In her preface, Eilean Hooper-Greenhill states that “museums have the power to take a lead in cultural change”.
For author Viv Golding, museums, in particular those that hold anthropological or ethnographic collections, have used these collections to mirror existing power structures in wider society.
According to Golding, now is the time, in an increasingly global and multicultural setting, for museums to reflect on how they exercise the power that they have and to make sure that those who have been silenced and invisible are now heard and seen. This is especially true of black communities in Britain, the US and elsewhere.
Golding uses a form of exchange called feminist hermeneutics, which establishes not only that a dialogue between those inside and outside the museum is established in the first place, but that it is done in a spirit of respect.
The first part of the book explores the theoretical basis that underpins the practical examples and suggestions that the author makes later on.
Chapter one looks at the ways in which museums have defined concepts of truth and knowledge in their collections in the past. The author uses the example of the Benin collections in the Horniman Museum, London, to show that this is anything but the case.
Museums have looked at non-western objects through a western prism. This can create a sense that artefacts from outside of the west are something “other”. If the artefacts are seen by museums in that way, then there is a danger that those cultures from which the objects sprang are seen in the same way.
That is why, as the curator of the 1990 Into the Heart of Africa exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, discovered, it is essential that other ways of looking at museum displays are explored.
I particularly enjoyed the last section of this part, which explores how black voices are beginning to be heard, recognised and displayed. The Horniman Museum started a new dialogue with a creative writing group called the Caribbean Women Writers Alliance.
In the US, volunteers at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia have also begun to integrate black experiences into the history of the site. Here are opportunities for new voices, experiences and knowledge to be added to the ones accumulated by museum staff.
In the case of the Horniman, this meant that creative writing responses were given a status comparable to texts produced by curatorial staff. The book then goes on to explore how museums have tackled the issue of making sure that different voices are heard throughout the displays.
Importantly, these voices are not there simply as a tokenistic exercise but have a central role that is established through a mutually respectful dialogue.
The two examples that they use are the Museum of World Culture in Götenburg, Sweden, and the District Six Museum in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Swedish museum has an exhibition mission statement that should act as a blueprint for British museums. The statement says it “will develop an experimental and questioning style for its exhibitions, so that many different voices can be heard”.
Staff at the District Six Museum have ensured that all of the voices that demand to be listened to in the complex politics of post-apartheid South Africa are included.
The last case study that Golding uses is an initiative she was involved in – a partnership between the Horniman and children from 12 schools in south London. Inspiration Africa was designed as a collaborative and non-hierarchical project so that all voices could be given equal respect.
The children did not simply acquiesce to the cultures and beliefs of the African artists used in the project. Attitudes that appeared unacceptable to them were tackled in the spirit of the project as a whole.
This is an important and useful book that should be read by all museums professionals who understand the value of including all voices.
Colin Hynson is a freelance educational writer and consultant
