National Museums Liverpool has been awarded a £1 million grant to launch the Connector project, a new initiative aimed at establishing an international network for researching the history and legacies of transatlantic slavery. The project seeks to bring together museums, heritage organisations, universities, creative practitioners, businesses, and community groups from around the world to foster collaboration and shared learning.
Funded by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, the initiative will provide a central platform for exchanging expertise, generating new research, and advancing discourse on transatlantic slavery and maritime history. Financial support will be offered through bursaries to individuals working with aligned organisations, ensuring participation from those who might otherwise lack the resources to engage.
The bursaries are intended to create new relationships and facilitate shared understanding, helping participants uncover and contextualise international connections to the history of transatlantic slavery and its global impacts. The Connector project is set to begin in autumn 2025, with applications for bursaries expected to open in 2026.
Laura Pye, Director of National Museums Liverpool, highlighted that the project addresses ongoing legacies of slavery, including challenges related to racism and discrimination, and provides an innovative model for research, education, and collaboration. Alex Stitt, Director of Heritage at Lloyd’s Register Foundation, noted the importance of acknowledging historical links to transatlantic slavery and supporting work that deepens understanding of its enduring legacies.
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