Decolonising Amgueddfa Cymru’s Collection – the journey begins
6 December 2021
,Museums and their collections are often rooted in colonialism and racism – Amgueddfa Cymru is no different.
The Black Lives Matter movement has fast-tracked conversations about the stories that our collections and displays present, calling for us to confront history and challenge present-day injustices.
We know that we have a lot of work to do to make sure that everyone is represented in our collection and present a more balanced, authentic, and decolonised account of history. To help us with this work, we have developed a Charter for decolonising Amgueddfa Cymru’s collection.
We are recruiting for a Project Manager, Decolonising Collections. The closing date is 13 December - apply now to be part of the de-colonization of the national collections.
Defining 'decolonising'
There is no single definition that explains exactly what decolonising means, so our Charter lays out what it means for Amgueddfa Cymru. It defines 6 areas where we will work collaboratively with communities of relevance on the journey towards decolonising the collection.
We are currently carrying out an audit of our collection. Our findings to date show that links to slavery are woven into the warp and weft of Welsh society. Objects that need to be decolonised are in every store, on every shelf, and in every gallery.
Over the next few months, we will begin a programme of community workshops to look more closely at these objects. To give you an idea of the kinds of objects we will be looking at together, here are a few examples from the collection.
Comments - (3)
FAO: Heartland Patriot
Thank you for writing to Amgueddfa Cymru concerning the article ‘Decolonising Amgueddfa Cymru’s Collection – the journey begins’.
The intention of decolonisation is not to erase history, or the history of the object, but to work collaboratively with communities to develop multiple perspectives to support a better understanding and deeper meaning. Decolonising the collection will mean that we have more information about objects, not less. We will be able to present a more balanced, authentic and decolonised account of history.
Yours sincerely
Amgueddfa Cymru