V&A CONFERENCE
ON “museums of the future”
19-20 October 2023, London
NOSTOS Strategies attended a conference at the V&A Museum on the future of museums. The conference brought together UK and international museum practitioners, architects, and thinkers to explore museum developments and practice, discuss why museums still matter, and explore future possibilities that can be created n the museum space.
The second day of the conference featured a presentation by Tasneem Mehta (Director, Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai) on strategies for reimagining a post-colonial museum. Tasneem emphasised the significance of preserving historical narratives without erasing them, and underscored the potential for repurposed post-colonial museums to actively incorporate and reinvigorate traditional skills and art forms. Engaging the corporate sector could prove beneficial in this context.
Another session of the conference focused on exhibitions, collections and representation with Dr Christine Checinska (Senior Curator, Africa and Diaspora: Textiles and Fashion, V&A), Dr Nick Merriman (Chief Executive, Horniman Museum and Gardens, London), Tony Butler (Executive Director, Derby Museums, Derby) and Leonie Bell, Director, V&A Dundee. Speakers discussed how museum collections and experiences can be accessed as equitably as possible, digitally and physically, through engagement and partnership working with local and international stakeholders.
In response to concerns about museums potentially becoming devoid of artefacts if all items are repatriated, Sonita Alleyne (Master of Jesus College, Cambridge) made the following points:
Advanced loan arrangements are now in place, allowing countries of origin to autonomously choose to lend their artefacts to museums located abroad;
Museums house a vast number of artefacts in storage facilities, and many of these items could be displayed in lieu of the ones being returned; and
It is essential to recognise that not all artefacts should be subject to immediate, unrestricted access. The notion that we inherently possess the right to view every artefact at any given moment and in any location may need to be reconsidered.
