Black Atlantic

Decolonial Art and Ecology

Ashanti Hare, Sybil Jacket, 2023. Courtesy of the Artist.

The Black Atlantic Innovation Network convenes leading cultural organisations, researchers and educationalists across the UK to advance a practicable new framework for environmental justice.

Co-chaired by Professor Paul Gilroy and Ashish Ghadiali and coordinated as a partnership between Radical Ecology and UCL Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of Racism and Racialisation, the Network takes as its starting point an acknowledgement that environmental breakdown cannot be separated from shared histories of the transatlantic slave trade and drives existing inequities, including those of race, gender, age and dis/ability.

BAIN works with organisations to explore how institutional structures and cultures can be transformed by cutting across equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), sustainability/net zero and decolonisation as frameworks for change. In doing so, we amplify the power of cultural actors – heritage, arts and education – to support the emergence of civic spaces that are inclusive, innovative and confident in the face of the planetary climate emergency. 

Founding members of BAIN include the National Trust, the Royal Botanical Gardens and the Eden Project. Since our establishment in March 2022, network activities include the public gathering, Equilibrium, held at the Serpentine pavilion in July 2022 and the Decolonising Secondary and Sixth-Form Education workshop, held at UCL Institute for Advanced Studies in July 2023. 

The work of BAIN has been made possible through financial support from UCL Innovation & Enterprise, UKRI (via Esther Breithoff’s Future Leaders Fellowship funding) and UCL Centre for Critical Heritage Studies. Current projects are funded by Lankelly Chase and the Open Society Foundations, including the development of a policy framework and digital hub for environmental justice.

For further information please contact BAIN coordinator Dr Katie Natanel –katie@radicalecology.earth. Enquires may also be directed to Professor Rodney Harrison (r.harrison@ucl.ac.uk) or Professor Tariq Jazeel (t.jazeel@ucl.ac.uk), who lead our work with heritage and education sectors.

Black Atlantic Commissions is a programme to support emerging and mid-career artists in their professional development and realisation of new works linked to themes explored in the Black Atlantic Innovation Network. We are currently supporting the development of new work by artists Kedisha Coakley, Ashanti Hare and Iman Datoo.