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Elsa James: It Should Not Be Forgotten

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Date: 
Saturday, 29 March 2025 to Sunday, 6 July 2025
Opening: 
Sunday, 6 July 2025 - 10:00am to 5:00pm

This bold and unflinching exhibition challenges what we think we know, sparking new conversations about the psychological effects of transatlantic enslavement while honouring the resilience and strength Black communities have historically demonstrated.

“The show explores the rupture, erasure, and fragmentation of histories that shape Black life in the diaspora, inviting moments of understanding, healing, and community connection.”- Elsa James

What to expect

Experience a provocative mix of new work from renowned British African-Caribbean interdisciplinary artist Elsa James in her first major solo exhibition at Firstsite, featuring photography, neon, screen print and sound.

The works confront Britain’s “national amnesia” regarding its role in the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved African people and the colonial legacies that followed, offering a deeply moving and immersive experience.

Discover large-scale photographic pieces inspired by Christina Sharpe’s notion of how the slave ship marks and haunts contemporary Black life today.

Through her compelling response to the diaries of an 18th-century British plantation overseer and enslaver, uncover lesser-known facts from the nation’s colonial archives.

 

 

*Image Caption: Elsa James: Living in the Wake of the Lust for Sugar, Film still, London, Sugar & Slavery Gallery, Museum of London Docklands, Image: Andy Delaney 2023.

Telephone: 
01206 713 700
Venue ( Address ): 

Firstsite, Lewis Gardens, High Street,

Colchester, Essex, CO1 1JH

Firstsite , Colchester

 


 

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05/10/2025 to 02/28/2026
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Elsa James: It Should Not Be Forgotten
03/29/2025 to 07/06/2025

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