Machel Bogues

MACHEL BOGUES holds a BA Honours, Sussex University (1996), and a M.Sc, School of Oriental and African Studies (2003) is a London based curator and historian.

As a curator his work explores both the afterlives of the transatlantic slave trade and colonisation, with a focus on the ways in which notions of the African diaspora and the complex relationship between migration and diasporic cultural practices have shaped and continue to shape modern Britain. His work is also concerned with the ways in which curatorial practice typically obscures or silences the afterlives of the transatlantic slave trade and colonisation. Notable exhibitions he has worked on include The British Slave Trade: Abolition, Parliament and People for UK Parliament and ‘Uncomfortable Truths: The Shadow of Slave Trading on Contemporary Art’ at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

He has worked with museums exploring and developing their curatorial practices to disentangle their collections and their institutional history from their colonial pasts. He has led workshops with curatorial and collections staff on approaches to understanding, interpreting, and recording their collections as well as developing language guides to support describing their collections to the public.

As a historian his work focusses on excavating and exploring historical narratives and figures who have been obscured and hidden from public view. In this regard he has worked with a range of organisations including UK Parliament to produce a range of materials for schools and public audiences that explore the relationship between Britain’s colonial past and modern Britain.