The Benin Kingdom Museum
BENIN BRONZE DIGITAL EXHIBIT - OUR ANCESTORS
The Benin Bronzes are the embodiment of our ancestors — cast from metal manillas exchanged for our captive ancestors sold into transatlantic human trafficking, chattelization, torture, and ethnocide — the Maangamizi.
Benin Kingdom Museum Bronze-Making Fellows - UK/USA 2026
The Benin Kingdom Museum is proud to announce its 2026 round of fellows for the Benin Kingdom Museum Bronze Making Fellowship Program, a groundbreaking initiative to preserve and educate about the artistry and historical legacy of Benin Kingdom bronze making, rooted in the transatlantic slave trade. In the UK, four Afrodescendants (descendants of enslaved Africans) have been selected; in the USA, five Afrodescendants and one Edo/Yoruba Nigerian artist have been selected for the second cohort of fellows to receive expert instruction from Foundry Specialist Professor Blake Hiltunen (Pratt Institute), creative technologist Julian Frost (USA fellows in New York City), and select UK programs (UK fellows in London). The program combines traditional craftsmanship with a powerful cultural narrative, bridging continents and histories.
Meet the new Fellows!
Ahkem Bell - UK
Daniel Davidson - UK
Holly Graham - UK
Sai Murray - UK
Zainab “Zai” Aliyu - USA
Dana-Marie Bullock - USA
Julian Frost - Fellow/Instructor of 3D Scan & Manufacture - USA
Voodoo Queen Kalindah Laveaux - USA
Kim Poole - USA
Ry Watkins - USA
Blake Hiltunen - Bronze Class Instructor
Contribute
Contribute to our efforts, and help strengthen the greater initiative to empower Afro-Descendants.
Previous Fellows
Donna Lindo - Multidisciplinary Artist, Jamaican - USA
Joel Newman - Potter, Haitian - USA
Antonio Isuperio Pereira - Architect, Brazilian - USA
Sabina Paellmann - Multidisciplinary Artist, African American-German - USA
Jirah Joshua - Multidisciplinary Artist, African American-Native American - UK/USA
Blake Hiltunen - Bronze Class Instructor