Lunchtime Lecture: Exploring the African Heritage Presence at the V&A

In this year’s Black History Month Lunchtime Lecture, Avril Horsford, a V&A guide, asks the question: "What should visitors expect to see displayed in the galleries, when searching for African Heritage artefacts?" Her analysis will critically examine the authenticity and provenance of these artefacts, considering how they were collected, their journey to the museum, and the narratives constructed around them. This approach highlights the potential misrepresentations and cultural disconnects between the artefacts and the descendants of their original communities. Through this lens, she aims to illuminate the ethical considerations surrounding museum collections today, and suggests that this may prove to be the opportune time to rethink the cultural significance of the Museum artefacts which (re)present our changing lives.

Avril Horsford was formerly a senior educator at the University of the Arts London (UAL), heading departments which both aimed to enable less-advantaged applicants to enter Higher Education, and teaching at every level, including degrees, and the UAL Post-Graduate Certificate in Education; with an additional university-wide role in the delivery and promotion of Equality and Diversity for both students and staff.

Avril spent her early years in Antigua, where she was born, before relocating to Britain; and following her studies in Fine Art, and Post-Graduate training in Education and ‘Lifelong Learning’, she has contributed to the delivery of the Education programme at the V&A; where, for many years, she has also been a volunteer tour Guide for the specialist African Heritage tours, amongst many other V&A tours.