Making African Connections: Decolonial Futures for Colonial Collections
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sussex
Department Name: Sch of Global Studies
Abstract
Museums have been among the prime targets of recent activism demanding the 'decolonization' of British institutions, stimulated by Rhodes Must Fall and other campaigns. This is because their historic artefacts act as potent symbolic reminders of imperial afterlives. Some museums have responded with various initiatives to engage 'source' communities and in rare instances, dialogue has been initiated over returns. Yet small museums face acute cuts, dramatically reduced capacity and pressures for business models, in which colonial collections are far from priorities, especially where museums' very existence is under threat. In a climate of austerity, many are unable to invest in the research that is necessary to translate calls for 'decolonizing' into practical initiatives. Significant ethnographic holdings are thus unused and known, are displayed in a manner that occludes or inadvertently perpetuates coloniality and are inaccessible to Africans.
This interdisciplinary project will research historic African collections held in Sussex and Kent Museums with the aim of furthering both conceptual and applied debates over 'decolonizing' public institutions. It focuses on three specific collections of known international significance assembled between 1890 and 1940, whose journeys to the South coast began in military, missionary and ethnographic encounters in Botswana, Sudan and the Namibia/Angola borderlands. The project will extend debates in cultural geography, art history, museum studies and digital humanities, by adopting a critical, participatory, practice-based mode of research that builds new African connections through innovative digital and co-curation strategies. The regional focus stems from the revelation by the Arts Council-funded 'Uncovering ethnography in Kent and Sussex' project, that museums in the South-east had unused historic African collections of unanticipated scale and value. The diversity of these collections, held in very different sorts of museums, provides an ideal opportunity for responding to the Tropen Museum's (2017) call for recognition of complexity, not only in the histories of colonial holdings but also in potential 'decolonial' responses.
The project asks: What are the 'decolonial' possibilities for African collections in Sussex and Kent Museums, and how can these further debates over decolonizing British public institutions in both theory and practice? The research is based on collaboration with: three South coast museums (the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, The Royal Engineers Museum and the Powell-Cotton Museum of Natural History and Ethnography); African museums and heritage organizations (the Khama Memorial and Botswana National Museums, the Museums Association of Namibia and Al-Mahdiyya Restoration NGO), as well as UK-based African diasporic interest groups.
Through the research, a minimum of 600 artefacts will be digitized and (re)catalogued. The project will engage spatially dispersed publics in Britain and Africa by co-curating four displays (three in Sussex and Kent Museums, and the fourth in Botswana based on objects loaned from Brighton). An innovative interactive digital archive will link objects to contextual information and different interpretations, while a Wikimedian-in-residence will enable interaction with global publics via the world's foremost media repository. Creating intersections between Wikimedians, Continental- and diapora-based African interest groups and global scholarly networks will maximize new opportunities for knowledge exchange and greater cultural, historical and political understanding. Through both scholarly publications and policy briefings, the project will further cutting edge debates over how to redress colonial legacies and enable museums to meet twenty-first century goals of accessibility, inclusivity and social justice.
This interdisciplinary project will research historic African collections held in Sussex and Kent Museums with the aim of furthering both conceptual and applied debates over 'decolonizing' public institutions. It focuses on three specific collections of known international significance assembled between 1890 and 1940, whose journeys to the South coast began in military, missionary and ethnographic encounters in Botswana, Sudan and the Namibia/Angola borderlands. The project will extend debates in cultural geography, art history, museum studies and digital humanities, by adopting a critical, participatory, practice-based mode of research that builds new African connections through innovative digital and co-curation strategies. The regional focus stems from the revelation by the Arts Council-funded 'Uncovering ethnography in Kent and Sussex' project, that museums in the South-east had unused historic African collections of unanticipated scale and value. The diversity of these collections, held in very different sorts of museums, provides an ideal opportunity for responding to the Tropen Museum's (2017) call for recognition of complexity, not only in the histories of colonial holdings but also in potential 'decolonial' responses.
The project asks: What are the 'decolonial' possibilities for African collections in Sussex and Kent Museums, and how can these further debates over decolonizing British public institutions in both theory and practice? The research is based on collaboration with: three South coast museums (the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, The Royal Engineers Museum and the Powell-Cotton Museum of Natural History and Ethnography); African museums and heritage organizations (the Khama Memorial and Botswana National Museums, the Museums Association of Namibia and Al-Mahdiyya Restoration NGO), as well as UK-based African diasporic interest groups.
Through the research, a minimum of 600 artefacts will be digitized and (re)catalogued. The project will engage spatially dispersed publics in Britain and Africa by co-curating four displays (three in Sussex and Kent Museums, and the fourth in Botswana based on objects loaned from Brighton). An innovative interactive digital archive will link objects to contextual information and different interpretations, while a Wikimedian-in-residence will enable interaction with global publics via the world's foremost media repository. Creating intersections between Wikimedians, Continental- and diapora-based African interest groups and global scholarly networks will maximize new opportunities for knowledge exchange and greater cultural, historical and political understanding. Through both scholarly publications and policy briefings, the project will further cutting edge debates over how to redress colonial legacies and enable museums to meet twenty-first century goals of accessibility, inclusivity and social justice.
