New exhibition from Inua Ellams to open at Manchester Museum
Fuel and Manchester Museum today announce Stained Metal, a new exhibition conceived and curated by poet and playwright Inua Ellams (Barber Shop Chronicles, Once Upon A Time in Sokoto) which has seen his MBE medal travel to artists across the world, who created work exploring the personal and global impact of the British Empire in response. The exhibition will run at Manchester Museum from 27 February to 6 June 2027 and will feature new artistic commissions from Kenya, India, Canada and Jamaica alongside objects from Ellams’ private collection and Manchester Museum’s collection.
In 2023, Inua Ellams was awarded an MBE and two years later posted his medal to four corners of the former British Empire with a letter inviting artists to respond. The medal then journeyed to Benin City, where Ellams worked with a traditional bronze caster to create a new medal incorporating Benin’s cultural iconography and Nigeria’s history.
The commissioned artists and artworks are We're Still Here by Wanjeri Gakuru and we continue to continue by Wanini Kimemiah from Kenya; 1870 by Akhil Katyal, On Dispossession of Caste & Ode to Mumbai by Shripad Sinnakaar and Victoria Terminus by Sachin Sreenath from India; Man and His Technologies by Phillip Dwight Morgan with Lauren Marshall and Untitled (Registry) #2 by Chiedza Pasipanodya from Canada; and Seeking Home by Yashika Graham from Jamaica, plus bronze caster Phil Omodamwen from Nigeria.
Presenting a range of voices and perspectives, Stained Metal shines a light on how identities are shaped by large historical forces and asks visitors to engage with the complexities, contradictions and human experiences behind the objects on display, inviting curiosity, reflection and conversation. The exhibits will include installations, poetry, filmed theatre performance, documentary film, essay, audio visual work and sculpture.
Inua Ellams, Lead Curator said: "In the three day window I had to decide, I realised I could only accept an MBE for Services To The Arts if, with it, I could serve my artist community; a local and global community informed by our shared histories of colonisation and migration, speaking truth to power, with nuance and beauty as our watchwords. Stained Metal is the culmination of those impulses. I am excited by the opportunity to enrich the British public with visual art, poetry, sculpture, and film, that we might better understand who we are, and why we are.”
Kate McGrath, Artistic Director & CEO, Fuel said: “Fuel’s programme seeks to explore the big questions of our times, and so we are proud to be producing this project tracing the legacy of empire both in the UK and across the world. Since Inua first came to us with this project, it’s been a fascinating journey for Fuel. We have the perfect partners in co-producer Manchester Museum and residency partner Museum of West African Art in Benin City, and are enjoying learning from their experience and expertise. Bringing together new artist commissions from around the world with a curated exhibition from the collections Manchester Museum cares for is a hugely exciting proposition - which we are really looking forward to sharing with audiences in Manchester next year."
Esme Ward, Director of Manchester Museum, said: “Museums are steeped in the past and Manchester Museum’s past is inseparable from the British Empire. By forging new international relationships and presenting multiple perspectives on this history - and the collections we hold as a result - Stained Metal is a unique invitation to learn, reflect and understand more about the impact and legacies of Empire that still surround us today. This collaboration with Fuel and Inua Ellams has been long in the thinking, and we’re so excited to nurture and present this exhibition alongside him.”