The former Dock Traffic Office on Liverpool's historic waterfront will be transformed into the new museum. © Austin Smith-Lord

In a show of support for Liverpool’s new International Slavery Museum (ISM), the government has presented the development with a £500,000 capital grant.

Approved by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the grant builds on the £250,000 annual revenue funding already pledged to the museum, and a £1.65 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, awarded in September 2006.

As previously reported by 24 Hour Museum, the ISM will replace the pioneering Transatlantic Slavery gallery at Merseyside Maritime Museum. Developed in two stages, the ISM will launch its galleries to coincide with the UNESCO International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition on August 23 2007.

“The opening of the ISM will be the pinnacle of Britain’s bicentenary year,” said David Fleming, Director of National Museums Liverpool. "This will be a magnificent new national institution and a worthy legacy of 2007 not just for Liverpool but for the nation."

He added that the museum will make a "major contribution" to global debates about human rights.

Objects from Merseyside Maritime Museum's existing Transatlantic Slavery gallery will go on display in the new museum. © National Museums Liverpool

A host of other bicentenary events have been organised across the UK, including exhibitions in Bristol and at the Natural History Museum. The government also plans commemorative proceedings on March 25 2007, the anniversary of the signing of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, which made the transatlantic trade illegal in the British Empire.

A calendar published on Monday January 29 will highlight events taking place across England and Wales.

New ISM galleries will feature vibrant, thought-provoking displays telling the story of the transatlantic slave trade, which saw 1.5 million Africans transported to the Americas and West Indies. These new exhibits will address issues such as freedom, human rights and racial discrimination.

Culture Minister David Lammy said: “I hope people will be encouraged to remember those who suffered at the hands of the slave trade, and to celebrate the efforts of all those who struggled for its abolition.”

Visit the ISM's website at:
www.internationalslaverymuseum.org.uk