Inua Ellams, appointed Honorary Research Fellow

28 Apr 2025

Acclaimed poet, playwright, and performer, Inua Ellams, appointed Honorary Research Fellow

To mark the start of the Fellowship, and in a partnership with the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA), Creative Manchester and the Manchester Museum co-present a new project, “STAINED METAL” and series of talks, Fuelling Change: Values and Ethics in Cultural Production.

Inua received an MBE (Member of the British Empire) in 2023. Now he plans to send the medal to four corners of the British Empire: Kenya, India, Canada, and Jamaica. Artists from each of those countries will be commissioned to respond to a letter from Inua, and to the medal itself. Stained Metal will be a profound exploration of empire, identity, and legacy.

Inua will deliver his inaugural lecture in May 2025, as part of the ‘Solstice and Equinox series’ and the Manchester Museum Lates, plus a week-long celebration around Africa Day. This launch event will take place on Wednesday, 28 May 2025, and will begin with introductions by Esme Ward (Manchester Museum Director) and John McAuliffe (Professor of Poetry and Creative Manchester Director), before Inua launches Stained Metal with the first reading of his letter to commissioned artists, followed by a conversation with the audience.

Co-produced by Fuel, MOWAA, Creative Manchester and Manchester Museum, this launch event promises to be an unforgettable night of poetry, storytelling, and thought-provoking conversation.

John McAuliffe, Professor of Poetry and Creative Manchester Director said: "We are delighted to welcome Inua as Honorary Research Fellow at the University. We look forward to working more closely with him to further his creative and multidisciplinary work, using the collections at the Manchester Museum, linking that work to our different communities, and exploring the recurring themes of his research; identity, displacement and destiny."

Esme Ward, Director, Manchester Museum said: "As a long-time admirer of Inua’s work, including the incredible poem Tusk commissioned by Manchester Museum, I feel privileged to have the opportunity to develop our collaboration further. This project, and the questions it raises, couldn’t be more urgent. It fits perfectly with the Museum’s own focus on truth-telling and confronting our past with honesty and openness."

Inua Ellams said: "I’m humbled to be working with MOWAA and Fuel on Stained Metal. As an artist, immigrant, and migrant worker, I think a lot about the spaces I inhabit, the stories I tell, and the voices I might be able to amplify. Stained Metal is an alignment of those notions, and I hope at the culmination of this project, we better understand our common histories, and present realities."

Wednesday, 28 May, Manchester Museum, 5.30pm, FREE

Presented by Creative Manchester, Manchester Museum, Fuel and the Museum of West African Art

Find out more and to book tickets: The Solstice and Equinox Event Series: Stained Metal created by Inua Ellams