OZAP Exhibition Banners
These are the 12 banners of the OZAP exhibition sponsored by Oriel College. A launch was hosted by Lord Neil Mendoza, Provost of Oriel College, on 2 October 2025 with the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University in attendance and over 30 guests from organisations linked to the University or Zimbabwe including the Rhodes Trust, the Beit Trust, the Atlantic Institute, the African Studies Centre, AfOx and Action for Southern Africa (ACSTA).
The exhibition transferred to the University Church of St Mary the Virgin (opposite Oriel College and the Rhodes Statue on Oxford’s High Street) from 10 October to 7 December 2025.
The poem references cartographer Gerardus Mercator. He created the world map in 1569 that distorts continent sizes, enlarging areas near the poles like North America and Greenland while shrinking Africa and South America.
In August 2025, coincidentally after this banner was designed, the African Union backed a campaign to end the use by governments and international organisations of the Mercator map of the world in favour of one that more accurately displays Africa's size.