Catching up with the Legacy: Mercedes

La Retraite 6 alumni Mercedes Baptiste Halliday was recently interviewed by MyLondon News to discuss her upcoming exhibition, and experiences of being the only black person at her university department, to study archaeology. Today, less than 1% of British archaeologists identify as people of colour, and even less than that identify as black. As a result, Mercedes has created a project called the Black Archaeo, in collaboration with the Museum of London, seeking to combat the inaccessibility of archaeology and the outdoors for urban Black people. The project will consist of a series of workshops targeted at 11-18 years olds which will introduce different jobs specialisms in archaeology and engage with African materials culture and showcase artworks created by participants and will celebrate Black heritage in London.