RAMM Lates March - Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery

An after-hours night of exploration and entertainment celebrating African culture.

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Join Kwame Bakoji-Hume as he explores the Akan culture of West Africa through songs, story and music, putting artefacts in the museum back into context and re-examining them through the cultures in which they were created. With an unwritten history that stretches back to the rift valley and the very dawn of human life Akan people carry their history in their songs, their stories and their artefacts. This is your chance to explore the history of West African peoples as it has always been shared and enjoy authentic experiences designed to breathe life back into that history.

Take a musical narrative journey around the continent on the evening with DJ John Sealey. His sets will take in folk and dance music from North, West, East and Central Africa with additional Francophone and Lusophone connections.

RAMM curator Sally Ayres will be leading tours around our current exhibition In Plain Sight: Transatlantic slavery and Devon, which investigates aspects of Devon and Exeter’s relationship with the Transatlantic Slave Trade that are all around us, but for some remain ‘hidden in plain sight’. Using RAMM’s collections and the expertise of many contributors, the exhibition aims to shed light on this hidden history.

Acclaimed contemporary artist Joy Gregory will be with us on the evening for an ‘In Conversation’ event with our Contemporary Art curator Lara Goodband. Joy has been commissioned by RAMM to create new artwork, entitled The Sweetest Thing. Gregory’s work responds to the themes of In Plain Sight and draws on her research into RAMM’s archaeological and textile collections.

Leandro Menezes will be presenting Capoeira demonstrations on the evening, a dancelike martial art performed to the accompaniment of call-and-response choral singing and percussive instrumental music. The basic aesthetic elements of Capoeira were brought to Brazil by enslaved people, primarily from west and west-central Africa. These elements were recombined and reinterpreted within the diverse enslaved community of Brazil to create a unique means of self-defence, both driven and disguised—as merely a dance—by its musical accompaniment. Leandro will also be offering the chance for you to have a go yourselves on the evening.

Explore African objects from our collection in the World's Culture gallery and learn about the stories and history of African-American quilts, watching as one is created on the evening. You could also take some time out to be creative as we invite you to make your own African inspired jewellery or decorate and build your own rain sticks.

Or simply relax and catch-up with friends over a drink or a bite to eat. The Museum Café will be open and Bar Nova will be with us to provide all your beverage requirements on the night.

Book your tickets now to be sure not to miss out!