In this talk the British-Nigerian historian, broadcaster and film-maker David Olusoga draws on his academic research into Liverpool and the transatlantic slave trade to interrogate the ongoing legacies of the ‘triangular trade’. Profits from this, and from the goods that it enabled – cotton, sugar and tobacco - were among the funds donated by merchants to the Blue Coat charity school in the 18th and 19th centuries. Addressing a collective amnesia about the slave trade, Olusoga asks, ‘at what point does an omission start to feel like a lie?’

The talk is introduced by Artistic Director, Bryan Biggs, who sets the scene in relation to Bluecoat's 300th anniversary programme the previous year, as well as the arts centre’s interest in the building’s postcolonial resonances and its ongoing work with artists and academics exploring these through a contemporary lens.