Planned Impact
Making African Connections targets the following non-academic beneficiaries:
1. Collaborating museums
a) Kent and Sussex museums will benefit from historical, digital and curatorial research on collections they have identified as internationally valuable yet poorly understood; in some cases, their artefacts will be catalogued and displayed for the first time. The research will bring them into a host of new networks: between museums in the region as well as with African museums; with academics and students; with spatially dispersed global publics and specialist interest groups in Africa and her diaspora. The project's digital component will bring new visibility to hitherto underused objects, in a manner that reflects agenda-setting and innovative methods to capture provenance data, diverse interpretations and on-going global responses. Institutions marginalised by current state funding regimes and disadvantaged by geographical locations outside major cities, some of which have struggled to position themselves centrally in debates over innovative museological practice will have the opportunity to co-design, trial and assess new initiatives for diverse colonial-era collections. This will enable them to further 'decolonizing' ambitions of twenty-first century British public institutions aspiring to meet ethical, inclusive, community-building roles, and to deal with imperial pasts in a manner that works towards justice in the present and future. They will benefit from the displays created by the project, Wikimedia training and afterlives ensured through the digital component.
b) African Museums. The Botswana National Museum and Khama Memorial Museum, which lack nineteenth century artefacts in their own collections will benefit from the loan of Brighton materials, enabling them to display these objects for the first time in Botswana, while archival research and digitizing of provenance and contextual data (derived from UK archives as well as new sources in Botswana and South Africa) will add to understanding of Botswana's transnational and regional cross border connections. This provides a unique opportunity to engage Botswana local publics in memory work and cutting edge debates over international partnerships, digital access and loaning. Curators will be brought into new relationships with Brighton Museum and other project stakeholders, including networks of Africanist scholars and local black history interest groups. The Museums Association of Namibia and the Heritage Association of Southern Africa will also benefit from the newly visible data and new connections.
2. African and African diasporic interest groups. The project's participatory design and engagement of spatially dispersed interest groups in African heritage is particularly timely in this UN decade of people of African descent. They stand not only to gain new insight into imperial connections and object journeys, but will also be central to their interpretation in the digital and curatorial aspects of the project. Co-researchers and curators of Botswanan, Namibian and Sudanese heritage and local black history groups will steer the research, production of digital resources and displays. Wikimedia training will empower these groups with knowledge and skills in cutting edge open access tools.
3. Broader British museum-visiting publics in the UK, global users of the digital archive and Wikimedia will gain insight to diverse imperial pasts, specific Africa connections and African perspectives thereon that do not mask the physical and epistemic violence of imperial expansion and domination, while also conveying complexity and allowing multiple interpretations.
4. Museum policy networks and organizations will benefit from the policy briefing on working with colonial collections to meet de-colonial ambitions. The project will reach UK, European and international museum professionals at the final workshop and conference presentations.
1. Collaborating museums
a) Kent and Sussex museums will benefit from historical, digital and curatorial research on collections they have identified as internationally valuable yet poorly understood; in some cases, their artefacts will be catalogued and displayed for the first time. The research will bring them into a host of new networks: between museums in the region as well as with African museums; with academics and students; with spatially dispersed global publics and specialist interest groups in Africa and her diaspora. The project's digital component will bring new visibility to hitherto underused objects, in a manner that reflects agenda-setting and innovative methods to capture provenance data, diverse interpretations and on-going global responses. Institutions marginalised by current state funding regimes and disadvantaged by geographical locations outside major cities, some of which have struggled to position themselves centrally in debates over innovative museological practice will have the opportunity to co-design, trial and assess new initiatives for diverse colonial-era collections. This will enable them to further 'decolonizing' ambitions of twenty-first century British public institutions aspiring to meet ethical, inclusive, community-building roles, and to deal with imperial pasts in a manner that works towards justice in the present and future. They will benefit from the displays created by the project, Wikimedia training and afterlives ensured through the digital component.
b) African Museums. The Botswana National Museum and Khama Memorial Museum, which lack nineteenth century artefacts in their own collections will benefit from the loan of Brighton materials, enabling them to display these objects for the first time in Botswana, while archival research and digitizing of provenance and contextual data (derived from UK archives as well as new sources in Botswana and South Africa) will add to understanding of Botswana's transnational and regional cross border connections. This provides a unique opportunity to engage Botswana local publics in memory work and cutting edge debates over international partnerships, digital access and loaning. Curators will be brought into new relationships with Brighton Museum and other project stakeholders, including networks of Africanist scholars and local black history interest groups. The Museums Association of Namibia and the Heritage Association of Southern Africa will also benefit from the newly visible data and new connections.
2. African and African diasporic interest groups. The project's participatory design and engagement of spatially dispersed interest groups in African heritage is particularly timely in this UN decade of people of African descent. They stand not only to gain new insight into imperial connections and object journeys, but will also be central to their interpretation in the digital and curatorial aspects of the project. Co-researchers and curators of Botswanan, Namibian and Sudanese heritage and local black history groups will steer the research, production of digital resources and displays. Wikimedia training will empower these groups with knowledge and skills in cutting edge open access tools.
3. Broader British museum-visiting publics in the UK, global users of the digital archive and Wikimedia will gain insight to diverse imperial pasts, specific Africa connections and African perspectives thereon that do not mask the physical and epistemic violence of imperial expansion and domination, while also conveying complexity and allowing multiple interpretations.
4. Museum policy networks and organizations will benefit from the policy briefing on working with colonial collections to meet de-colonial ambitions. The project will reach UK, European and international museum professionals at the final workshop and conference presentations.
Organisations
Publications
Baker, J.
(2020)
Making African Connections Infrastructure Report
Heminway Hurst, H.
(2023)
Making Botswana: Decolonizing Practice Through Collecting Contemporary Craft
in Journal of Museum Ethnography
Making African Connections
(2021)
Making African Connections: Decolonial Futures for Colonial Collections. Initial Findings and Recommendations
Nicoll, F.
(2020)
The Origins, Development and Use of Banners During the Mahdia
in Sudan Studies
Nusairi, O
(2021)
Women Under the Mahdiyya
in Sudan Studies
Thebele, W
(2021)
The Willoughby Collections Catalogue
Thebele, W.
