News/May 2022

This week Blast Theory welcomes Caribbean Artist Rodell Warner into the studio. The 3-week artist residency is part of The World Reimagined, a ground-breaking, national art education project to transform how we understand the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans and its impact on all of us.

As part of the project, cities across the UK will host 5 Caribbean based artists who will engage with community members and share their own perspective and artistic experience on working on The World Reimagined and the transformative power of art. Each artist brings with them a rich and powerful narrative – helping nurture meaningful exchange and the layered nature of history and themes of memory, their art is a thing of beauty and inspiration.

 

Rodell Warner

Rodell Warner is an artist working primarily in new media and photography. His works have been exhibited at The Whitney Museum of American Art and The National Gallery of Jamaica. Rodell is a recipient of the Commonwealth Connections International Arts Residency. He lives and works between Port of Spain in Trinidad, Kingston in Jamaica, and Austin, Texas.

 

About The World Reimagined

“For too long, the history of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans has been untold, mistaught or misrepresented. In the UK, we celebrate with pride the Trade’s abolition – but the people who were enslaved and their descendants; Britain’s role in the Trade’s creation; and the Trade’s devastating legacy are usually missing from how history is told. This is not ‘Black History’, this is all of our history. We are living in a key moment for racial justice. It calls on us to courageously face our shared history with honesty, empathy and grace. Together, we can create a future in which all can say: I am seen. That is the mission of The World Reimagined.” – The World Reimagined

The World Reimagined will see trails of large Globe sculptures in cities across the UK in August-October of 2022, created by artists to bring to life the reality and impact of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans.

The Globes will be created by both established and undiscovered artists, alongside Globes created through unique collaborations that bring together communities and icons with artists.

The trails will be the centre of a broader learning and engagement programme – with hundreds of schools, community groups, sporting and cultural institutions taking part across the country.

Funded by Arts Council England, the artist residences will deliver significant, proven community benefit to the host cities between May and June 2022.