![[Re:]Entanglements: Colonial collections in decolonial times](../dist/img/projects/re-entanglements-med.jpg)
About:
Client: Professor Paul Basu (SOAS University of London)
Exhibition: [Re:]Entanglements: Colonial collections in decolonial times
Date: August 2021
[Re:]Entanglements: Colonial collections in decolonial times was an exhibition held at Cambridge University's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (open until 17 April 2022). Funded by the AHRC, the exhibition included an astonishing collection of photographic portraits, artefacts, archival materials and contemporary artistic responses from early 20th-Century Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Archives and collections were from Britain's first colonial anthropologist, Northcote Thomas. In this politically - and emotionally - charged exhibition, the curators pose difficult questions about the nature of colonialism at the time and its legacies today. The project has engaged extensively with the descendants of the subjects photographed and the wider community to instigate a unique dialogue.
Campaign:
tpr media was commissioned by Professor Paul Basu at SOAS University of London to carry out a targeted campaign to drive visitors to the [Re:]Entanglements exhibition and raise the profile of curator and anthropologist Paul Basu and SOAS. We identified key angles which appealed to specific media outlets from different elements of the exhibition, including history/archive angles, ideas of colonialism, music and stories of modern day relatives.
Coverage ranged from national radio interviews to specialist music and arts publications. In October Paul Basu was part of the panel for the whole show on BBC World Service's Weekend show to discuss the exhibition and wider political/social discussions. Paul was also interviewed on Times Radio's The Hugo Rifkind Show, where they regularly cover arts, culture and news. BBC Radio 3's Michael Rossi visited the exhibition for a BBC World Service wide music package which aired on BBC Radio Three in October, unfortunately due to a busy news agenda this didn't air on BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight. Renowned world music expert Robin Denselow also visited the exhibition and wrote a feature on the exhibition for the March issue of music magazine Songlines. As well as this, Arts Professional ran an opinion piece from Paul Basu on 'Mediating the colonial gaze'.