A Thousand Ships was a public art display in Providence, Rhode Island. The event was designed to raise awareness of the state's history with the slave trade. It featured 1,000 people pouring a libation in a prominent downtown site, with actors scattered throughout the crowds and also included rituals of fire, water, dance and music to mark the bicentennial of the abolition of the Transatlantic slave trade.
The event was based primarily on the research of the Slavery and Justice Committee at Brown University, and we provided many opportunities for further discussion and investigation. Around 30,000 people witnessed the event.
It was the launch event of The Museum On Site, a new organisation designed to help people understand their worlds.
Co-created with Lyra Monteiro, Barnaby Evans.
Photography by Gordon Stillman.
Read an article about A Thousand Ships in the Boston Globe
Visit The Museum On Site (still under construction)
