RDH was a project funded by the Centre for Cultural Value which facilitated a collaboration bridging the academic and cultural worlds through its Collaborate fund. 

The project aimed to interrogate what happens when we destabilise established, prevailing historical narratives on Africa and the diaspora, engage with them, turn them over and respond to them in dialogic and creative ways. 

Working with a small group of artists and community and cultural practitioners from the African and Caribbean diaspora, we researched, talked, shared, made and explored the following core research questions: 

• When we look at pre-colonial African histories and frame our responses to narratives which (rather than foregrounding slavery, oppression and the fight against oppressors) highlight ordinary life, practices, rituals and societal exchanges, what opportunities arise for looking at Black and diasporic identities in new ways? 
• What can we learn from responding to more expanded histories in creative and personal ways?  
• How do our lives contribute to the making of history in the present moment?

The project culminated in a symposium and exhibition in July 2024 at Goldsmiths University. 

These pages highlight the resources used, our process, and the outcomes and reflections generated from this rich project.