This Wednesday, March 24, New London Maritime Society - Custom House Maritime Museum brings the Amistad story to the United Nations with an exhibition entitled Amistad: A True Story of Freedom. The exhibit will be at United Nations headquarters in New York City as part of the UN's 2010 Slave Trade Remembrance activities. On view March 22 through April 25, 2010, a formal opening takes place Wednesday evening, March 24, from 6 to 7 PM.
Amistad: A True Story of Freedom--a collection of compelling scrims and panels on the Amistad Revolt depicting various stages of the rebellion and related trial--is one part of a three-part installation assembled by the United Nations' exhibitions team. The second component, African Resistance, is comprised of jpg images from the Schomburg Digital online exhibition on the "Abolition of the Slave Trade: The Forgotten Story", in which pictures and text depict the struggles of enslaved peoples to regain their freedom. The third component, entitled The Haitian Inspiration, is comprised of paintings and pictures submitted by the Caribbean Cultural Center and by Haitian-born artist, Patricia Brintle, depicting images of the Haitian revolution and other forms of resistance to slavery through the projection of cultural identity, expressed through music, dance and oral tradition. The installation is in the South Gallery of the Main Lobby in the United Nations Secretariat Building.
The award-winning exhibition, Amistad: A True Story of Freedom was created by the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS) using resources from the trustees and honorary trustees of the CHS, the Connecticut Humanities Council, and the
Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation, and was displayed in Hartford for twelve years. This spring, the Connecticut Historical Society donated the exhibition to the Custom House Maritime Museum. The month-long installation at the United Nations is a special, celebratory pause between the exhibition's first home, the CHS, and the exhibitions final home, the Custom House Maritime Museum.
The Amistad story is one of world-wide significance. But it also is of importance to Connecticut, where so much of the Amistad story unfolded; and it is of particular significance to the City of New London, where the local abolitionists took that first important step towards setting the African captives free: New London, is the only American port to which the original La Amistad ever sailed, New London is where abolitionists first spoke up in defense of the ship's captives, and New London's U.S. Custom House is where the ship & its cargo eventually were auctioned after the conclusion of the trial.
Following it's month-long installation at the United Nations, Amistad: A True Story of Freedom travels to the Custom House Maritime Museum, in New London, Connecticut, where it will be permanently installed in the museum's Lucille Showalter Gallery. Amistad-related events, in partnership with Amistad America. Inc., Kente Cultural Center, Provenance Gallery, and the City of New London, are planned for May 20 through 22. The opening at the Custom House Maritime Museum, featuring slavery scholar James Walvin, takes place May 20. Watch for details at
www.nlmaritimesociety.org.
