In this film, a panel of international researchers delve into the thorny issues around ethnographic collections and their role in contemporary life. The film was recorded at the Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg, Sweden, September 19, 2023, as a round table event where six scholars discussed issues such as: how historic collections can shed light on environmental questions, First Nations knowledge sovereignty, working across knowledge and museum silos, and the complexities of archival decolonization.

Host for the event
The event was hosted by the Centre for Critical Heritage Studies and the Heritage Academy, the Swedish Museums for World Culture in collaboration with the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Gothenburg.

Film production
The film Ethnographic Collections and the Remaking of Knowledge is produced by the Centre for Critical Heritage Studies at the University of Gothenburg, in collaboration with Medieteknik. Kindly supported by The Swedish Research Council via the project Objects of Science and Culture.

 

Participants in the panel
Dr Christine Hansen is the principal investigator of the project Objects of Culture and Science, based at the Department of Historical Studies and the Centre for Critical Heritage Studies, University of Gothenburg.

Dr Mandy Quadrio is a Palawa woman connected to her clan Country of Tebrakunna on the far north-east coast of Tasmania.  Currently based in Brisbane, her artistic practice she works to unfix racist categorisations, historic denials and imposed invisibility in relation to Aboriginal identity.

Asst Professor Tiffany Shellam is an historian at Deakin University who works collaboratively with the Nyungar community of Western Australian, historians, museum curators, and archivists to unearth hidden and alternative histories of 19th century encounters.

Shona Coyne is a Menang/Nyungar woman with cultural connections to Yamatji Country in Western Australia and the Scottish Highlands. She is also Head of the First Nations Collections and Community Engagement team at the National Museum of Australia.

Susannah Montgomery is Deputy Director and Researcher at the Sustainable Media Lab, Inholland University of Applied Sciences where she is dedicated to making technology safe, helpful, and sustainable for society, ensuring that everyone’s rights are protected – even in the digital world.

Dr Adriana Muñoz is Curator for the Americas at the National Museums of World Culture in Sweden. Her focus within her curatorial role is giving access to collections, exhibitions, education, and increasingly, working on repatriation and provenance projects. Her research investigates the possibility of changing the narrative of the museums in the digital world.

Host: Dr Anna Bohlin, Senior Lecturer, Department of Social Anthropology and the Centre for Critical Heritage Studies, University of Gothenburg.

For more information, please visit the Centre for Critical Heritage Studies website: https://www.gu.se/en/critical-heritage-studies