(2019)
The reinvention of the museum into a cultural hub in the African context
in Revista Muzeelor
Title | 'When we were Bechuana' - exhibition at Khama III Memorial Museum, Botswana, launched 20 February 2021 |
Description | This is a new mobile display created by Khama III Memorial Museum curators and project members, Scobie Lekhutile and Gase Kediseng. It involves 10 panel display boards showing enlarged pictures of nineteenth century Tswana cultural artefacts, based on the digitized images of Brighton Museum's Botswana collection. These are combined with a new contemporary collection of objects similar to those in the images, which are produced locally today in Central Botswana, showing continuity in skills in basketware, leatherwork, and smithing. The exhibition invites local publics to reflect on a time when there was much local craft being produced, and on the skills and aesthetic qualities of the objects. It also challenges Tswana publics to reflect on what constitutes Tswana heritage, and on material culture before the predominance of imported European goods purchased from stores. The display is challenging because the initial reaction to such artefacts is often that 'they are not Tswana heritage' and are rather associated with San communities. But the research provided the evidence that these were items used by Tswana elders. The exhibition also draws on a rich array of historical photographic sources to contextualise the provenance and production of the objects in the late C19th at a time of great change. This re-situates the objects and enables their re-narration in relation to the local historical contexts of their original use and creation, rectifying the prior decontextualisation of the UK museum context. The exhibition is portable, and can be used in local schools. |
Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Impact | The impacts of this exhibition are in the new understandings it provides to Botswana publics of C19th Tswana heritage, challenging views of a racialised distinction between Tswana and San (which is a colonial legacy), and rather showing interconnected histories. The impacts will result from its showing in local schools, and to local publics over subsequent years. |
Title | Blog series, Brighton Museum: Making African Connections |
Description | This is a series of 7 blogs produced by Brighton Museum that accompany short film releases. They provide easily accessible, engaging blogs on research on C19th century Botswana artefacts today, continuities in craft production, and meanings for Botswana publics. They are a display substitute (as displays were disrupted by Covid-19), and will reach a wide audience of local Museum publics via the Museums' membership, as well as a broad audience of museum-interested publics beyond the locality. |
Type Of Art | Creative Writing |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Impact | Enhanced awareness of local publics of Brighton's historic African collections, of the history of UK/Africa connections and their local salience, and of the continuities in craft production and interpretations of this heritage on the part of Botswanan collaborators and Southern African diaspora in the UK |
URL | https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/discover/category/projects/making-african-connections-2021/ |
Title | Making African Connections - Meeting the Makers film series. 1) Introduction to the Project 2) Making Botswana: Woodcarvers |
Description | These are the first two films of a series of 7 produced by Brighton Museum based on research in Botswana that provide contextual information on their C19th Botswana collections, aimed at a general public audience. The first two have been released (24 February) and remaining seven will be released by end March. They are a display substitute, as Covid-19 disrupted envisaged displays. |
Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Impact | Increased public understanding of Brighton Museum World Art Collections, and of histories of Brighton/Botswana collections, and of the provenance and meanings today of historic collections. |
URL | https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/discover/2021/02/22/making-african-connections/ |
Title | Making African Connections: Sudan and the Mahdiyya |
Description | This exhibition explores the history of the Madhiyya period in Sudan by drawing on the museum's unique collection of Sudanese artefacts, documents and photographs. The Mahdiyya, a religious and political movement launched in 1881, seized power in 1885 and ruled Sudan until 1898 when it was defeated by Anglo-Egyptian forces. In Britain, the siege of Khartoum and resulting death of General Charles Gordon of the Royal Engineers are the most famous episodes in this history. However, this exhibition seeks to explore the Mahdiyya in a more rounded way: looking at the Ottoman-Egyptian colonisation of Sudan that it ended; religious and social life under the Mahdiyya; and how it was ended by the British invasion of 1898. The exhibition was co-curated by Osman Nusaira, Reem Al-Hilou and Fergus Nicoll |
Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Impact | The Royal Engineers Museum were so pleased with the results they have extended the dates to keep it open for longer, In addition they wish to make changes to their permanent displays based on the exhibtion. |
URL | https://makingafricanconnections.org/s/archive/item/3647 |
Title | New display Powell Cotton Museum - African collectors and Angola |
Description | This new display profiles African collectors who worked to source the Angolan artefacts that are displayed in the Powell Cotton Museum. These were previously portrayed as collected by the Powell Cotton family with no recognition played by the role of African collectors, aides and intermediaries. The display is part of their permanent exhibition and was based on the research for Making African Connection. It includes images of Chief Tshiliwandele, one such collector of Owambo artefacts in the 1930s. |
Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Impact | This is an important aspect of decentring the Powell Cotton family, which is a longer term aspiration for the Museum, in furtherance of decolonizing objectives. It means that visiting publics gain a better understanding of the contexts of provenance and of colonial contexts. It is also combined with a more critical perspective, and can be part of a process challenging colonial myths, forefronting African perspectives, and redressing the ahistorical view of Africa presented in many ethnographic museums. |
Title | Three African Kings visit Brighton 1895 |
Description | A short film created by Brighton and Hove Black History for schools, to accompany educational resources |
Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Impact | Schools have used the educational resource teaching Black History and Empire. Both the film and schools resource were launched to the public, covered in press releases and have been promoted by the Brighton Educators of Colour network. |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqtKkNJPlmg&t=2s |
Description | 1) The project generated significant new interpretations of hitherto poorly understood colonial-era collections from the Sudan, Botswana and the Namibia/Angola borderlands through collaborative research methods that privileged the views and voices of descendant communities, feeding into on-going debates within the UK Museum sector over 'decolonizing'. A policy report including recommendations to the UK Museum sector was prepared collaboratively with partners. It is currently being typeset and will be released April 2021. 2) The digital resources created through the project have been curated into a sustainable digital archive, which provides a record of the research process, and will provide a resource for future researchers, museum professionals and publics interested in digital tools in decolonizing research. Digitized archival texts, oral history transcripts, film clips, photographs and summaries of research undertaken in the UK, Botswana, Namibia and the Sudan are visible alongside objects creating interconnections between items. This provides an accessible resource to African publics as well as global researchers, fore-fronting the voices and views of those who claim the collections as their heritage, and enabling historical re-contextualisation. The project has created 'display substitute' films that interpret each collection, and will themselves be used in the next stage of research, as well films of Zoom discussions of specific aspects of interpretation and debate over what 'decolonizing' the collections might mean. The film materials privilege the views and voices of our team members who are themselves members of descendant communities of each collection. 