Museums and Decolonial Practice: Developing Cross-Sector Collaborations

This event will explore the evolving relationship between museums and decolonial practices, emphasising the development of cross-sector collaborations between researchers, curators, and communities. The focus will be on how museums can shift from sites of colonial representation to spaces for co-curation, engaging with historically marginalised voices and promoting inclusive practices. This event will particularly support early-career researchers looking to engage in museum collaborations, offering an overview of how to initiate and sustain such partnerships.

11:00 – 12:30
Session 1: Decolonial Approaches to Museum Praxis
Chair: Charles Burdett (ILCS)

Gaia Delpino (Curator, Museo delle Civiltà)
Rosa Anna Di Lella (Curator, Museo delle Civiltà)
Wissal Houbabi (Artist, activist, and writer)
Matteo Lucchetti (Contemporary Arts and Cultures Curator, Museo delle Civiltà)

12:30 – 13:30
Lunch Break

13:30 – 15:00
Session 2: Experiences in Collaborative Curation and Shared Museology 
Chair: Jamille Pinheiro Dias (ILCS)

Julie Adams (Head, Oceania Section, British Museum)
Louise Cardoso de Mello (Head, Santo Domingo Centre of Excellence for Latin American Research, British Museum)
Santiago Valencia Parra (Digital Curator, Santo Domingo Centre of Excellence for Latin American Research, British Museum)
Rafael Andrade (National Museum, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

15:15 – 16:30
Session 3: Future Pathways and Cross-Sector Collaborations in Museum Practice
Chair: Jamille Pinheiro Dias (ILCS) and Richard Espley (Victoria and Albert Museum)

This concluding session will synthesise key insights from the day’s discussions, with a focus on identifying future directions in museum practice. Speakers from Sessions 1 and 2 will explore opportunities for cross-sector collaborations, fostering partnerships that can drive inclusivity in the museum sector, laying the groundwork for continued collaboration.

The event will be followed by a reception.

All are welcome to attend this free event, which will be held online and in person. Please click Book Now at the top of the page to register. The zoom link will be sent out prior to the event for those who will be attending online.

The workshop is part of the AHRC funded project, Uncovering the Afterlife of the Italian Empire.

Image: ©Giorgio Benni