2005-06-27
Research project looks at Maori values in presentations of museum
Anyone who has ever been to school can remember visiting museums as a child. Memories of being shepherded around quiet, cold rooms full of national treasures may be almost as strong as the frustration that everything was hidden behind glass cabinets.
Many British exhibitions of the past have been standoffish affairs, restricting contact between visitor and artefact as much as possible. But does this "look but do not touch" approach protect the objects of our past, or remove their cultural significance entirely?
Many British exhibitions of the past have been standoffish affairs, restricting contact between visitor and artefact as much as possible. But does this "look but do not touch" approach protect the objects of our past, or remove their cultural significance entirely?
Now a University of Leicester research project is examining how we can ensure preservation for the artefact while respecting indigenous cultures, and will assess whether it is possible to learn respect for non-European values through educational programmes?
Jeanette Atkinson, one of Dr. Sandra Dudley's Postgraduate researchers within the Department of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester, will be spending 10 months in New Zealand considering these questions courtesy of funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Her research will focus on the approach to exhibitions and preservation taken by the indigenous Maori culture within New Zealand, an approach that combines the presentation of objects with what they signify to their visitors, and aims to examine whether Maori values are evident in educational programmes.
"New Zealand is bursting with a rich cultural indigenous heritage, which is included within exhibitions in the country. Every object for preservation has an existing relationship with its original cultural owners. My research will look at how indigenous curation takes account of this and whether the Maori approach to exhibitions and preservation can be written into educational programmes. My challenge is to write guidelines that educational organisations can use which take into account differing cultural values. " - Jeanette Atkinson
Jeanette presented her Doctoral research project at the recent Post Graduate Research Fair on campus. She is receiving additional support for her field work from a 2006 Non-stipendiary Research Fellowship at the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
"Museum Mindedness" and Indigenous Curating, A Postcolonial Assessment of Preservation Training in Aotearoa New Zealand.
For further information or to provide sponsorship support please contact Jeanette
directly on jca12@le.ac.uk, Phone +44 (0) 1482 872 059 or visit the website:
http://www.le.ac.uk/museumstudies/
Jeanette Atkinson, one of Dr. Sandra Dudley's Postgraduate researchers within the Department of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester, will be spending 10 months in New Zealand considering these questions courtesy of funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Her research will focus on the approach to exhibitions and preservation taken by the indigenous Maori culture within New Zealand, an approach that combines the presentation of objects with what they signify to their visitors, and aims to examine whether Maori values are evident in educational programmes.
"New Zealand is bursting with a rich cultural indigenous heritage, which is included within exhibitions in the country. Every object for preservation has an existing relationship with its original cultural owners. My research will look at how indigenous curation takes account of this and whether the Maori approach to exhibitions and preservation can be written into educational programmes. My challenge is to write guidelines that educational organisations can use which take into account differing cultural values. " - Jeanette Atkinson
Jeanette presented her Doctoral research project at the recent Post Graduate Research Fair on campus. She is receiving additional support for her field work from a 2006 Non-stipendiary Research Fellowship at the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
"Museum Mindedness" and Indigenous Curating, A Postcolonial Assessment of Preservation Training in Aotearoa New Zealand.
For further information or to provide sponsorship support please contact Jeanette
directly on jca12@le.ac.uk, Phone +44 (0) 1482 872 059 or visit the website:
http://www.le.ac.uk/museumstudies/
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