3) A museum display at Khama III Memorial Museum in Botswana based on digital object images was launched in February 2021 will be part of the Museum's permanent legacy of this project and is designed to be mobile (to enable use in local schools), and will be a research tool in assessing public responses. The Royal Engineers Museum hosted a series of community days with Sudanese diaspora members related to the temporary exhibition created through the project. This temporary display is being incorporated into the permanent gallery, and other aspects of the research have also informed permanent changes to Sudanese objects' display. Other launches are planned in UK museums based on materials already prepared when the Covid-19 restrictions allow, later in 2021, with further research activities around them. 4) Significant positive changes were made on the part of all UK museums including: a) removal of offensive language from public facing displays and catalogue entries, and new policy initiatives in response to 'decolonizing' demands; b) enhanced understanding among staff, volunteers and museum supporters of the collections and debates over 'decolonization' c) Powell Cotton Museum has created a permanent new display based on the research (that profiles an African collector, chief Tshiliwandele, alongside the Angolan objects he collected). Applications for further funding to continue the research and partnerships fostered have been made by two museums (to the Arts Council England, for research and contemporary collecting in Namibia partnering with Dr Napandulwe Shiweda, University of Namibia, by Powell Cotton Museum; and to ICOM for conservation work with Khama III in Botswana by Brighton Museum) |
Exploitation Route | Our partner museums, who were envisaged as our primary collaborators, have already begun to take forward the findings of this research. Specifically, the Powell Cotton Museum has made a bid for Arts Council funding to further funds to conduct their own field research to complement that undertaken by this project. The aims of this research will be to undertake some contemporary collecting to recast their current displays of their Angolan/Namibian materials, and to build links with African researchers and institutions who are interested parties in the historic objects in their collection. Brighton and Hove Black History Project have completed their section of the local history research, and have developed schools resources and a film based thereon. The digital archive will remain accessible and provides a record of the research process as well as outcomes, that will provide a resource for other researchers interested in working ethically with colonial-era collections, and debating their potential futures. |
Sectors | Creative Economy Education Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
URL | https://makingafricanconnections.org |
Description | 1. The findings and recommendations have been brought together into a policy report for the UK Museum sector (published 2021). 2. The research and findings was widely covered in the Museums Association Decolonization Resources as an exaple of good practice: https://www.museumsassociation.org/campaigns/decolonising-museums/resources/ 3. The research has enabled changes in all UK partner museums, including to permanent displays and other forms of public engagement, catalogues/documentation and labelling, and new policy initiatives on 'decolonizing'. The changes include: a) increased understanding of, and removal of offensive language in public facing resources (labels, catalogue entries); b) requests for, and delivery of, training in anti-racism and 'decolonizing' from partner museum met by team members. The research led to Brighton Museum Keeper of Art, Helen Mears, being invited to participate in national policy fora over repatriation, restitution and decolonizing. At Powell Cotton Museum, a new display was created from the research findings on collecting, profiling African collectors who had enabled the acquisition of materials from Angola and Namibia, which was the first time African agency had been acknowledged; in addition, staff, volunteers and museum supporters used the research findings to develop new, critical insights into imperial history that marked a significant change from their previous attitudes, shifting them away from a romanticized, heroic understanding of the Powell Cotton family and colonial museum collecting. The Royal Engineers Museum are using the research findings to inform new initiatives to work with local black heritage organizations, and to train staff in debates over 'decolonizing' by use of the digital resources produced by the research, to be taken forward through the display scheduled for spring 2021. 4. Use of the findings by African partners: a) Winani Thebele of the Botswana National Museum has developed a catalogue based on the digital object images, published and distributed via the Botswana National Museum and Khama III Memorial Museum to spread awareness of the research findings and digital resources (2021). b) Khama Memorial Museum curators used the research findings to mount an exhibition, launched on 20 February 2020 based on the digitized object images, contemporary collecting and other aspects of the research. It is based on panel displays and is portable, designed for future use in local schools. The display interprets and recontextualises the objects in the history of the place from which they were originally acquired for the first time and the launch attracted significant nation media coverage. 3. Follow on bids. a) The findings of the research have been used by Powell Cotton Museum (one of our partner institutions) for a further bid to the Arts Council England (ACE) to undertake contemporary collection and further research in Namibia to inform a new display including video and interactive materials. This initiative stemmed from the emphasis placed in our findings of the importance of including Namibian voices, such that the creators of museum objects are speaking for themselves about their work displayed in the museum. These findings were communicated clearly by Dr Napandulwe Shiweda, of University of Namibia, during her research at Powell Cotton on the Angolan/Namibian collections. The ACE grant was awarded in January 2020. b) Brighton Museum applied successfully for follow on funds from ICOM to work with Khama III Memorial Museum on conservation work. c) The ESRC Impact Acceleration Award at University of Sussex funded a follow on educational resource and film for local schools produced by Brighton and Hove Black History 4. Local diversity organizations in Brighton have used these materials in the following ways: a) Brighton and Hove Black History have used the research to publicize local black heritage, through presentations on their research on Botswana chiefs' visit to Brighton in 1895; the Brighton Educators of Colour Network has used the educational resource in local schools b) Diversity Community Empowerment Services Director, Tshepo Skwambane, who was consultant to this project has used the research findings in presentations on 'decolonizing' to the Museums Association. His renarrations of the objects and collection, feature in Brighton Museum's public dissemination of the research findings via blogs and film materials distributed to Museum supporters, and to broader publics over youtube. |
Sector | Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Cultural |
Description | Brighton Museum - new protocols on racist language |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or Improved professional practice |
Impact | Policies towards racist language are important in the museum sector, but the problem of offensive language is pervasive, particularly relating to colonial collections, catalogue entries and labelling. Brighton Museum & Art Gallery's development of new protocols informed by best practice in the UK archive sector is an important advance. It is documented in the projects policy briefing which is being circulated to the wider UK museum sector, with potential knock-on impacts. Addressing offensive language is important in making museum spaces 'safe' for BAME publics. |
