National art project comes to Cornwall with gifting of symbolic globe for the Penryn Campus 

A stunning globe adorned with 400 swallows – each representing one year of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans – is to be installed in Cornwall as part of a national arts and education project.

The artwork – entitled, A Dark Cloud – has been created by Manchester-based artist Caroline Daly and will be the first of the 103 globes of The World Reimagined project to go on public display in the Duchy.

It will be unveiled on the University of Exeter, Cornwall’s Penryn campus on Thursday 4 July, and is being installed outside its Environment and Sustainability Institute.

The World Reimagined is a ground-breaking, mass participation art education project that is reflecting upon the legacy of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans and its impact, particularly on British history, with the aim of encouraging people to take better action to make racial justice a reality.

The globes, each created by a different artist, have been displayed around the country in prominent locations such as the National Maritime Museum in London and at Rhodes House in Oxford. They’ve also formed trails around the cities of Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham and Swansea.

The hosting of the globe at Penryn has been orchestrated by the University’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team, and Arts and Culture.

“The World Reimagined Project speaks to the University’s own commitment to fairness and social justice,” says Professor Martin Siegert, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Cornwall. “So, it will be a poignant moment when we formally unveil this iconic globe, the first to reach Cornwall as part of this ongoing project. Our hope is that it will prompt reflection, education and inspiration, and lead to more supportive futures for those impacted by the legacy of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans.”

The globe, which stands 1.6m high, is made from a hand-laminated fibreglass shell. Onto this, artist Daly painted her piece, with the eponymous Dark Cloud at the top symbolising the suffering of Africans taken from their homes as slaves.

Rain falling from the cloud is made from printed cotton threads, referencing the use of enslaved African people within the cotton industry, while the choice of the swallow embodies the perilous migration across the Atlantic as well as symbolising hope.

To commemorate the unveiling of the globe, the University is welcoming creative professionals based in Cornwall and London for an afternoon programme of events – all open to the public. They include an exhibition, two short film screenings and a panel discussion with creatives from Museum X, Black Voices Cornwall, the B&ME Network, the University of Exeter and Falmouth University.

Dr Lucy Frears, Arts and Culture Cornwall Programme Manager, said: “The World Reimagined Globe on the Penryn campus, gifted to the University of Exeter, serves as a prompt to help us all explore the history, legacy and future of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans. The Globe is a visible reminder that this educational, emotional and intellectual work is important for us all to do as individuals, as part of the University community, as it gives us all the opportunity to know our past and to reimagine and change our present and future.”

If members of the public wish to attend, they can book their place via the Eventbrite link or contact EDI@exeter.ac.uk with any questions.

Find out more about the University of Exeter’s commitment to racial justice and its associated Race Equality Charter action plan on its website.