The Scott Trust Legacies of Enslavement programme, launched after publishing connections between the founders of the Manchester Guardian and transatlantic slavery, is partnering with the Science and Industry Museum to produce a new exhibition in Manchester in 2027
The Science and Industry Museum tells the story of the ideas and innovations that transformed Manchester into the world’s first industrial city and beyond. Now, a landmark free exhibition and public engagement project will enhance public understanding of how transatlantic slavery shaped the city’s growth.
Featuring new research, it will also explore how the legacies of these histories continue to impact Manchester, the world and lives today.
Produced by the Science and Industry Museum in partnership with The Scott Trust Legacies of Enslavement programme, and developed with African descendant and diaspora communities through local and global collaborations, the project will put the city’s historic connections to enslavement at the heart of a major exhibition at the museum for the first time.
The project will have a collaborative, city-wide events programme and a lasting legacy, with a new permanent schools programme and permanent displays in the future.
The work is part of The Scott Trust Legacies of Enslavement programme, a 10-year restorative justice project launched in 2023.
Through partnerships and community programmes, the project aims to improve public understanding of the impact of transatlantic slavery on the UK’s economic development, and its ongoing legacies for Black communities – with a strong focus on Manchester, the city in which the Guardian was founded.
Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief, Guardian News & Media says: “Many of the Guardian’s 19th century founders profited from transatlantic enslavement, principally through Manchester’s role in the cotton industry.
“A fundamental part of our restorative justice work in response is focused on the region and our aim is to build greater awareness and a deeper understanding of the city’s historical links to transatlantic enslavement.
“This partnership with the Science and Industry Museum will combine knowledge and experience of Manchester with thoughtful collaboration that will be vital to serve the communities most impacted by these lasting legacies.
“We are announcing two years before launch so that we can work with the city’s communities – particularly those of Caribbean and African descent – to shape the exhibition.”
