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The Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission (ABRSC) will open its free Ukumbusho Exhibition on Thursday, July 30th as part of the country’s 2026 Emancipation observances.
Executive Director of the Teaching Artist Institute in the United States, Kim Poole, will be the featured guest at the opening.
Commission Chairman Ambassador Dorbrene O’Marde said the exhibition was developed by the Teaching Artist Institute in Maryland and created by Poole, whom he described as an experienced cultural educator and teaching artist.
“Kim is, well, she’s a cultural educator, performing activist, a wonderful singer and she has done a lot of work teaching artistry, so she has worked closely with artists and educators, communities and importantly for us is that she emphasizes in her work and in the work of the Institute, she emphasizes the importance of culture, the importance of heritage, the importance of recapturing those aspects of our culture, <a href="https://absafricatv9491.live-website.com/africa-youth-climate-fund-aycf-2026-programs/” title=”Africa Youth Climate Fund (AYCF) 2026 Programs -“>African culture, African heritage that we have essentially lost.
“And the work of that institute is extremely spiritual so that she does a lot of work through visual arts,
through music storytelling and spiritual reflections; and this is the exhibition she brings with us here tomorrow,” O’Marde said.
He said the exhibition would also reflect African spiritual traditions through a range of handcrafted items.
“What specifically the exhibition will feature, things like reclaimed handmade dolls, symbolising spiritual guidance, symbolising regeneration; handcrafted queer beads and other sort of devotional objects – again all in reflection of Africa, African spiritual traditions. And so there will be issues addressing the history of the expansion, especially the missionary expansion and colonial exploitation in Central Africa.”
“Miss Poole is very well-traveled all across the continent, I mean as far as the reparation struggle is concerned. She has taken these discussions along with her team into the Vatican and you will remember a few months ago that the Vatican has expressed some sort of apology for its involvement in the enslavement of Africans,” O’Marde noted.
O’Marde said the exhibition would be a new addition to this year’s Emancipation observances and invited the public to attend.
The exhibition, which opens at 10 a.m. on July 30th in the Mini Conference Room at the Multi-Purpose Cultural and Exhibition Centre at Perry Bay, is intended to commemorate the enduring struggle for freedom, celebrate the resilience of ancestors, and reaffirm the country’s commitment to emancipation, reparatory justice, reconciliation and healing.
