Black Beyond Data: Working with Descendant Communities — Symposium

A free one-day symposium at Royal Museums Greenwich on descendant-led approaches to interpretation, care and ethical museum practice. Black Beyond Data: Working with Descendant Communities | Symposium Friday 20th November 2026 Doors open 10:00am Event begins 10:30am – 4:00pm National Maritime Museum, Lecture Theatre, Romney Road, Greenwich, London, SE10 9NF Booking required - tickets are free with a suggested donation What changes when descendant communities move from participating in museum interpretation to helping shape the practice itself? Over the past year, Museum X, Royal Museums Greenwich and Black Beyond Data at Johns Hopkins University have been working with descendant community co-researchers to explore how collections connected to African presence, colonialism and their enduring legacies might be researched, interpreted and cared for differently. Together, we have been testing approaches rooted in shared authority, lived experience, dialogue, care and community-led research — asking not only whose histories museums tell, but who gets to shape how that work is done. This symposium brings together descendant co-researchers, artists, researchers and museum practitioners to share what we have learned, where the work has challenged us, and what more ethical and collaborative museum practice might require. The day will include: • ✨ Reflections and spotlight contributions from descendant community co-researchers • 📄 Sharing Museum X’s emerging Ethical Framework for Working with Descendant Communities • 🎥 Premiere of a new filmed conversation with descendent community co-researchers and collector Michael Graham-Stewart • 🗣 Conversations on descendant-led research, shared authority and collaborative museum practice • 🏛 Reflections from Royal Museums Greenwich on institutional learning and change • 🌿 Creative practice, collective care and a closing grounding • Speakers: to be announced • Schedule/agenda: will be shared closer to the time Black Beyond Data asks us to think beyond representation: what happens when communities help shape the questions, methods and decisions that sit behind museum practice? 📅 Friday 20th November 2026 📍 National Maritime Museum, Lecture Theatre, Romney Road, Greenwich, London, SE10 9NF 🚪 Doors open 10:00am ⏰ Event begins 10:30am – 4:00pm 🎟 Booking essential. Places are limited, so if your plans change, please release your ticket for someone else. Tickets are free with a suggested donation. Refreshments: Tea/coffee available at the start. Lunch provided by Benugo's at National Maritime. Access: Entry to the Maritime is step free and to the Lecture Theatre, there are lifts inside the Museum Enquiries: [email protected]