Professionally, I do not think genuine community consultation takes place if you talk only to people who already engage with your museum.
With this in mind, my colleagues and I at Hackney Museum set about applying for funding for Abolition 07, an exhibition, drama, and art and schools project. This included community information evenings, as we wanted to find out what people in Hackney felt about the transatlantic slave trade.
Our aim was that Abolition 07 should be unique, as it would reflect Hackney's local history, as well as the histories of Hackney's African and Afro-Caribbean residents. It was new to us to hold open meetings, rather than just talking to community leaders or representatives.
We held three open community information evenings in different venues. I thought we would talk through our ideas for the displays and hear people's opinions on the legacies of the slave trade and whether modern-day slavery should be included.
The discussions were well attended and participants were informed and passionate. It became clear early on that our role was as listeners, taking notes and responding to and absorbing what people had to say.
Sometimes, the people chairing the meeting had to steer the discussion back to the subject, as we had opened a floodgate of feelings. As a result of comments from the first meeting, we employed chair people and used venues outside the museum.
We did make changes to the project as a result of comments from the meetings. We found that resistance by enslaved Africans has often been left out, as has the role of African abolitionists such as Olaudah Equiano. We did not include modern slavery in a prominent way, as it was agreed the transatlantic slave trade is a huge subject itself.
The venues for the meetings, the chair people we employed and the ethnicity of the project team were all commented on. Some of the people who came felt that as a museum, we could not understand the issues of the transatlantic slave trade and slavery, nor should we be instigating an exhibition on this subject. As a result, we felt the voices of the community needed to be heard in the exhibition.
So a documentary was commissioned to allow museum visitors to share in these debates and hear white, African and Afro-Caribbean people speaking about identity, racism, exploitation and the legacies of slavery.
The project team found the meetings challenging and inspiring. It really tightened all our thinking and focused our research. I would not have started a process of genuine dialogue if the project had been set in stone and meaningful changes could not be made.
We think this process, coupled with a community steering group, has resulted in a more innovative exhibition, which has so far attracted extremely positive visitor comment on feedback cards.
It is much easier to work through community groups, especially ones you already know. But sometimes, working with individuals leads to a better outcome if you can be flexible, robust and cope with criticism.
Sophie Perkins is the development manager at Hackney Museum
With this in mind, my colleagues and I at Hackney Museum set about applying for funding for Abolition 07, an exhibition, drama, and art and schools project. This included community information evenings, as we wanted to find out what people in Hackney felt about the transatlantic slave trade.
Our aim was that Abolition 07 should be unique, as it would reflect Hackney's local history, as well as the histories of Hackney's African and Afro-Caribbean residents. It was new to us to hold open meetings, rather than just talking to community leaders or representatives.
We held three open community information evenings in different venues. I thought we would talk through our ideas for the displays and hear people's opinions on the legacies of the slave trade and whether modern-day slavery should be included.
The discussions were well attended and participants were informed and passionate. It became clear early on that our role was as listeners, taking notes and responding to and absorbing what people had to say.
Sometimes, the people chairing the meeting had to steer the discussion back to the subject, as we had opened a floodgate of feelings. As a result of comments from the first meeting, we employed chair people and used venues outside the museum.
We did make changes to the project as a result of comments from the meetings. We found that resistance by enslaved Africans has often been left out, as has the role of African abolitionists such as Olaudah Equiano. We did not include modern slavery in a prominent way, as it was agreed the transatlantic slave trade is a huge subject itself.
The venues for the meetings, the chair people we employed and the ethnicity of the project team were all commented on. Some of the people who came felt that as a museum, we could not understand the issues of the transatlantic slave trade and slavery, nor should we be instigating an exhibition on this subject. As a result, we felt the voices of the community needed to be heard in the exhibition.
So a documentary was commissioned to allow museum visitors to share in these debates and hear white, African and Afro-Caribbean people speaking about identity, racism, exploitation and the legacies of slavery.
The project team found the meetings challenging and inspiring. It really tightened all our thinking and focused our research. I would not have started a process of genuine dialogue if the project had been set in stone and meaningful changes could not be made.
We think this process, coupled with a community steering group, has resulted in a more innovative exhibition, which has so far attracted extremely positive visitor comment on feedback cards.
It is much easier to work through community groups, especially ones you already know. But sometimes, working with individuals leads to a better outcome if you can be flexible, robust and cope with criticism.
Sophie Perkins is the development manager at Hackney Museum
