Museum highlights

Find out more about some of the highlights from the International Slavery Museum's collections and displays by following the links below.

Galleries and displays

The International Slavery Museum has three main galleries on the following themes:

  • Life in West Africa - exploring the story of Africa and its peoples, who are central to the story of transatlantic slavery
  • Enslavement and the Middle Passage - revealing some of the brutality and trauma suffered by enslaved Africans on the voyage across the Atlantic; then the oppression of their lives on plantations in the Americas
  • Legacies of slavery - which details the continuing fight for freedom and equality; the contemporary impact of transatlantic slavery, such as racism and discrimination; and the achievements of the African Diaspora

Exhibitions

In addition to the three permanent galleries, the museum also hosts a changing programme of temporary exhibitions|.

This includes displays in the museum's Campaign Zone - an exhibitions and community space that aims to shed light on the legacies of transatlantic slavery and to raise awareness of the modern forms of slavery existing in the world today.

Other major features

Visitors encounter these two major standalone features at the entrance to the museum:

The history of the slave trade

Further information about the history of the slave trade and suggestions for further reading are available on this website:

Slaves' stories

You can also follow four Africans as they are taken and sold into slavery in our online feature Slaves' stories.|