9 Jan 2026
Looking Back to the Future – Tony Phillips
An online exhibition revisits Tony Phillips’ residency the at Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, where his work not only engages with museum objects and contemporary consumer culture but also interrogates the contested histories of the Benin Bronzes, highlighting the colonial violence behind their looting and the ongoing politics of their disp…
5 Jan 2026
Inhabiting Caribbean light
Professor Marsha Pearce, British Academy Global Professor at the Fitzwilliam Museum, reflects on her move from the Caribbean to Cambridge. She discusses how museums can become spaces of belonging for Global Majority artists, whose work has long been marginalised in UK collections.Read the full blog on the Collections-Connections-Communities (CCC) w…
3 Dec 2025
African Collections Futures – one year on
This blog reflects on the first year of the African Collections Futures project, highlighting how its research, exhibitions, and community‑focused work have grown beyond the original report to deepen engagement with African collections at Cambridge. Read the full blog on the Collections-Connections-Communities (CCC) website.
1 Dec 2025
To be Black and Argentine
MPhil World History student Eleanor Gaylard sheds new light on the long-overlooked histories of Afro‑Argentines in her compelling piece for Cambridge’s Faculty of History, revealing how Black identity in Argentina has been continually reshaped and obscured over time. Read the story on the Faculty of History website.
18 Nov 2025
Book launch & discussion – The University of Cambridge in the Age of Atlantic Slavery
The Legacies of Enslavement Special Initiative and Cambridge University Press hosted the launch of The University of Cambridge in the Age of Atlantic Slavery by Dr Nicolas Bell-Romero. The event was chaired by Professor Pedro Ramos Pinto, Convenor of the Legacies of Enslavement Special Initiative. Dr Bell-Romero's book was the result of several yea…
18 Nov 2025
Black British Voices: Black British Collections
Cambridge University Library's exciting project sees a community panel research and design the Library’s 2027 exhibition and public programme. Read the full story of the University Library's website.
29 Oct 2025
Celebrating Equiano’s Cambridge connections
Read the blog by by Vicky Avery, Keeper, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, at the Fitzwilliam Museum, on the University of Cambridge Museums Collections in Action website.
29 Oct 2025
Rediscovering Anna Maria Vassa’s grave
Read the blog by by Vicky Avery, Keeper, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, at the Fitzwilliam Museum, on the University of Cambridge Museums Collections in Action website.
15 Oct 2025
Cambridge United collaboration with the Fitzwilliam Museum celebrates Black history in football kit
A pioneering community collaboration between The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge United Football Club, and local charity Romsey Mill has empowered young people to co-design a bespoke football kit that celebrates creativity, heritage, and community voice this Black History Month.Read the story on the main Cambridge University website.
13 Oct 2025
Simón Bolívar Seminar: Manoel Joaquim Ricardo, A Successful Hausa Freedman in Bahia
The Centre of Latin American Studies (CLAS), in collaboration with the Legacies of Enslavement Special Initiative, opened its Michaelmas Term seminar series with a public lecture by Professor João José Reis, Simón Bolívar Professor at CLAS 2025–26. The event was chaired by Dr Adrián Lerner Patrón and brought together students, academics and members…
9 Oct 2025
Searching for My Slave Roots - A conversation with author Malik Al Nasir
As part of Black History Month 2025, St Catharine’s College History Society and the Faculty of Education hosted an evening event to mark the publication of Malik Al Nasir’s new book, Searching for My Slave Roots: From Guyana’s Sugar Plantations to Cambridge (William Collins, 2025). The event was sponsored by the University’s Legacies of Enslavement…
1 Oct 2025
Meet the research network – Q&A with the Decolonising Plant Knowledge
This piece explores the themes and conversations emerging from the Decolonising Plant Knowledge initiative, highlighting how scholars are re‑examining the histories, practices and power structures that have shaped botanical knowledge.Continue reading and explore the full Q&A on the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CR…
24 Sep 2025
Girton College announces the winner of the inaugural William Dusinberre Essay Prize
Read the story on the Girton College website.
28 Aug 2025
Family fortunes founded on slavery: Introducing the Sandbach Tinne Collection
Records unearthed by a Cambridge PhD student expose the kinship and brutality behind one of Britain’s most powerful slave-trading dynasties, as revealed in a new book and digital collection.Read the story on the main Cambridge University website.
30 Apr 2025
Global Professorships 2024 awards: Dr Marsha Pearce at The Fitzwilliam Museum!
Dr Marsha Pearce has been awarded one of the highly competitive British Academy Global Professorships, and will join the Fitzwilliam Museum and the University of Cambridge with her project Trembling Abode: Reimagining the Museum as Home for Global Majority Artists. Read the full story on the Collections Connections Communities website.