One of the most significant museums on Liverpool’s waterfront, the International Slavery Museum occupies the third floor of the Merseyside Maritime Museum on the Albert Dock, focusing on the history and legacy of the transatlantic slave trade. Three main galleries take visitors through life in West Africa before colonisation, the brutal reality of enslavement, and the ongoing fight for freedom. The museum also addresses slavery in the modern day, alongside broader questions of racism and discrimination.
From Gallery to Dedicated Museum
The story of the slave trade was first discussed within the Merseyside Maritime Museum when it opened in 1980, as part of Liverpool’s wider maritime history. A dedicated Transatlantic Slavery Gallery followed in 1994, driven in part by campaigner Dorothy Kuya, who was notable among those pushing for a formal international slavery museum from 1992 onwards. Growing international interest and high visitor numbers through the early 2000s made the case for a fully independent museum clear. The International Slavery Museum opened on 23 August 2007 – a date chosen to coincide with the annual International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, which marks the slave uprising in Saint-Domingue. 2007 was also the bicentenary of the UK’s Slave Trade Act 1807, which ended British participation in the slave trade. Phase 1 of the new museum relocated existing exhibitions and added new displays, doubling the floor space given to the subject.
Collections and Highlights
The East Gallery holds around 400 annotated songs connected to the experience of slavery and the music of Africa and the slave-descended African diaspora. In March 2018, the museum received £50,000 to purchase and restore the painting Am I Not A Man and a Brother, dating from around 1800. Based on a design commissioned by the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, the image is considered one of the earliest examples of a logo created for a political cause and was used on the pottery of Josiah Wedgwood. Michelle Charters was appointed Head of the museum in 2023.
Current Closure and Future Plans
The museum closed for extensive renovations at the start of 2025 and is not expected to reopen until 2029. The redevelopment will incorporate the former Dock Traffic Office – now known as the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Building – which adjoins the Maritime Museum. The two buildings will be connected by an iron and glass bridge, significantly expanding the museum’s overall footprint on the Liverpool waterfront.