Reinterpreting and Redisplaying Conflict and Consequences

In November 2024 Glasgow Life Museums made some significant reinterpretation and redisplay changes to the Conflict and Consequences gallery of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Apart from a few changes, the gallery had remained largely unaltered since the refurbishment of Kelvingrove and its reopening in 2006.

Following the launch of the Glasgow City of Empire display in 2023, it was important that work on the reinterpretation of displays and exhibitions within Glasgow Life Museums’ spaces continued. This work aims to ensure displays address and acknowledge the impacts, histories and legacies of British colonialism.

As part of this work the Conflict and Consequences gallery stood out as a key space to redisplay. It displayed some objects that were looted or taken through systems of colonial power and exploitation. These included objects looted as part of colonial battles and wars. Following advice and feedback gained during public consultation and comments from community partners, it was recognised that the display and interpretation of these objects was inappropriate. The interpretation addressed British colonialism and its legacies, but often in a limited way that could have engaged with the realities of Empire and conflict in more detail. The following objects have now been removed from display:

• A Qur’an probably carried into the battlefield by a Muslim Indian soldier in the British imperial army, which was displayed in a way that was not suitable given its religious and spiritual significance.
• A mma’ gwa, an Asante stool looted from the Ashanti capital Kumasi in 1874, following the city’s invasion, looting and ransacking by the British. As the stool was stolen from the Royal Court it almost certainly belonged to Afua Kobi I, the Asante Queen Mother from 1857 to 1884. It is an object of deep spiritual, social and cultural significance and was never made to be displayed in a museum.
• A banner displayed by soldiers from the Mahdist movement fighting in the Battle of Omdurman against British and Egyptian forces, a key battle in the colonisation and invasion of Sudan by the British Empire.

When working on the display, Glasgow Life Museums hosted a consultative session with a range of people from across the third and higher education sectors who have done extensive work on anti-racism and heritage. They included: Mary Osei-Oppong, Chair of the African and Caribbean Women’s Association (ACWA); Dr Rosie Spooner, Lecturer in Information Studies in the School of Humanities, University of Glasgow, and a cultural historian of the British Empire; Zaki El-Salahi, a British-Sudanese community educator and researcher and a James McCune Smith PhD scholar at the University of Glasgow researching ‘The New Black Scots? Community, Identity, and Pan Africanism within the Sudanese diaspora of Scotland’; Amy Rich, Communities and Campaigns Officer at the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER); and Aneel Singh Bhopal, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the West of Scotland Regional Equality Council (WSREC). We are incredibly grateful to them all for their time and support with the project.

The session took place at Kelvingrove early in the development stage of the project and was integral to shaping the reinterpretation of the gallery. Below are some key quotes and comments from the session on both the objects formerly on display and the previous interpretation in the gallery:

‘The effect of showing only images of brutality of Black and Brown people can be dehumanising.’

‘The language is very much placing this in the past, but the Asante people still exist, and this is a contemporary issue for them, in Ghana no one would be able to go near the stool, it would be held in highest respect.’

‘Acknowledgement that Scottish soldiers fought in the Empire is good, but the description is very passive.’

‘Doesn’t address what the objects mean and represent to the peoples they were taken from.’

‘Heavily obscures the realities of colonial violence.’

The gallery refresh features objects that allow us to explore British colonialism and its legacies in different ways. These include a collection of brass figurines designed to imitate abrammuo, Asante gold weights, which became obsolete when the British West African pound replaced the local use of gold dust as currency. The shift to producing imitations of some previously essential tools, such as gold weights, for tourist markets highlights a way colonial capitalism redefined local crafts and cultural practices.

A key focus of the refresh was producing interpretive panels that focus on conflict as an important feature of British and European colonialism and its long-term impact. Alongside these we have added interpretation that highlights histories and legacies of anti-colonial resistance. 

The refresh can now be viewed in the Conflict and Consequences gallery on the top floor of Kelvingrove. The process of working on the project is another example of collaborative approaches that can be taken to better address the legacies of slavery and empire in Glasgow Life Museums. It has demonstrated a way in which existing spaces can be reinterpreted and refreshed to make a significant change in narrative. The lessons learned from the project and the consultation done as part of it will play a key role in shaping other projects moving forward.