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The Conference is hosted by Culture& and University of Greenwich Galleries, Institute for Inclusive Communities and Environments. It is part of Culture&’s Time, Space and Empire programme at the V&A Wedgwood Collection, Stoke-on-Trent, the University of Greenwich and Royal Museums Greenwich.

This is more than a conference of talking heads but an immersive experience hosted by Culture& and University of Greenwich Galleries and Institute for Inclusive Communities and Environments. It is part of our Time, Space and Empire programme at the V&A Wedgwood Collection in Stoke-on-Trent, the University of Greenwich, Royal Museums Greenwich, St Alfege Church Greenwich

Monumentality, in the form of public statues, has become an increasingly contested topic since the advent of popular movements against colonial statuary in South Africa, the United States and the UK.

The conference will tackle a number of key themes:

• What is the future of statues?
• Who should we memorialise and why?
• What is legal validity of the UK Government’s ‘Retain and Explain’ policy?
• Are there alternative forms of monumentality to those cast in stone and bronze?

This conference will stimulate researchers and artists by sharing new research, experiences, and developments around what we consider appropriate to commemorate with monuments when they have lost their relevance, and, especially in the UK context, whether the policy of ‘Retain and Explain’ is an effective response to demands for the removal of statues that commemorate colonial violence and exploitation.

The conference will feature academic papers and interventions, displays and performances by artists.

List of participants will be announced soon.