you say “private collection,” I say “colonial spoils”

In 2023, the Fitzwilliam Museum faced a major problem: how could it continue to credibly exist and platform the world’s communities in its exhibitions, when its own history lay in the exploitation and colonisation of enslaved communities? With two concurrent exhibitions running that offered alternative looks at both the concept of ‘family’ and the colonial narrative of mercantile trade, the Fitzwilliam Museum wanted to promote its exhibitions in a way that also recognised the debt the museum owed to communities represented in the exhibits being shown.

sharing the stories we’re not told

We created a suite of marketing assets to promote both exhibitions, artfully utilising key imagery from both exhibits with considered typography. Running in OOH, print and digital, these assets were accompanied by a series of films and TikTok episodes that used key pieces as springboards to share little-known / previously minimised stories of empowerment and courage from marginalised family models and enslaved communities.