Plymouth is central to the story of British colonialism
Artist John Akomfrah was commissioned in 2019 to create a new installation as part of Plymouth’s Mayflower 400 commemorations and the opening of The Box. But the global pandemic made filming impossible and it was agreed that the commission should be delayed.
The Box opened in 2020 and finally, this autumn, we were able to launch Akomfrah's Arcadia, three years later than anticipated. The theme of the work has been reconsidered in light of the impact of the pandemic.
Given the shift in timing, it now reflects wider concerns around colonialism, the ongoing environmental crisis and air-borne diseases.
Akomfrah wasn’t a stranger to Plymouth or south-west England. He had previously made Tropikos, an experimental costume drama set in and around the Tamar Valley, in 2015.
The artist describes Tropikos’ fictional narrative as being about Plymouth and its place at the centre of British maritime history. Indeed, some of the footage from this work has been incorporated into Arcadia.
As part of the production process for Arcadia, Akomfrah and his team spent time looking through the archives at The Box and understanding more about our decolonial narratives.
The commission also involved huge amounts of research in film archives here in the UK and further afield, as well as filming on location in Scotland and the United Arab Emirates.
Plymouth is central to any discussion regarding British colonialism. The city’s journey to understand more about its past, however, may have lagged slightly behind that of other cities in the UK.
The Box is committed to taking a leading role in this work. Three years on from our opening, much has already happened but there is still a great deal more to do. Our current focus involves a rehang of one of our permanent galleries and the recruitment of a global histories producer.
The opportunity to work with Akomfrah and his team at film and television production company Smoking Dogs was hugely exciting and as part of the discussions around the commission it was agreed that one of its editions would become part of The Box collection.
Given the resources involved in such an undertaking, Akomfrah secured additional funding to support the creation of the work.
Arcadia was commissioned by The Box, Plymouth City Council, and co-commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation and Hartwig Art Foundation, Amsterdam. It was generously supported by Polygreen Culture and Art Initiative, Piraeus, Greece; and Arts Council England.
Arcadia will be shown at The Box until 2 June 2024. Initial feedback from audiences has been positive and during its run we will be programming a range of specific events inspired by it.
Akomfrah’s powerful, five-screen projection tackles the issues of colonialism and the climate crisis in no uncertain terms.
Alongside the installation, we’ve created a space in which audiences can engage in more expansive ways with the work.
This includes items from The Box's natural history collection that directly relate to the research for Arcadia and a space of reflection for audiences in which they can listen to an in-depth interview with the artist.
The work has generated debate and discussion on issues of decolonisation among staff and volunteers through a series of internal screenings and training sessions. The film is incredibly rich and layered with lots to unpack for us as an institution as well as for audiences.
Working with an artist of Akomfrah’s profile has been fantastic, although the announcement that he will be representing the UK at the 2024 Venice Biennale has meant that his time has been very precious.
Nonetheless, Arcadia gives local, regional and national audiences an opportunity to see the work of one of our leading UK artists. We’d certainly be supportive of loan requests to show this spectacular work from other venues.
The project has also enabled the team at The Box to consider how our wider work around decolonisation is informed by conversations with artists.
As we grow our engagement with artists and audiences, we continue to feed new ideas into our role as a leading cultural organisation of the 21st century.
Victoria Pomery is the chief executive officer of The Box