Description | Curators /project partners at the Royal Engineers Museum (Danielle Sellers and Rebecca Blackburn interviewed for South East Museum Development |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
Impact | Other museums policy and practice influence by the case study |
Description | Powell-Cotton Museum redevelopment of gallery and learning activities. |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Description | Presentation by Danielle Sellers (Royal Engineers Museum) to The Highlanders Museum |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | The example given of potential models of work with communities of origin made an input to discussions and possibilities of the types of work possible with community curatorial partners, which marked extensions of practice for military museums. |
Description | Talk on project to Lancaster City Museums and Trustees |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
Impact | The example given of the potential for co-produced research to add new narrations to existing displays from the point of view of the communities of origin and their histories, and the engagement with diaspora communities provided a positive example of improving access and professional practice in relation to military collections in particular |
Description | Talks given to The Green Howards Museum, IWM, Durham City Council Museums |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | These talks all provided examples of innovative practice to museums charged with the curation of military collections, and broadened their perspective on the possibilties of working with academic and community partners, and what decolonial initiatives might look like in practice |
Description | Training on decolonization, anti-racism and responding to Black Lives Matter for museum staff |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | Training was provided by Nicola Stylianou to museum professionals at the Royal Engineers Museum on policy options for 'decolonization' in January 2020. This has resulted in changes to REM policy and practice, as decolonization initiatives are being integrated into policy and practice. |
Description | New Grant - UKRI C19 Extension Fund (Making African Connections from Sussex and Kent Museums: Decolonial Futures for Colonial Collections) |
Amount | £41,777 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Sussex |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2021 |
End | 09/2021 |
Description | Three African Chiefs Visit Brighton in 1895: on-line Black history resource for schools. |
Amount | £3,500 (GBP) |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2021 |
End | 10/2021 |
Title | Making African Connections Website |
Description | The project website brings together digital images of the three collections, together with descriptions of the artefacts and related archival and audio-visual materials. It is designed as an interactive tool, which will capture further interpretations of the objects and will be updated on an on-going basis. It is intended as a means of bringing together information across the three collections in our study and therefore across three museums different cataloguing systems. It will be a means of making connections in subsequent periods of the research |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The objects in the museum collections have been rendered visible to global publics (anyone with a smart phone or access to the internet) for the first time. This is particularly significant as a means of reaching potential African diaspora user groups around the world, as well as African publics within the continent. |
Description | "The Future of African Collections" panel at Museum's Association conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Tshepo Skwambane and Helen Mears participated in a panel discussion on 'Rethinking Relations and Building Trust around African Collections' chaired by Nick Merriman, Director of the Horniman Museum & Gardens, Museums Association conference, Brighton. One of the outcomes of this was increased enthusiasm for the project from senior management at one of the other partner institutions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Annual Symposium of the Society for the Study of the Sudans UK |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Annual Symposium of the Society for the Study of the Sudans UK (SSSUK), SOAS, London, 7 September 2019: Fergus Nicoll and Osman Nusairi meetings with academics, representatives of museums and members of the Sudanese diaspora. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Arts Council England - working group on the Restitution & Repatriation of Cultural Property |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Helen Mears is participating in the Arts Council England working group on the Restitution & Repatriation of Cultural Property tasked with revising / updating national museum sector guidance (to replace that issued by the Museums Galleries Commission in 2000). Attended initial meeting on 5 July 2019 and reviewed draft brief for consultant. Presence on this panel means the project can have influence on national guidelines. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Bitesize talk at Brighton Museum |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Rachel Heminway Hirst and Kathlewwn Lawther profiled the MAC project & Botswana collection (approx.20 objects) during a Bite-size talk. Bite size talks take place in the Museum Lab space and provide visitors with brief introductions to topics. This presentation was enriched by material gathered during the August research trip which Rachel Heminway-Hirst participated in. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Botswana TV news - Then we were Bechuana |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | 'When we were Bechuana' an exhibiton at Khama Memorial Museum showcasing research from the project was featured on Botswana TV news. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Brighton University MA students |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | MA Museum studies visit from Unversity of Brighton were given an introduction to practical museum procedures such as Documentation and Object Entry. Students were introduced to the MAC project and viewed objects with their associated documentation. The session focussed on the challenegs and opportunties of carrying out retrospective documentation that have emerged as a result of participating in the MAC project. Helen Mears, Kathleen Lawther and Rachel Heminway-Hirst ran the session together. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Conference Paper - ECAS |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Nicola Stylianou delivered a paper at the European Conference of African Studies, the largest conference for African area studies in Europe. The paper was 'Making African connections around collections in Sussex and Kent Museums' and was given on a panel addressing museum collections and their histories. As a result of this paper Nicola met with prominent academics from Southern Africa and an early career researcher from Portugal working on a similar topic. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Conference paper - Museum Ethnographers Group |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Nicola Stylianou delivered a paper in the 'provocations' section of the Museum Ethnographers Group annual conference. The theme of the conference was 'Trust, harm and ethnographic display.' and the paper was entitled 'Making and Sustaining African connections.' This was an important opportunity to engage with museum professionals and talk about the issues the project is addressing. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | http://www.museumethnographersgroup.org.uk/en/conference/428-conference-2019-trust-harm-and-ethnogra... |
