London, UK
Thomson Reuters Foundation
A top British art institution faced calls on Wednesday to move a restaurant featuring a “repellent” mural depicting child slavery by the celebrated 1930s artist Rex Whistler.
Black lawmaker Diane Abbott added her voice to growing demands for Tate Britain to relocate its restaurant out of the hand-painted room, with images of an enslaved Black boy chained by his neck to a horse and cart and of his distressed mother.
“Had no idea famous mural had repellent images of black slaves,” Abbott, a lawmaker in the opposition Labour Party, posted on Twitter.
“Museum management need to move the restaurant. Nobody should be eating surrounded by imagery of black slaves.”
Banners thanking key workers are seen on the Tate Britain art museum, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), London, Britain, on 29th May. PICTURE: Reuters/John Sibley/File photo.
The Tate, a network of four government-sponsored art museums, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A statement on the Rex Whistler Restaurant’s website acknowledged the “deeply problematic racist imagery” in the 1927 mural, which it said reflected common attitudes in Britain at the time as its hold on empire was weakening.
“We hope to tell a more inclusive story of British art and identity and confront these difficult and offensive histories,” it added. The restaurant is currently closed due to the new coronavirus pandemic.
The row comes as Black Lives Matter protests around the world draw fresh scrutiny over statues, art works and other cultural artifacts which anti-racism campaigners say continue to uphold the legacy of slavery and colonialism.
Campaigners have felled some monuments to disgraced white leaders and are pressing for others to be removed, while critics of the movement argue such works should be recognised as part of a nation’s heritage and allowed to remain.
Hundreds of people have signed a petition launched this week calling on the Tate to either remove “The Expedition in Pursuit of Rare Meats” mural or change the location of the restaurant.
“The reality of the room is truly grotesque,” the petition said. “Tate Britain allowing this overtly racist painting to remain for diners (sic) enjoyment is not acceptable.”
