Our next Open Day is 9th September 2023, with a historian in residence, 3 exhibitions and more – so find out more here!
The World Reimagined is based on the principle that in order to move forward, we have to honestly face our past and present. And the reality of our past and present is often incredibly difficult.
The Board of The World Reimagined accepted the invitation from The Rhodes Trust to host an exhibition at Rhodes House after long consideration. We recognise that the name and legacy of Rhodes brings with it pain and a history rooted in extraction and white supremacy.
Yet it is all of our shared history. It happened. And we must face up to it together in order to create a future for racial justice – and that sometimes means taking this conversation to spaces and places that are historically rooted in racial injustice. And so we considered the present-day mission and work of The Rhodes Trust and concluded that they have a sincere and deep commitment to facing our past and transforming the future, demonstrated by the steps they have taken so far and those they have committed to.
Ultimately, if our society is to be able to transform away from white supremacy, the very organisations that have benefited from it must be a part of that transformation.
We hope The World Reimagined exhibition at Rhodes House offers a meaningful space of public dialogue on the urgent question of how we shine an unflinching light on challenging parts of our history, so that together we make racial justice a reality in a way that honours our ancestors.
Everyone at The Rhodes Trust recognises the difficult reality and legacy of our founding. It serves as a daily call to action for us to fulfill our role in the struggle for equity, equality and inclusion of all peoples of diverse backgrounds and identities; to eradicate systemic racism and to confront the legacies of slavery, imperialism and white supremacy.
We cannot reconcile or heal if we do not acknowledge and see. In that spirit, we acknowledge that racism and other forms of exclusion have played a significant role in the history of The Rhodes Trust. While we have substantially changed to move beyond our past, we recognise much more work is required and we are committed to a proactive role in the realisation of racial justice.
We are still in the early stages of this transformation – and one of our first commitments is to become more open. The Rhodes Trust wants to engage the public and use the space it has to host the dialogue and learning that is the catalyst for action. We have invited The World Reimagined to exhibit this curation of sculptures as it asks us to honestly and robustly consider our shared past and present, so we can take action to create a new future for racial equity together. It is a vision of the future to which we are firmly committed.
The World Reimagined is a company limited by guarantee (#1250114) and a registered charity (#115223).
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