Supporters to block-book tickets to the museum Campaigners who want the statue of the slave trader Edward Colston restored to its plinth in Bristol are urging that supporters block-book tickets to the museum where it is on display daubed with graffiti, in a bid to prevent visitors seeing it. As the 19th-century bronze memorial went on display in Bristol, the Save Our Statues campaign group, which calls for the preservation of Britain’s “precious cultural furniture”, mobilised supporters to book tickets to the M Shed museum.
Some replies to the Save Our Statues Twitter post were critical of the action. One poster, who identified himself as Mat Ray, wrote: “So you’re called ‘Save Our Statues’ and you’ve deliberately stopped people seeing a statue. How does that work? Shouldn’t you call yourself ‘We demand statues on our terms or not at all!’?” Others were supportive. An account under the name Derick Norton quoted the original tweet and said: “Done with pleasure. Let’s get organised and block out the entire exhibition.”
“Tuesday is now booked up,” the group claimed in a Twitter post on Sunday. “Keep going with the rest of the week. It’s free to book (and it would be a real shame if nobody turned up ;).”
In a statement posted to Twitter, Save Our Statues said the protest was “a stand for due process” and criticised the Colston exhibit as “a celebration of criminal violence and mob rule”.
While tickets for Tuesday and Wednesday appeared to have been booked up on Monday morning, more had become available on the M Shed museum website by the afternoon. We contacted M Shed for comment on the protest by Save Our Statues, and to find out whether it was having an impact on visitor numbers.
It said the council had an obligation to repair the statue, which had been “a Grade II listed piece of UK heritage”.
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“As a matter of democratic principle, the first step must be to repair and reinstate the statue, and then if the council wants to run a democratic process, it can,” the statement said. “Unlike what happened one year ago today, this is a peaceful and civilised way to exercise our democratic right to protest.”
