavery Remembrance Day. It developed from a small gallery established in 1994 in the basement of the Merseyside Maritime Museum following years of campaigning by Liverpool’s Black communities and activists. It has since welcomed millions of visitors from around the world.
Its location is significant because of Liverpool’s role in the 18th century as Britain’s main slaving port. Between 1700 and 1807, ships from Liverpool trafficked approximately 1.5 million Africans across the Atlantic Ocean.
The Museum works to increase public understanding of transatlantic racial slavery from the 15th century to the present. Through its exhibitions, collections, research, and co-creation and community engagement, it addresses the lasting impact of slavery on societies on local, national and international levels. It denounces systemic racism and inequality and highlights the continued need to fight for freedom and justice today. Through a community-led model of working, it also focuses on the histories and identities of enslaved people and their descendants, seeking to recover lost voices and acknowledging the voids in archives.
The museum is currently undergoing a large-scale redevelopment. Its content and curatorial vision is being reimagined. It is expected to reopen in 2029 with a new thought-provoking exhibition, inspiring community spaces and an expanded research offer.
The activities and curatorial experiments developed through the AHRC Slavery and its Legacies project will influence the reimagining of the new galleries of the International Slavery Museum.
https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ism-expansion