Post-Colonial Heritage in the Present: Museums, Archives, Art and Activism

Coming to terms with the long-lasting impact of colonialism has recently been the focus of attention of a number of cultural institutions transnationally. From the 90s onward scholars have noted multiple ways to deconstruct narratives of colonialism as a shared European contested history. Recent years saw a momentum in the global debate on decolonising museums and heritage sites, thanks to diversification of heritage professionals, issues of repatriation and demand for dealing with neo-fascist racism following the 2020 Black Lives Matter movements. While much of the critical discourse focuses on institutions, museums in particular, as having colonial origins, this conference seeks to look comparatively at the deconstruction of colonial narratives both in museums and heritage sites in various part of the world to better understand contemporary dynamics.

The conference seeks to address the following themes:
-Reading the colonial archive
-Repair and Restitution
-Contested heritage sites: monuments, street naming and statues
-Curating museum colonial collections
-Artistic practices
-Cultural activism

Contributors should reflect on, but are not limited to, the following questions:
1) What are the challenges in an institution dealing with the colonial past?
2) In what ways cultural practices contribute to creating new decolonial narratives?
3) What recent political developments have made key changes in academic, artistic and curatorial practices and how these shift influence the dealing with the colonial past?

Deadline for submission: January 31st, 2022. Please submit an abstract of max 300 words along with your CV to Flaminia Bartolini (flaminia.bartoliniispc.cnr.it).