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Local artist Serena Sussex with her globe design named ‘The Inner Voice Through Music’

The globe, currently outside Jubilee lecture theatre

Prof Steve McGuire, Dean of the Business School and Prof David Ruebain, Pro Vice Chancellor of Culture, Equality and Inclusion, visiting the sculpture

A unique globe featured as part of the travelling UK-wide sculpture trail The World Reimagined is on display on campus, designed by local artist Serena Sussex.

The World Reimagined is a national touring art education project launched in 2021 featuring 103 globes designed by artists, schools and colleges. It aims to transform understanding of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its impact on all of us, exploring nine different themes which reimagine our past, present and future.

The sculpture ‘The Inner Voice Through Music’ is initially hosted at the Business School, outside Jubilee Lecture Theatre, on behalf of the University of Sussex. It focuses on the theme of Expanding Soul which celebrates both spirit and culture, that even in the face of physical suffering, has endured, stayed vibrant and found expression across the world in music, art, food and much more. As sculpture designer and artist Serena Sussex explains:

“The history of black music and its contribution to British identity cannot be underestimated. Enslaved people shipped from Africa to the plantations of America and the Caribbean used traditional songs and hymns not just to raise their spirits in times of oppression and captivity, but also as warnings and even clues as to how they may escape captivity.

“Music can educate, relax, console, inspire, heal, excite; powerful words in song teach and inform generations past, present and future. Music can free people’s minds from the everyday struggles they encounter. Songs affect the soul from the moment we are born to the day we die.”

The piece designed by Serena celebrates music as a means of transformative uplifting expression, escape and learning in times of oppression. Commenting on her artwork, she said:

“My design includes words of songs sung by the enslaved in the 1700s and 1800s. Today’s music has been inspired by the past, and passed through many generations. The circles of music represent speakers on a sound system and music coming outwards across the globe and continually diversifying; music that has its roots in folk and African song. The yellow and orange background represents the sun and hot climate of Mother Africa; and the red, the passion and outrage. The skin tone hearts reference the people of historical slavery but also those trapped in modern slavery today.

“The strength and spirit of oppressed souls of history has influenced music throughout the centuries to this day. And even today, music helps those who are still not free to find inspiration and to fight for a better future.” 

Alexandra Pearson, Senior Lecturer in Management and friend of the artist, said:

“This is a great opportunity for the students and faculty of the Business School, as well as staff and students across our University community, to engage with such a thoughtful and evocative representation of an important part of history that, with deep reflection, might help us all to reimagine the future.”

Professor David Ruebain, Pro Vice Chancellor of Culture, Equality and Inclusion, said:

"I am delighted that Sussex is hosting this installation. The overall theme of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its impact on all of us is in my view central to understanding the nature of ongoing structural racism and I am really excited by the sculpture's title: ‘The Inner Voice Through Music’.

“By coincidence, only a couple of weeks ago we were privileged to enjoy "Journeys in Music", part of the university's Black at Sussex programme, in the Mandela Hall on Friday evening 17th February, in which Lynda Rosenior-Patten and June Reid from Nzinga Soundz, along with Sussex alumnus Topher Campbell, explored the rich histories and cultural connections through music, in conversation with Karena H Maynard. I hope many of us at Sussex take time to see the globe."

Designed as a conversation starter on themes of racial justice, the globe has already been exhibited in Trafalgar Square and Brighton Marina. Students, staff and campus visitors are invited to view the artwork, which will be on display initially outside Jubilee Lecture Theatre and to look out for related events.

The University is committed to taking action towards race equality and you can read more in our Antiracist Sussex pledge. We want to reduce inequality and be an inclusive university that genuinely celebrates diversity, enabling our whole community to thrive - find out more on our Inclusive Sussex webpages.

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