Description | Conference presentation, Zambia, Journal of Southern African Studies Workshop 'African Agency in the Fields of Science, Technology and Medicine' Lusaka, Zambia, 16-18 August 2023 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The presentation will lead to a journal publication in the future. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Derby Museum and MEG event |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Helen Mears, Rachel Heminway-Hirst and Nicola Stylianou were all involved in organising an event through the Museum Ethnographers group which was hosted by Derby Museum. The workshop focused on gallery redisplay in the context of debates around decolonisation and included a 'Repatriation and Restitution Consultation' session hosted by Helen Mears. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | http://www.museumethnographersgroup.org.uk/en/events.html |
Description | Discussion Panel on Decolonisation at Africa Centre, London |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Nicola Stylianou participated in a panel discussion on decolonisation at 'Changing the Narrative' a two day event sponsored by Informer East Africa and organised by the Muesum of British Colonialism at Africa Centre, London. While at the event Nicola was approached by a number of individuals for more information. As a direct result of this event she spoke to Alan Kunna who has agreed to contribute to the project and has invited Nicola to do a workshop with the students at Newham Sixth Form College. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.museumofbritishcolonialism.org/museum-events/2020/1/11/informer-east-africa-and-mbc-pres... |
Description | Empowering Collections - Museum's Association Conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Kelly Foster, a Wikipedian-in-residence for the Making African Connections project, discussed digital repatriation as a strand of decolonial practice. Kathleen Lawther, who has been working as a collections assistant on the project, discussed the importance of documentation as a tool for access. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Exhibition visit for Shabaka, a Sudanese community group |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Some members of the Shabaka community group (Brighton) visited the Royal Engineers Museum to see Sudan and the Mahdiyya, a temporary exhibition curated by the project team. It also included an opportunity to visit the museums permanent display and see objects usually in storage. This was followed by a discussion with two of the exhibitions curators and museum staff. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://makingafricanconnections.org/s/archive/item/4173 |
Description | Free day at Brighton Museum |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | On the 14th of September Brighton held one of its periodice 'Free days'. Visitors are given free enty to the museum and additional activities are laid on. The Making African connections project was profiled in the Museum Lab space, Tshepo Skwambane hosted and visitors were able to view 24 items from the Botswana collections that are not usually on display The information given was particularly rich as a direct result of the MAC research trip undertaken in August. Visitors responded well to this information and were pleased to be benefitting from new research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Helen Mears is a Member of the Museums Association Decolonising Museums working group |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Member of the Museums Association Decolonising Museums working group tasked with providing new guidance to the sector. Attended initial meeting March 2019.As a direct result of the initial meeting the project was profiled in the Museum Associations 'Empowering Collections' report. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Helen Mears participated in roundtable on restitution hosted by the Arts Council England, the British Council and ICOM-UK. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Helen Mears participate in a roundtable on restitution hosted by the Arts Council England, the British Council and ICOM-UK on the 11th of March. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Heritage Lottery Fund visit to Brighton Museum |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
Results and Impact | Helen Mears, Tshepo Skwambane and Kathleen Lawther hosted a visit from the Heritage Lottery Fund -disucssed MAC and showed them a selection of objects from Botswana collection. The attendees were particularly interested to hear the new information gained on the August research trip to Botswana that members of the MAC team undertook. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Interview for Radio - Then We Were Bechuana |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Radion Botswana and Gabs FM, two prominent radio stations in Botswana, attended the opening of the exhibition and interviewed Scobie Lekhuthile, the curator. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Launch of film and educational resource 'Three African Kings visit Brighton 1895', Brighton and Hove Black History, Black History Month Family Day, Brighton |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Brighton and Hove Black History members Suchila Chaterjee, Bert Williams, Amy Zamarippa Solis and Gabrielle Rowles launched the short film they produced, which accompanied the educational resource on the 'Three African Kings Visit to Brighton 1895' that they produced for local schools. The meeting was Black History Month Family day in the Dome Theatre, Brighton, 11am-5pm including a panel display, leaflets/material on a stall, and a presentation during the day's programme. There was a presentation of the project, a viewing of the film, and details of the educational resource newly available from the Brighton and Hove Black History website. There was a Q&A afterwards and the audience, which included parents and teachers, were positive about the existence of the resource and film. The film and resource draw on the AHRC-funded underlying research, make connections to the historic collection from Botswana at Brighton Museum, and to the partnership withe Khama III Memorial Museum that was built during the research project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://brightondome.org/event/28763/black_history_family_day/ |
Description | MEG online conference - Conversations |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Nicola Stylianou gave a talk at the Museum Ethnographers Group conference to introduce the 'Initial findings' publication to an audience of museum professionals. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Making Botswana - series of blogs |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Project partners Royal Pavilion Museums and Galleries, Brighton produeced a series of 6 blogs plus a Project/Blogs Intro. They include written information, film clips, images and interviews and are a multimedia virtual display that substitutes for a physical display that could not take place due to COVID restrictions. They are based on project research and explore the relationship between craft/objects researched as part of the project and their relevance to the shaping of the Botswana nation. These were produced collaboratively and link to longer 'Meeting Makers' film. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/discover/category/projects/making-african-connections-2021/ |
Description | Meeting, History Department, University of Botswana |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | 10 members of the University of Botswana History Department attended a meeting to hear about the research conducted and planned, sparking discussion over further involvement of the history department in the form of a formal one day workshop to coincide with the return of the C19th artefacts from Brighton to Khama III Memorial Museum. The historians reported a change of attitude towards museum artefacts, which they had seen as ahistorical and associated with ethnographic, archaeological and natural history expertise. After the meeting they described an increased interest in ninetheenth century museum collections as potential historical source. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Museum Hour: Kathleen Lawther |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | On the 24th of August Kathleen Lawther (Brighton Museum team) hosted aMuseum Hour Twitter conversation on the topic of decolonising museum documentation. Museum Hour is a very popular thread on twitter in which guest curators pose questions which other museum professionals respond to. It is widely followed by UK based museum professionals but also attracts an international audience. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Museums Association's Decolonising Museums working group Workshop - audiences and participants |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Tshepo discussed his involvement in the MAC project as part of a workshop session focused on 'Audiences + Participants' for the Museums Association's Decolonising Museums working group.This allowed the projects experience of decolonising practice with sector organisations to inform the guidance the MA is working on to support museums to understand decolonising practice and provide practical advice to museums that want to take action to decolonise their practices. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Panel Discussion - Museum of British Colonialism |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Nicola Stylianou participated in a panel discussion on 'Decolonisation' at 'Changing the Narrative', an event organised by the Informer East Africa and Museum of British Cololnialism. at Africa Centre, London. The event was attended by over 100 people interested in the topic from a wide variety of perspectives. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.museumofbritishcolonialism.org/museum-events/2020/1/11/informer-east-africa-and-mbc-pres... |
