Alternative Museologies: Historical Groundings and Future Horizons
May 20-22, Humanities Research Centre and online via Zoom

This workshop is devoted to conceptualizing and planning a collaborative book and archiving project devoted to assembling examples of vernacular museum models, curatorial methods, and concepts of heritage retention, especially those of Indigenous, First Nations, and Aboriginal communities. The goal of the project is to fill a gap in the museum and heritage studies literature and information resources by placing early, out of print and perhaps lesser- known works by Indigenous, non-European/non-Anglophone scholars and writers in dialogue with contemporary materials and making them accessible to a wide range of users. Workshop participants will also explore avenues for activating the knowledge bases represented in the collection of materials compiled, such as community conservation efforts as well as research on and documentation of vernacular, local museologies.

The project team is composed of junior, mid-career, and senior scholars, curators, and cultural practitioners with expertise in Indigenous museology, intercultural curation, museum and heritage studies, and community-engaged practice.

Jilda Andrews (Yuwaalaraay First Nations) cultural practitioner and Research Fellow at the Australian National University

Halena Kapuni-Reynolds (Kanaka ʻŌiwi), Associate Curator of Native Hawaiian History & Culture, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, DC

Christina Kreps, Professor of Anthropology, Director of Museum of Anthropology, Museum and Heritage Studies, University of Denver, Colorado, USA

Conal McCarthy, Professor & Director, Museum & Heritage Studies Programme, Victoria University of Wellington Aotearoa New Zealand

Bryony Onciul, Associate Professor, Professor of Museology and Heritage Studies, University of Exeter, Visiting Professor in Anthropology, University of British Columbia

Awhina Tamarapa (of Māori descent, Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Ruanui Tribes) Post-Doctoral Fellow, Victoria University of Wellington Aotearoa New Zealand