Our way of working - Museums Association
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  3. Supporting Decolonisation in Museums
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CAMPAIGNS Decolonising Museums

Our way of working

Established in 2019, the Decolonisation Guidance Working Group have been collaborating to develop and produce this guidance. The working group was set up as a sub-group of our Ethics Committee, and has met regularly to create the guidance. Our working group members included:

  • Rachael Minott, Chair of Decolonisation Working Group
  • Tehmina Goskar, Director & Curator, Curatorial Research Centre and former MA Ethics Committee member
  • Neil Curtis, Head of Museums and Special Collections, University of Aberdeen and MA Ethics Committee member
  • Miranda Lowe, Principal Curator, Natural History Museum
  • Sadiah Qureshi, Senior Lecturer in Modern History, Birmingham University
  • Liam Wiseman, Senior Relationship Manager, Arts Council England
  • Navjot Mangat, Senior Interpretation and Participation Producer, V&A Museum
  • Laura van Broekhoven, Director, Pitt Rivers Museum
  • Helen Mears, Inclusive Collections Officer, Wellcome Collection
  • Beloved Elizabeth Adonai, Communities Curator, John Hansard Gallery and MA Board member
  • Sharon Heal, Director, Museums Association
  • Alistair Brown, Policy Manager, Museums Association
  • Antonia Canal, Policy and Campaigns Officer, Museums Association

The Working Group initially collaborated through quarterly meetings, and later took part in workshops to develop the guidance content. Some workshops were led by working group members, but we also worked with the following facilitators:

  • Tshepo Skwambane, Community activist
  • Marenka Thompson-Odlum, Researcher, Pitt Rivers Museum
  • Subhadra Das, Writer & Curator
  • Tamsin Russell, Workforce Development Officer, Museums Association

In addition, we were supported by our Ethics Committee and a group of critical friends. The Ethics Committee includes:

  • Michael Terwey, Head of Heritage Services and Consultancy, National Trust for Scotland
  • Rowan Brown, Chief Executive, Woodhorn Charitable Trust
  • Hannah Crowdy, Head of Curatorial, National Museums Northern Ireland
  • Neil Curtis, Head of Museums and Special Collections, University of Aberdeen
  • Tehmina Goskar, Director & Curator, Curatorial Research Centre
  • Victoria Hollows, Chief Executive, Renfrewshire Leisure
  • Adrian Parkhouse, Partner, Farrer & Co.
  • Chanté St Clair Inglis, Head of Collections Services, National Museums Scotland
  • Jackie Winchester, Senior Officer for Participation, Bristol Culture

Some of our critical friends included:

  • Sheila Asante, Project Manager: Empire, Slavery and Scotland’s Museums, Museums Galleries Scotland
  • Alex Bird, Museum Development Officer: Workforce & Skills, Museum Development North West
  • Stella Byrne, Head of Investment – Northern Ireland, The National Lottery Heritage Fund
  • Errol Francis, Artistic Director and CEO, Culture&
  • Sioned Hughes, Keeper of History and Archaeology, Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales
  • Abira Hussein, Researcher and Producer
  • Chao Tayiana Maina, Co-founder, Museum of British Colonialism
  • Arike Oke, Managing Director, Black Cultural Archives
  • Adele Patrick, Director: Creative Development, Delivery and Engagement, Glasgow Women’s Library
  • Owain Rhys, Head of Volunteering and Engagement, Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales
  • Julia Webb-Harvey, Volunteer Researcher, Museum of Cornish Life

We are grateful for all the time and energy invested in this work.

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