Description | Participation in BIEA panel on collaborative heritage projects as part of an event called 'Innovative Research in Africa' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | This was an online event organised by the British Institute in Eastern Africa to celebrate their 60th anniversary. The theme of the day was 'Innovative research in Africa' and the panel, organised and chaired by Zoe Cormack, focussed on 'New work on museum collections between UK-Eastern Africa.' A presentation was given by Nicola Stylianou about the projects work with the Sudanese collections at the Royal Engineers Museum. She showed the video of the Sudan team talking as they were unable to att |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Presentation at Al-Ahfad University for Women, Omdurman (11 March @1530) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Fergus Nicoll (consultant on the MAC project) gave a 40 minute PowerPoint presentation describing the origins of the MAC project, the development of the bilingual website and the plans for new"decolonized"exhibition at the REM. The talk went on to discuss the large volume of Mahdiyya artefacts extant outside Sudan, using illustrations of flags, jibbas, Korans, etc., and illustrating with a UK map the 45+ institutions currently holding (if not displaying) relevant Sudanese material from the period. All three audiences were surprised bythe number of UK museumswith Mahdiyya materials, as well as the extent of their holdings, and impressed by the significance of some specific items-especially the finials and drapesfrom the Mahdi's tomb, the Khalifa Abdullahi's personal Koran, the numerous well-preserved banners, and the remarkable 1898 photographs in the Royal Collection.There were unexpectedlyfew calls for the repatriationof artefacts -butconsiderable enthusiasm for some kind of collective online exhibition.Attendance was constrained by a widespread petrol shortage that took private cars and taxis off the road, so the event was broadcast on Facebook Live. Influential attendees: Dr Iglal Elmalik, Director of NCAM'sConservation Project; Rabah al-Sadiq, daughter of Imam al-Sadiqal-Mahdi (see below); Professor Gasim Bedri, President of al-Ahfad University for Women |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Presentation by Fergus Nicoll at Abd-al-Karim Mirghani Cultural Centre(AKMCC), Omdurman (12 March @ 1930) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Fergus Nicolla (consultant) gave a 40-minute PowerPoint presentations, describing the origins of the MAC project, the development of the bilingual website and the plans for new"decolonized"exhibition at the REM. The talk went on to discuss the large volume of Mahdiyya artefacts extant outside Sudan, using illustrations of flags, jibbas, Korans, etc., and illustrating with a UK map the 45+ institutions currently holding (if not displaying) relevant Sudanese material from the period. All three audiences were surprised bythe number of UK museums with Mahdiyya materials, as well as the extent of their holdings, and impressed by the significance of some specific items-especially the finials and drapesfrom the Mahdi's tomb, the Khalifa Abdullahi's personal Koran, the numerous well-preserved banners, and the remarkable 1898 photographs in the Royal Collection.There were unexpectedly few calls for the repatriation of artefacts -but considerable enthusiasm for some kind of collective online exhibition. Attendance was constrained by a widespread petrol shortage that took private cars and taxis off the road, but the event was broadcast live on the private TV channelSudaniyya 24. Influential attendees: Sara Nugdallah, Deputy leader of the Umma Party;Kamal Abd-al-Karim Mirghani, Director of theAKMCC; Sadiq Awad Bashir, biographer of Ali al-Mahdi |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Presentation by Fergus Nicoll at Al-Imam al-Hadi College(IHC), Omdurman (12 March @1130) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Fergus Nicoll (consultant on the MAC project) gave a 40 minute PowerPoint presentation describing the origins of the MAC project, the development of the bilingual website and the plans for new"decolonized"exhibition at the REM. The talk went on to discuss the large volume of Mahdiyya artefacts extant outside Sudan, using illustrations of flags, jibbas, Korans, etc., and illustrating with a UK map the 45+ institutions currently holding (if not displaying) relevant Sudanese material from the period. All three audiences were surprised bythe number of UK museumswith Mahdiyya materials, as well as the extent of their holdings, and impressed by the significance of some specific items-especially the finials and drapesfrom the Mahdi's tomb, the Khalifa Abdullahi's personal Koran, the numerous well-preserved banners, and the remarkable 1898 photographs in the Royal Collection.There were unexpectedlyfew calls for the repatriationof artefacts -butconsiderable enthusiasm for some kind of collective online exhibition. Attendance was constrained by a widespread petrol shortage that took private cars and taxis off the road, so the event was broadcast on Facebook Live where it attracted over a thousand viewers. This institution seemed the most promising for potential future collaboration. Fergus Nicoll was ableo to meet with a number of people who could be interested in assisting with the project or developing future projects: Prof. Yusuf Hassan Muhammad Yas, Director of the IHC's Imam Abd-al-Rahman Centre;Nasreldin al-Hadi al-Mahdi, prominent member of the al-Mahdi family; Dr Faisal Musa, Emeritus Professor of History at Nilein University; Sadig Babo Nimirof the Umma Party Political Bureau; Omar al-Nur Ahmad, Director of the Military Museum in Bahri; Dina Heikalof theEgyptian Embassy in Khartoum |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Presentation to Durham University History Department Seminar, 'Making African Connections from Sussex and Kent Museums: Decolonial Futures for Colonial Collections' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation to academic colleagues in Durham University History Department, with question and answer and animated discussion |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Presentation, Army Museum Ogilby Trust Conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation by Rebecca Nash and Danielle Sellers, entitled 'Making African Connections - Reviewing the Sudanese Collection of the Royal Engineers Museum', at the annual conference of the Amy Museums Ogilby Trust, 4 October 2022. The theme for the conference was 'Storytelling: New Approaches in Army Museums'. The presenters - Rebecca Nash, Director & Danielle Sellers, Collections Manager, Royal Engineers Museum, Library and Archive - were project partners in the MAC project. Their paper discussed the re-narrating of the Sudanese collection through the MAC project - the changes made and ways in which the MAC project work is now reflected in the Royal Engineers' Galleries. The presentation, with its emphasis on recontextualising vis a vis Sudanese history, and the role of Sudanese historians and diaspora communities, challenged conventional approaches. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Project profile for Museum Ethnographers Group website |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The project was profiled on the Museum Ethnographers Group website. Nicola Stylianou wrote the profile. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | http://museumethnographersgroup.blogspot.com/2019/03/making-african-connections-decolonial.html |
