International Slavery Remembrance Day

Games without wires 

11am-4pm | Rethink Space, National Maritime Museum and the lawns overlooking the park by the Queen's House

Join the Caribbean Social Forum throughout the day for a moment of reflection and conversation, and learn how to play traditional African and Caribbean games. 

Creative workshop: Adinkra foam block printing

11am-4.15pm | Learning Space, National Maritime Museum 

Take part in a family-friendly workshop where you’ll craft your own Adinkra shapes out of foam blocks and print them onto colourful backgrounds. You'll also learn about the meanings behind Adinkra symbols.

Talk: Valuable Lives – Genealogies and Memorialisation in Public Histories of Slavery

12pm-1pm | Great Hall, Queen's House

Hear from researchers Zanté Johnson Hylton and Holly French about Valuable Lives, a project that expands the work conducted by the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery by using the Jamaican Slave Registers to provide more detailed information on enslaved people, communities, and connections.

Making time for Black mental health 

12.30pm-2.30pm | Van de Velde Studio, Queen's House

Meet the team behind Making Time for Black Mental Health in this mindful and creative workshop suitable for all ages.

Creative workshop: Adinkra symbols

1pm-3pm | Atlantic Worlds gallery, National Maritime Museum

If you were to create a coat of arms celebrating your heritage and family history using Adinkra symbols, what would it look like? What values and beliefs would you celebrate? 

Taking inspiration from the patterns created by graphic artist Nadina Ali on display in the Atlantic Worlds gallery, create a coat of arms that represents the values you believe in. 

Echoes of history: short story readings 

1.15pm-2.35pm | Great Hall, Queen’s House 

Listen to stories inspired by the histories of the transatlantic slave trade, written by historian and writer, Stella Dadzie (pictured). The pieces will be brought to life by actor Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. 

The reading will be followed by a Q&A session, exploring the relationship between historical fact and narrative fiction.

Archive workshop: Reimagining histories

2pm-3pm | Caird Library, National Maritime Museum

Participate in an immersive workshop with researcher Dr Nydia A. Swaby and explore how creative expression can expand our understanding of the histories and afterlives of slavery.

Through guided exercises, you will learn how to interpret and integrate archives into our artistic projects, uncovering new narratives and enriching existing knowledge. No prior experience with archival research is required – just a curiosity to explore and a passion for storytelling.

Atlantic Worlds Reimagined tour 

3pm-4pm | Atlantic Worlds gallery, National Maritime Museum 

Join historian, writer and educator, Stella Dadzie, for an exclusive tour of the Atlantic Worlds gallery to hear about the changes that have been made over the past year.

Stella will be joined by artist Joseph Ijoyemi, who will talk about his recently installed artwork in the gallery, and artist Nadina Ali, who led on the graphic design concept for the space.

Singing workshop

3pm-4.15pm | The Governor’s Parlour, Queen’s House

Take part in a vocal session with Ethno Vox choir, and learn lyrics to the songs that will be sung in the Emancipation ceremony.

Creative commission

3.30pm-4pm | Great Hall, Queen’s House

Experience performance art by creative Jahmila Heath, which delves into the histories and afterlives of slavery. This new commission weaves together historical songs, musical samples, and folk songs from pre- and post-colonial history to present-day reggae and dancehall.

Heath's work invites audiences to journey through time, exploring the resilience and strength of Black women whose voices have shaped musical landscapes and cultural narratives.

Emancipation ceremony

4.30pm-5.15pm | Meet in front of the Queen’s House

The day’s commemorations culminate in a procession from the Queen's House to the River Thames. Join us to reflect and scatter petals into the river, before listening to a closing speech.

Please note that the walk is 10-15 minutes long. Royal Museums Greenwich sites will close at 5pm so make sure to take your belongings with you.

Art and intervention at the National Maritime Museum

LIQUID CARBON (2021) is a digitised collage of drawings of water and paintings printed on mirrored aluminium, created by artist Deanio X and commissioned by the National Maritime Museum. It is currently on display in the Museum's Atlantic Worlds gallery.

"The work explores the resilience and resourcefulness of the African diaspora in response to the colonising project of the British empire," explains the artist. "The composite artwork builds upon motifs of blood, culture and memory to evoke a chaotic scene of resistance in the Atlantic Ocean’s middle passage and contemplates how the ripples of history return to meet us in the future."