The UK’s first decolonised city is reimagined – The Decolonising Memory trial app goes live

One year after the acquittal of the Colston Four – the free, new augmented reality (AR) mobile app has launched in the city to offer the public an opportunity to take a remarkable AR immersive trail for a closer, interactive look at it’s links to the transatlantic slave trade, it’s effect on communities within the city and the expansion of Britain’s colonial rule.

Decolonising Memory is an interactive immersive experience informed by the citizens of Bristol. App users are taken on a journey through the streets of Bristol to explore through AR a reimagined cityscape responding to colonisation through new works of 3D visual art, film, music, spoken word, movement and storytelling. 

Decolonising Memory allows users to see and interact with digital content using the AR application as if they were physically present through the lens of their smartphone. People can simply download the app directly on the phone and head to key locations or ‘sites of memory’ in the city to engage and interact with compelling content revealing a colonial history told from an African-centred perspective. 

The App takes a bold step towards imagining a decolonised city and re-examining several contentious locations and landmarks in Bristol, like the Colston statue and Pero’s Bridge. The immersive experience was designed by The Cultural Assembly in collaboration with former Lord Mayor Cleo Lake, Prof Jessica Moody from the University of Bristol and Bristol Citizens Researching Together. 

Over the course of the last year, a series of events and workshops across the city were designed to facilitate a dialogue of atonement, reconciliation and learning. Led by local experts and community leaders, the events provided an opportunity for local artists, activists and people to come together to engage with these issues in a safe and supportive environment.

Kwesi Johnson said, “This is purpose-driven work, where AR-extended reality and creative technology can present a different view of the city. It became a response to the recent events in Bristol that had been brewing for many years and channels that response into something that everyone can access, and that can make a real impact‘.

Whether you are a lifelong resident or a first-time visitor to Bristol, Decolonising Memory is a must-see for anyone interested in discovering more about Bristol’s heritage from a different perspective. It explores hidden stories within the city’s landscape, inspiring those who take the journey, to engage with the past and present in a more meaningful way.

”We hope the reaction to Decolonising Memory will be a positive one. The immersive journey is an opportunity for the city to promote understanding and equity, through conversation. People can connect, and be resilient as they stand together exploring the streets of Bristol with a new perspective.”

Find out more

August 23rd: College Green Performance, Cathedral Workshops and new Instagram Filter

On August 23rd 2022, we performed our memorial dance on College Green at 6pm outside the ‘Colston Window’ of Bristol Cathedral. Parts of that window have been removed by the Cathedral because of their celebration of Edward Colston. We had a few new people who hadn’t performed the dance before join us, which was wonderful. August 23rd is an important day in the calendar of memory work around enslavement as it is the day designated by UNESCO as the Day of Remembrance of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans and its Abolition. You can read Jessica’s reflections on this as a Memorial Day HERE.

Our performance took place on College Green, which is also an important site of protest and activism in the city of Bristol, and in the week that Bristol Cathedral opened a new exhibition, ‘All God’s Children’ exploring the Cathedral’s connections to histories of enslavement. If you go into the cathedral you can learn about the connections between people commemorated in the building and their connections to this history.

Recording of the performance of the dance
Continue reading “August 23rd: College Green Performance, Cathedral Workshops and new Instagram Filter”

VIDEO TUTORIAL – Learn the dance at home!

In this video tutorial, Latisha Cesar and Cleo Lake take you through the new memorial folk dance created as part of the Decolonising Memory: Digital Bodies in Movement project. The video also has some explanation of the key significance and meaning of the movements which were developed through a series of open workshops held between November 2021 and May 2022.

NEWS! Free Dance Workshop and Mass Dance Performance August 23rd!

Join us at Bristol Cathedral (in the Chapter House) on Tuesday 23rd August for a free dance workshop at either 11am or 12 midday to learn our new memorial dance. Workshops are free and open to all, but spaces are limited in the room so please do reserve your place using the ‘Register’ button below which will take you straight to the Eventbrite sign up to choose a time.

Open to all abilities- please wear comfortable clothing you can move around in, and bring a bottle of water. There are a few small steps to get into the room but ramps can be provided, please let us know if you have any access requirements.

This event is held in conjunction with The World Re-Imagined and is supported by Bristol Cathedral

MASS DANCE @ 6pm!

Whether you’ve attended one of our workshops or not, you are invited to come and join us on College Green at 6pm on Tuesday 23rd August to perform the dance together as an act of memorial. 23rd August is designated by UNESCO as the International Day of Remembrance of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans and its Abolition and by performing this dance together we memorialise, honour and heal together.

Come along and spread the word!

