conference From Cane Field to Tea Cup: the Impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade on Art and Design Friday 23 & Saturday 24 February 2007 Lecture Theatre, 10.30–17.00 This international conference marks the bicentenary commemoration of the 1807 Parliamentary bill which outlawed British slave trading Rarely are the realities that link Western design and the decorative arts to the Transatlantic slave trade openly addressed Museum collections not featuring African collections often maintain a misleading distance from engagement with the complex histories of slavery This conference aims to examine and recontextualise the links between the Transatlantic slave trade and the production and collection of such objects of material culture as domestic and decorative artefacts The focus of the conference will mirror the V&A collections – including furniture, ceramics, textiles, metalware, architecture and works on paper The bicentenary is being recognised through a three-pronged approach at the V&A The academic conference seeks to explore the latest original research in the subject area whilst trails throughout the permanent collections will highlight the V&A’s own relevant holdings To underscore the continued impact of the trade in human beings, visitors will also discover interventions of new commissions and contemporary artworks throughout the V&A’s public spaces in the exhibition ‘Uncomfortable Truths’ This conference will benefit historians of art, design and the social sciences, cultural geographers, museum professionals, and members of heritage bodies as well as students, educators and artists PROGRAMME Day One 10.30 Welcome to the V&A 10.35 Museums and Collecting Chair: Zoe Whitley, V&A 10.40 ‘It’s Part of My DNA’: the Embedded Life of the 11.20 12.00 12.40 13.00 14.00 14.05 14.45 15.30 15.55 16.3517.00 Slave Ship Icon Keynote address: Professor Cheryl Finley, Cornell University Silver Service Slavery: the Black presence in the British home Helen Mears, V&A Re-interpreting the Collection: the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries at the V&A Anne-Marie Eze, Courtauld Institute of Art & British Library Panel discussion Chair: Zoe Whitley Lunch Opportunity to experience ‘Uncomfortable Truths’ and ‘Traces of the Trade’ Methodological and geographic approaches to the West Indies Chair: Geoff Quilley, Curator of Maritime Art, NMM Art and Emancipation in Jamaica: Isaac Mendes Belisario’s ‘Cries of Kingston’ Gillian Forrester, Yale Center for British Art The Other Way: European Influences in the Ceramics of the Diaspora Thomas C Loftfield, Barbados Museum and Historical Society Tea Visual culture of the plantation Tim Barringer, Yale Center for British Art (To be read by Geoff Quilley) Panel discussion Chair: Geoff Quilley Day Two 10.30 10.35 10.40 11.20 12.00 12.40 13.00 14.00 14.05 14.45 15.30 15.55 16.35 17.00 Welcome to the V&A Britain and nationalism Chair: James Walvin, Centre for 18th century Studies, University of York The Representation of Slavery Marcus Wood, Sussex University Collective meanings: slave-grown cotton, economic growth and cultural investment in industrial Manchester Emma Poulter, Manchester University ‘A true report’: Gabriel Bray’s drawings of the Guinea coast, NMM Geoff Quilley, National Maritime Museum Panel discussion Chair: James Walvin Lunch Opportunity to experience ‘Uncomfortable Truths’ and ‘Traces of the Trade’ 19th century design by slaves Chair Ulrich Lehmann, V&A/RCA Victims of fashion: French woodblock prints and textiles for the African market Christina Shannon, V&A Pierre Dutreuil Barjon vs His Creditors: the Story of a St Domingue Émigré Cabinetmaker in New Orleans Cybele Gontar, Metropolitan Museum of Art Tea Dark Saturnalia: A Consideration of African Dancing in the New World, 1700-1850 Debra Jackson – Metropolitan Museum of Art Panel discussion Chair: Ulrich Lehmann Close TICKET PRICES £52 for one day (including V&A Members and Patrons) Concessions: £44 senior citizens; £20 disabled people, ES40 holders and students Two days: £100/£88/£36 Ticket price includes morning coffee, lunch and afternoon tea BOOKING INFORMATION Online: www.vam.ac.uk By phone: Credit card bookings can be made on 020 7942 2211 between 10.00 and 17.30 By post: Credit card details or cheques payable to Victoria & Albert Museum should be sent to: Bookings Office, V&A, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL We regret we are unable to invoice you or accept official orders Concessions Please note that proof of status (such as a valid student card, ES40 card etc.) must be provided when booking to obtain concessionary rates If booking by post, a photocopy is acceptable We reserve the right to limit concessionary places Cancellations Cancellations must be made at least two weeks before any event to obtain a refund All cancellations are subject to a 10% cancellation fee Access The building does not have full independent access, however please let us know if you have any disability and we will make every effort to facilitate your visit The Lecture Theatre has an induction loop Carers/Teachers One carer accompanying a disabled person, or one teacher accompanying a group of ten or more students, will be admitted free of charge Tickets Tickets for the conference are available for sale in the V&A on the day of the event from the admissions desks, however advance booking is recommended VAT Education services are provided by The Victoria and Albert Museum as an agent on behalf of V&A Enterprises Ltd All fees are inclusive of VAT The V&A reserves the right to alter the programme at short notice [credit] Wedgwood slave medallion by Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, Ltd, c 1787 ... Credit card details or cheques payable to Victoria & Albert Museum should be sent to: Bookings Office, V&A, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL We regret we are unable to invoice you or accept official... Whitley Lunch Opportunity to experience ‘Uncomfortable Truths’ and ‘Traces of the Trade’ Methodological and geographic approaches to the West Indies Chair: Geoff Quilley, Curator of Maritime Art,... card, ES40 card etc.) must be provided when booking to obtain concessionary rates If booking by post, a photocopy is acceptable We reserve the right to limit concessionary places Cancellations Cancellations