mar 19, 2021 - Looking Back, Looking Forward: Decolonising the Museum debate

Description:

Museums are grappling with their difficult histories. In the UK, this has been complicated by government intervention; Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden recently met with a number of leading heritage institutions to discuss ‘contested’ portrayals of British history, arguing that museums should ‘retain and explain’. After the global attention brought to the Black Lives Matter movements since summer 2020, many museums and cultural institutions have issued statements of solidarity and pledges to do better to decolonise and diversify their collections and institutions. But what is the best way forward?

This debate explores how cultural institutions can best prioritise decolonisation strategies, and where (and by whom) genuine change can best be enacted. Is it within or beyond the museum walls? DCMS have stressed the importance of impartiality, and Duncan Wilson, head of Historic England, the importance of a ‘calm’ and ‘objective’ approach. But can the complicated, difficult work of decolonisation be effectively done in a neutral way? Is decolonisation impoverished by trying to establish a homogenous approach? And is a decolonised museum even truly possible?

Added to timeline:

Date: