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National Museums Liverpool to explore Latin American collections
Initiative is supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund and involves a partnership with Luma Creations
National Museums Liverpool (NML) is launching a project to explore its Latin American collections later this month.
The initiative is supported by a grant from the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund (now relaunched as the Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund) , which is administered by the Museums Association.
It involves a partnership with Luma Creations, a Liverpool-based organisation that promotes Latin American arts, culture, and people
The project, called Cuerpos del Tiempo (Bodies of Time), will work with Latin American communities in north-west England to reshape the interpretation of the Latin American collections at NML’s World Museum for display in 2025-26.
The partnership will be launched at the World Museum on 15 February with talks, dance and live music performances, and hands-on craft workshops.
Meghan Backhouse, the lead curator of global cultures at the World Museum, said: “The displays of material cultural heritage from South and Central America are not only out-of-date but lack any sense of the vitality or diversity of the many cultures found in those regions – or in diaspora in the UK. We are so excited to have this opportunity to hand the reigns over, and to highlight more of Liverpool's incredible cultural diversity.”
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Francisco Carrasco, the CEO and creative director at Luma Creations, said: “We always aim to push the boundaries and present work that represents the rich diversity of Latin America, continuously respecting the many cultures and identities of the continent.
“This fundamentally important collaboration with the World Museum will enable us to reach out, and bring forward the many voices of Latin American communities engaged with the project, enabling us to work alongside the Global Cultures team to ensure that when we re-imagine the exhibition, we change the narrative so there is a real sense of ownership, accompanied with personal stories, understanding and a true sense of being valued and heard.”
This partnership will include a redisplay of the Nahua Codex, Amoxtli Tezcatlipoca Codex (Codex Fejérváry Mayer), a rare pre-colonial Mexican manuscript. The 16th-century artefact will be shown at the World Museum later this year.
The World Museum, which houses more than 1.7m artefacts and specimens, is one of seven museums managed by NML.