Session
About
From talk to Action with a Global Perspective: What does Museum Decolonisation Really Look Like? Decolonisation across Different Contexts
This conference session addresses a pressing and often uncomfortable question: Are museums truly transforming or engaging in symbolic gestures to appear progressive? In recent years, many institutions have made public commitments to “decolonisation”, but the substance behind these declarations is often unclear. We invite contributions that critically assess whether Western museums are enacting meaningful change or simply adopting the language of decolonisation without altering foundational power structures.
Conversely, we are interested in opening the conversation beyond the often Euro-American-centric lens and recognising that decolonisation means different things in different historical, cultural, and geopolitical contexts. We encourage contributors to explore how museums in the Global South, Indigenous contexts, or formerly colonised regions approach and understand decolonisation in ways that may differ from those of Western institutions.
1. From Talk to Action — What Does Museum Decolonisation Really Look Like?
Presenters are invited to critically examine how we might distinguish between genuine structural change and more superficial effort such as updated labels, renamed galleries, or the hiring of diverse staff without accompanying shifts in institutional power. Contributors may explore how progress in decolonising museums can be meaningfully evaluated, whether through repatriation efforts, changes in governance and staff demographics, community participation, or other tangible criteria. This theme also encourages reflection on whether museums are truly transforming their internal cultures or merely changing their external image, and whether they are fundamentally rethinking the ways they collect, interpret, and display objects—or simply rebranding colonial collections. Submissions may include both constructive case studies of institutions undergoing radical change and critical analyses of those that have failed to follow through on decolonial commitments
2. Global Perspectives — Décolonisation accross Different Contexts
Possible directions for papers may include explorations of how the Western Museum model itself is rooted in colonial ideology, and how institutions outside the West are challenging or adapting this framework. Authors might examine the differences between postcolonial and settler colonial contexts — for example, comparing how decolonisation is approached in Australasia, Africa, or any other former colonial context, and how historical legacies and current political realities influence museum practices. Indigenous-led museums and cultural centres may offer grounded examples of decolonisation from the community level, providing valuable insights into alternative models. Papers could also consider how museums in formerly colonised countries handle the display of colonial-era objects or represent their own cultural narratives in ways that subvert dominant colonial interpretations. Cross-cultural comparisons are especially welcome, such as examining repatriation efforts across regions or contrasting community engagement strategies in different national contexts. Finally, the role of language, indigenous knowledge systems, and oral histories in shaping curatorial narratives invites reflection on how decolonisation intersects with broader questions of representation, authority, and interpretation.
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IC-Ethics Session B (BC-8)
From Talk to Action: What Does Museum Decolonization Really Look Like?
12 November 2025, 16:30- 18:00
DUBAI WORLD TRADE CENTER, DUBAI, UAE
Programme:
16:30 Welcome
-Dr. Lina G. Tahan, Chair of ICEthics
16:30 – 18:00 Presentations
Moderator: Lucia Patrizio Gunning
16:30-16:40 Hadeer Mohamed Reclaiming Lost Cairo: Decolonial Reinterpretation of Islamic Monuments through French Colonial Archives
16:40-16:50 Kim Seulah Museum Decolonization in Korea: Practices and Implications beyond Euro-American Paradigms – A Case Study of the National Museum of Korea
16:50-17:00 CHIU Chunni Decolonial Dialogues: Rethink it together
17:00-17:10 Mossin Tuva Archival Amnesia: Uncovering Norway’s Role in the Colonisation of Greenland
17:10-17:20 Charkaoui Célia Participatory provenance research and the decolonial turn: Rethinking responsibility and governance through Belgian-Congolese Collaboration
17:20-17:30 De Wolff-Finies Jude Bonaire And Its People: Between Narrative, Representation, and Systemic Constraints
17:30-18:00 Discussion
This conference session addresses a pressing and often uncomfortable question: Are museums truly transforming or engaging in symbolic gestures to appear progressive? In recent years, many institutions have made public commitments to “decolonisation”, but the substance behind these declarations is often unclear. We invite contributions that critically assess whether Western museums are enacting meaningful change or simply adopting the language of decolonisation without altering foundational power structures.
Conversely, we are interested in opening the conversation beyond the often Euro-American-centric lens and recognising that decolonisation means different things in different historical, cultural, and geopolitical contexts. We encourage contributors to explore how museums in the Global South, Indigenous contexts, or formerly colonised regions approach and understand decolonisation in ways that may differ from those of Western institutions.
1. From Talk to Action — What Does Museum Decolonisation Really Look Like?
Presenters are invited to critically examine how we might distinguish between genuine structural change and more superficial effort such as updated labels, renamed galleries, or the hiring of diverse staff without accompanying shifts in institutional power. Contributors may explore how progress in decolonising museums can be meaningfully evaluated, whether through repatriation efforts, changes in governance and staff demographics, community participation, or other tangible criteria. This theme also encourages reflection on whether museums are truly transforming their internal cultures or merely changing their external image, and whether they are fundamentally rethinking the ways they collect, interpret, and display objects—or simply rebranding colonial collections. Submissions may include both constructive case studies of institutions undergoing radical change and critical analyses of those that have failed to follow through on decolonial commitments
2. Global Perspectives — Décolonisation accross Different Contexts
Possible directions for papers may include explorations of how the Western Museum model itself is rooted in colonial ideology, and how institutions outside the West are challenging or adapting this framework. Authors might examine the differences between postcolonial and settler colonial contexts — for example, comparing how decolonisation is approached in Australasia, Africa, or any other former colonial context, and how historical legacies and current political realities influence museum practices. Indigenous-led museums and cultural centres may offer grounded examples of decolonisation from the community level, providing valuable insights into alternative models. Papers could also consider how museums in formerly colonised countries handle the display of colonial-era objects or represent their own cultural narratives in ways that subvert dominant colonial interpretations. Cross-cultural comparisons are especially welcome, such as examining repatriation efforts across regions or contrasting community engagement strategies in different national contexts. Finally, the role of language, indigenous knowledge systems, and oral histories in shaping curatorial narratives invites reflection on how decolonisation intersects with broader questions of representation, authority, and interpretation.
——————–
IC-Ethics Session B (BC-8)
From Talk to Action: What Does Museum Decolonization Really Look Like?
12 November 2025, 16:30- 18:00
DUBAI WORLD TRADE CENTER, DUBAI, UAE
Programme:
16:30 Welcome
-Dr. Lina G. Tahan, Chair of ICEthics
16:30 – 18:00 Presentations
Moderator: Lucia Patrizio Gunning
16:30-16:40 Hadeer Mohamed Reclaiming Lost Cairo: Decolonial Reinterpretation of Islamic Monuments through French Colonial Archives
16:40-16:50 Kim Seulah Museum Decolonization in Korea: Practices and Implications beyond Euro-American Paradigms – A Case Study of the National Museum of Korea
16:50-17:00 CHIU Chunni Decolonial Dialogues: Rethink it together
17:00-17:10 Mossin Tuva Archival Amnesia: Uncovering Norway’s Role in the Colonisation of Greenland
17:10-17:20 Charkaoui Célia Participatory provenance research and the decolonial turn: Rethinking responsibility and governance through Belgian-Congolese Collaboration
17:20-17:30 De Wolff-Finies Jude Bonaire And Its People: Between Narrative, Representation, and Systemic Constraints
17:30-18:00 Discussion