NEWS! Emancipation Celebration at The Bristol Beacon

Join us at the Bristol Beacon, this Saturday 13th August to mark Emancipation Day (1st August). Celebrations will begin at 12 midday and go on until 8pm. There will be lots of great activities including poetry and music, food, fashion and stories! The event is being run as part of the ‘Bridging Histories’ project and members of the Decolonising Memory team will be there to run a special workshop at 6pm where you can learn our memorial dance. We will also be performing the dance here to mark this event.

More information is available on the Bristol Beacon’s website:

https://bristolbeacon.org/whats-on/emancipation-day-celebration/

Emancipation Celebration Poster

Reflections on the workshops

[In this post, one of our project participants, shares some personal reflections on the workshop series of the Decolonising Memory: Digital Bodies in Movement Project which ran from November 2021 to May 2022]

6th November 2021 

Memory and Transatlantic Enslavement

The session today, has made me ponder about memory and its intrinsic fluidity.  As Dr Jessica Moody quoted from Toni Morrison’s, The site of memory. Memory is like “water”, and “emotional memory [is like] ‘flooding’”. These words really resonated with me as memory should be free and ever flowing like “water”, not controlled, distorted, or sanitised. Which is why it is important that we collectively work together to decolonise our thought processes regarding this history. So that our memories of this history are in truth, un-sanitised, reflecting the historical realities of the histories of transatlantic enslavement.

Continue reading “Reflections on the workshops”

NEWS: The World Re-Imagined Community Launch this Friday!

Join members of the Decolonising Memory team at the community launch of The World Re-Imagined project and art event series at St. Paul’s Learning Centre, 12-3pm where we will be teaching the dance! Come along for the workshop and learn the memorial folk dance with us.

The World-Reimagined is a creative project looking at transforming understanding of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans and its impact. The even on Saturday launches a trail of globes around the city. There will be food, drumming and language sessions and it’s free and open to all.

Come along and learn the dance! There will be further opportunities to learn the dance in the next few weeks building to a mass dance performance on Tuesday 23rd August to mark UNESCO Slavery Remembrance Day. Watch this space for more information!

Sign up for The World Re-Imagined launch HERE

Bristol Harbour Festival Performance: Video

On Sunday 17th July 2022, Cleo, Kabbo, Latisha, Penny and Precious delivered the first public performance of the memorial folk dance developed through our workshop series. This was especially poignant as this year was the 50th Bristol Harbour Festival. The dance was performed on the Trinity Centre takeover dance stage, Millennium Square and featured an introduction to the project and forthcoming augmented reality app from Kwesi Johnson, and Cleo Lake also led an explanation of some of the key dance moves and their meaning and a tutorial for the crowd. Thank you so much everyone who came and supported us, and especially everyone who joined in! Watch this space for further tutorials so you can learn the dance for a mass participation event in August…

Video of the performance at Bristol Harbour Festival July 17th 2022

NEWS: Bristol Harbour Festival performance!

Join us at this year’s Bristol Harbour Festival to see the memorial dance created as part of the Decolonising Memory project performed live! We’ll be at the Dance Stage at Millennium Square on Sunday 17th July @ 12.35pm

This will be the first live public performance of the dance which has been developed from research and movement material developed through our 7 workshops held monthly since November. On the day (Sunday 17th July) you will also be able to get a preview of the project app development by going to our Instagram page on your smartphone – @decolonisingmemory_bristol – opening the filter and pointing your camera at the Edward Colston statue plaque where you will be able to see something new!

Rehearsals for the dance at the Victoria Rooms, University of Bristol

Performance listing: https://www.bristolharbourfestival.co.uk/artists/2022/7/16/decolonising-memory-digital-bodies

Full Programme for the Bristol Harbour Festival can be found here: https://www.bristolharbourfestival.co.uk/

BLOG: Dance, history and movement as co-produced research

Reflections on the workshop series. By Jessica Moody (Senior Lecturer in Public History, University of Bristol)

Alas, we have come to the end of our workshop series for the Decolonising Memory: Digital Bodies in Movement project! As this marks the end of the first phase of our project, I thought I’d share some personal reflections on the workshops we held over the last 7 months. We first advertised for participants in October 2021 through this website, social media, press releases, local publications, local radio and word of mouth and held an online information event. Our first workshop was November 6th 2021 and these ran every first Saturday of the month thereafter until May 7th. We held these workshops hybrid (both online and offline) – at the Malcolm X Centre in St Paul’s, and online via zoom for those who couldn’t join in person (with all participants being able to hear and see each other). We also held monthly online ‘mid-point’ meetings on zoom where we carried on the conversations from the workshops and undertook other exercises and activities to develop ideas.

Continue reading “BLOG: Dance, history and movement as co-produced research”