Description | Project profiled in the Museum Associations Collections 2030 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The Making African Connections project was a casestudy in the Museum Association's 'Empowering collections' publication, which is part of its Collections 2030 project. Collections 2030 is a major research project looking at the long-term purpose, use and management of museum collections. It addresses two main themes: the culture of collections - how collections can be used and what we think they are for - and infrastructure - what we need in place to make our collections effective. This is a high profile and presitgious project so to be selected as a case study brought us to the attention of a much wider audience and resulted in a query from another museum in Kent about advice on decolonising their collections. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.museumsassociation.org/download?id=1262818 |
Description | RPM Decolonising Museums working group - online event: Wednesday 23 September 2020, 2-3.30pm |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | This online zoom webinar was chaired by Jenny Williams (founder of Take the Space and coordinator of the RPM Heritage Network), considered what the movement towards Decolonising Museums and the #BlackLivesMatter campaign means for Royal Pavilion and Museums's buildings, collections, workforce and activities. Speakers included Kelly Foster (MAC), Layemi Ikomi (White Pube), who will reflect on the response of the UK arts/heritage sector to this movement to date; plus Helen Graham (Volunteer & Workforce Development Manager), Helen Grundy (Senior Keeper, Creative Programming) and Helen Mears (Keeper World Art, RPMG) offering our initial thoughts on how decolonising effects their respective areas of work. Although the event was intended for staff at RPMG it was opened to a wider audience as a result of interest from others in the museum sector. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Research Seminar for Sussex Africa Centre and Sussex Art history. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Nicola Stylianou delivered a research seminar entitled "Making African Connections: Angolan Artefacts in the Powell-Cotton Museum." This was the first time the Sussex Africa Centre and the Art History department jointly delivered a research seminar. It was well attended by students and staff from both departments and there was a lively discussion following the presentation. One PhD student approached the speaker to ask for advice about undertaking fieldwork around museum collections and a colleague from Art History approached the project to find out more about creating an online archive. JoAnn McGregor and NIcola Stylianou were also approached and asked if they would be interested in joining a (yet to be set up) heritage network working across disciplines and departments. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Seminar, Sussex Africa Centre, University of Sussex |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Seminar on 'Decolonizing Museums in Southern Africa' with presentations by three visiting project partners from Southern Africa: Winani Thebele, Chief Ethnologist, Botswana National Museums (February 2019); Dr Napandulwe Shiweda, Senior Lecturer, University of Namibia; Mr Scobie Kekhutile, Curator Khama III Memorial Museum, Botswana. The seminar was chaired by Prof JoAnn McGregor and attended by staff, postgraduates and undergraduates from University of Sussex; staff and postdoctoral researchers from University of Brighton; members of third sector organizations involved in diversity and debates over decolonizing in Brighton and Lewes. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Session for Brighton University |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Rachel Heminway- Hirst organiesed a session for Universtiy of Brighton Students on the 'Embodied Visual Narratives' module. Discussed MAC and showed them obejcts from the Willoughby collection. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Shabaka Community group - Exhibition visit 18 September |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Some members of the Shabaka community group (Brighton) visited the Royal Engineers Museum to see Sudan and the Mahdiyya, a temporary exhibition curated by the project team. It also included an opportunity to visit the museums permanent display and see objects usually in storage. This was followed by a discussion with two of the exhibitions curators and museum staff. This event on the 18th of September was offered as a follow up to an event in June. This was due to demand from Shabaka members, several people attended again and brought family members. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Suchi Chatterjee presentation as part of BHBH celebration |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Suchi Chatterjee profiled the work she and Bert Williams have done for the MAC project, researching the local history angle to Brighton Museum's collection of objects from Botswana. The talk was part of an event to celebrate 18 years of Brighton and Hove Black History, a project partner. The event was online and was attended by about 70 people. The talk was well received and revealed a strong interest in the local angle which has contributed to a decision to pursue the possibility of a resource for schools on the topic of the 'Three Kings Visit to Brighton'. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Then We Were Bechuana - Exhibition opening at Khama Memorial Museum, Serowe |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | 20 people attended the opening event (numbers were highly restricted due to Covid) and since then there have been several groups of visitors including local people, delegations from embassies and the media. The exhibition is leading to discussions in both the local area and nationally about the museum objects and the history associated with them. On the day there were discussions about how much history and terminology had been lost, several visitors reported never having seen anything like the objects in the picture. A representative of the Kgotla (local authority) also attended and said although it was the first time he'd seen such things it wasn't the last and discussed the importance of understanding and showing respect for culture. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | http://makingafricanconnections.org/s/archive/item/3599 |
Description | Webinar with Newvic African Studies Centre |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Zoom webinar with Newvic (Newham sixth form college) African Studies Centre. The African Studies Centre aims 'to equip teachers with the skills and knowledge to teach students about the history of Africa, doing away with a tradition of learning about this diverse continent through the lens of European colonialism.' Nicola Stylianou was interviewed by Alan Kunna, History Lecturer and Foundation Learning Manager about the exhibition at the Royal Engineers Museum. The webinar had a live audience and is also available on youtube and via the Newvic website. The main audience for their material is teachers but the event was also open to the general public and included members of the Sudanese diaspora. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.newvic.ac.uk/african-studies-centre |
Description | Workshop Participatoin - 'Art Markets & Museums: Restitution and Repatriation of Cultural Heritage'. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Helen Mears participated at a workshop at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | panel presentation by JoAnn McGregor - Exploring the Digital Shift |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation on research findings to Wiley-sponsored panel on the opportunities and challenges of digitizing archives. Audience was academics at the Royal Anthropological Institute/Royal Geographical Society joint conference 18 September 2020. The presentation was recorded and is viewable online. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |