Innovative telling of West African man’s life on exhibit at DuSable Museum

The “Equiano” exhibit at the DuSable Museum features never seen before African artifacts from the museum’s collection. PHOTOS BY TIA CAROL JONES
The “Equiano” exhibit at the DuSable Museum features never seen before African artifacts from the museum’s collection. PHOTOS BY TIA CAROL JONES

 Innovative telling of West African man’s life on exhibit at DuSable Museum

By Tia Carol Jones

Olaudah Equiano was a young West African boy living his life when he was kidnapped and enslaved. He eventually bought his freedom and wrote a bestselling memoir, “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano,” in 1789.

Equiano’s life is being given a modern day telling in the film “Equiano.Stories.” The DuSable Museum of African American History, a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate, executively produced the film and created an exhibit titled, “Equiano.”

“Equiano.Stories,” which premiered on Wednesday, Feb. 16th, focuses on his childhood in an Igbo village and is told through 400 individual stories. There is 80 minutes of content, which people can watch on Instagram @equiano.stories.

The film was produced in South Africa, by Stelo Stories and shot vertically to be viewed on a mobile phone. The company is known for taking stories from history and creating film meant for viewing on a social media platform by mobile phone.

Perri Irmer is the president of the DuSable Museum. Her mantra has been that slavery is not our origin story as Black people; the story of Black people begins in freedom. That is Equiano’s story also. The DuSable Museum was approached by the filmmakers almost two years ago and they jumped at the opportunity. Irmer believed the film was a wonderful way to bring Equiano’s story to new generations.

“We need to know, we must know what came before the crime of slavery was committed. It’s really hard to dehumanize people if you see the similarities and the parallels to a child’s own life here. Children are happy, they have love in their lives, they have joy. All of that was stolen, along with their bodies, when they were taken into slavery,” Irmer said.

Equiano’s activism resulted in the abolishment of slavery in England, which at the time was the largest country involved in the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Irmer credited the exhibitions team and the curator with the creation of the Equiano exhibit, which gives a feeling that a person is in an Igbo Village in a hut. You can also watch portions of the film. There are also social lessons, created by the DuSable Museum and its group of scholars. The ancient African artifacts in the exhibit come from the DuSable Museum’s permanent collection that has never been displayed to the public before.

“As we’re faced in this country, and really around the world, with a resurgence of racism, in antisemitism, in racial hatred, in racial violence, banning books; refusing to teach history, and African American history is American history, you can’t have one without the other. You can’t tell one story without the other.  We are just super dedicated to making sure that our messages are heard, that our narrative, through our own voices, are put out there,” Irmer said.

Irmer sees “Equiano.Stories” as a way of fighting back with an undeniable truth, by delivering this educational material through Instagram.

Chelsea Football Club, in London, is promoting the film “Equiano.Stories.” The football club understood the value of the story and saw how helpful it could be in their antiracist work, while promoting stories that are real and connected to the United Kingdom.

Martin Giese, director of exhibits at the DuSable Museum, and Brenda Liboy, creative director at the DuSable Museum, created the “Equiano” exhibit. They experimented with different materials to create the vision they had in their minds. They were trying to create an environment of intimacy and mystery.

“All of these artifacts have been used in some ceremony or ritual or performance, that’s their original function. They possess a certain amount of power and spirituality. What we wanted to do was create an environment that enhances the mystery and power of these artifacts,” Giese said.

Giese and Liboy also wanted to create an environment so people would be completely immersed, while keeping the environment intimate. Giese wants people to allow themselves to be quiet and feel that spirituality and mystery that is emanating from the artifacts.

The DuSable Museum is all about education and it has always been a part of its mission to educate all people, on and through African American art, history and culture. The museum is putting it in its name, it will be called the DuSable Museum of African American History and Education Center, to make the mission of the museum is clear.

“Equiano” is a semipermanent exhibit. The DuSable Museum of African American History, a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate is located at 740 E. 60th St.

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