Sankofa - the Globe of Freedom

Sankofa is part of the museumaker project in the East Midlands. The project brings together designer makers with museum inspiration, and in this case, young people to help develop the eventual design.In the case of Sankofa, which means looking back to go forward in western Africa languages, the piece took the Wedgwood slavery medallion as its inspiration and explored how black people are depicted in art and culture from across the ages.

The maker, Katherine Morling, worked with a group of Nottingham young people over six months to develop 'The Globe of Freedom', a new work depicting a globe with two manacled fists coming out of its sides. The work will be acquisitioned into Nottingham Castle's collection and helps to mark the bicentenary of the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

The new piece, Globe of Freedom, uses Wedgwood’s famous black jasper and provided an opportunity for the young people to explore the issues surrounding slavery, the representation of black people in art and learn about historic and contemporary black heroes and heroines.

Globe of Freedom was fired at the Wedgwood factory in Staffordshire and will be on public display in Nottingham Castle from the 28 September to 8 November 2007.

For more information about museumaker visit the museumaker page on the MLA East Midlands website.