Bristol-based firm Pangolin Editions will produce the seven-metre tall artwork created by artist Khaleb Brooks reports Kumail Jaffer, Local Democracy Reporter with additional reporting by Ben Lynch, Local Democracy Reporter

The London Assembly and mayor at City Hall (credit GLA)

The Greater London Authority (GLA) has earmarked £1.1million for a contract to install a seven-metre tall slavery memorial in London’s Docklands, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) can reveal.

The bronze artwork, created by artist Khaleb Brooks and called The Wake, will honour Africans who were trafficked as part of the transatlantic slave trade. Set to be unveiled either later this year or in 2027, it will sit in West India Quay, East London, one of the key entry points to the UK for commodities that were produced by enslaved people.

In September the GLA announced it was seeking a fabricator to produce the artwork, with the contract worth £1,108,800.

It was subsequently awarded to Bristol-based firm Pangolin Editions, according to official government documents.

They will be responsible for producing the cowrie shell, which, as well as holding cultural and spiritual significance, became a symbol of slavery and the exploitation of human life as currency. The object was used as currency between slave traders for trafficked individuals.

There will also be a number of smaller shells installed at other locations that have connections to the trade of enslaved people, City Hall officials say.

The project, which will need to obtain planning permission before installation can begin, will sit close to the former site of a statue of Robert Milligan, an 18th-century Scottish slave trader, which sat outside the Museum of London Docklands.

The artwork, first announced by the Mayor of London on Unesco International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition in 2024, will serve as a reminder of the capital’s role in the slave trade.

Officials say that “while there are numerous statues and buildings reflecting the wealth and power created by the trade in enslaved African people and monuments to commemorate the abolition, there is little to remember the millions of African people who were enslaved.”

A London Assembly document about ‘The Wake’ reads: “Memorials are powerful symbols. Many public memorials in London commemorate enslavers or focus on abolitionists rather than the enslaved. This memorial is a chance to redress this balance.

“Much of London’s wealth was built on the labour of enslaved Africans. A memorial is one way to remember. It will help unite the shared history of the city and grow a collective awareness of this period and its legacy. By honouring this history, we respect and empower all Londoners.”

The mayor has announced funding of £500,000 and the balance of this contract will be paid from fundraising and partnerships.

A spokesperson for the mayor told the LDRS: “It is important that our public spaces reflect all aspects of our city’s complex heritage, and the new Memorial to Victims of Transatlantic Slavery will be a stark reminder of the pain and suffering caused by the transatlantic slave trade.

“The legacy of this barbaric practice is still felt across generations of Black communities, and this memorial will educate Londoners about the capital’s role, while honouring the achievements of descendant communities, as we build a fairer London for everyone.”

Some critics of the mayor have questioned whether taxpayer money should be spent on memorials during a cost-of-living crisis for Londoners. City Hall is currently revising its upcoming annual budget, but the mayor has already been criticised for hiking Tube fares to help fund Transport for London (TfL) operations.

Gareth Bacon MP, the Conservative Party shadow minister for London and a former assembly member, told the LDRS: “At a time when Sadiq Khan’s City Hall is constantly pleading poverty, when his portion of council tax is at record levels and about to rise even further, and when he’s hammering drivers with ever increasing costs, he still finds time to waste taxpayers’ money on pointless virtue signalling. Londoners deserve much better than this.”

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