I partnered with heritage consultant Ali Bodley to review the learning offer at Wilberforce House in Hull. We were commissioned by the team at Hull Culture and Leisure to help them think through the future of the venue by consulting with local communities, schools and wider stakeholders and developing proposals for how the interpretation and programming at Wilberforce House can better reflect contemporary priorities.

Wilberforce House is the birthplace of Yorkshire MP and prominent abolitionist William Wilberforce, famous for his involvement in the campaign to abolish the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the early 19th century. The museum was refurbished in 2007 to mark the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade and its displays explore the history of slavery, abolition, and the legacy of slavery today. Given the events of the past couple of years, particularly the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement and the increasing focus in the heritage sector on recognising and examining the impact of Empire and colonialism, the time is right for a review of Wilberforce House's interpretation and programming. We wrote a strategy for the future of learning and engagement at Wilberforce House, and Ali commissioned and project managed a suite of films for the venue that foreground the experiences of Black abolitionists and are led by Black activists and academics. 

This was a challenging but fascinating project for both of us. Together we have a lot of experience of working with sensitive histories and consulting on difficult and emotionally challenging subjects, including the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Holocaust. We were not surprised by the level of emotion, and often anger, that we encountered but it has made us both reflect on how well placed the museum sector as a whole is to address these subjects, particularly given the lack of diversity in the sector workforce (as white women we're both very aware of our own position in relation to these issues). We hope that our work with Hull will give them greater insight and a strong foundation to move forward, and welcome the launch of the Transatlantic Slavery and Legacies in Museums Forum co-ordinated by National Museums Liverpool. There was a lot of museum activity around the 2007 bicentenary that was not sustained, and I hope the sector can learn the lessons of this in time for the bicentenary of the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act in a decade's time.