Our centre seeks to foster the broad range of research currently being done in the Faculty of Arts around the artistic and intellectual work of people of African descent.
We aim to create an international hub for Black Humanities research in the heart of Bristol. Current interdisciplinary projects include work on Black Health and the Humanities, Black British Art, African small magazines, UK Hip-Hop, ethics and social justice, slavery and its legacies, and race and genetics in contemporary fiction.
We are committed to reaching audiences outside the traditional university through a diverse programme of film screenings, reading groups, performances and research collaborations with local communities. Such activities enable our research to generate impact in other areas including the cultural industries and higher education policy.
Our Priorities
- Collaboration: The Centre works with academics, artists and practitioners nationally and internationally, to produce world-leading research in Black humanities.
- Interdisciplinarity: We work across disciplines in the arts and humanities but also beyond, with researchers in the sciences and social sciences.
- Engagement: Centre members facilitate a wide range of public engagement activities based on our research in local, national and international settings, working with museums, charities and other organisations to deliver high quality non-academic outputs.
- Exchange: Centre members have active research partnerships with local writers, artists and grassroots organizations in Bristol. These collaborations help create high-profile opportunities for mutual exchange and collaboration on issues of local and national importance.
- International: Centre members have academic and creative partners in Uganda, Ghana, Senegal, Angola, Portugal, Brazil, and the US, amongst others.
Image: Lubaina Himid Venetian Maps: Ceramicists, Acrylic on Canvas, 1997. Photo: Rochadale Arts & Heritage Service.