Chronicles From A Closed Museum

Abstract

This contribution addresses the strategies of public engagement, heritage reinterpretation, and knowledge co-production recently implemented by the MAET - Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the University of Turin. As with many Western museums founded in 19th and 20th centuries, it must contend with a legacy tied to the racist and colonial ideologies of its past. Its ethnographic collections, particularly those from non- European contexts, highlight critical challenges such as its colonial history, ‘sensitive heritage’ and the issue of ‘archival silence’. The MAET has recently started a process of reassessing its non-European collections in an effort to deconstruct its institutional history. This paper will provide an analysis of the museum’s efforts to engage local communities – students, citizens, and migrants – through a decolonial lens, focusing on projects like Around the World in 90 Minutes – an educational workshop for primary school students – and Voices from the Forgotten Collections – conceived to promote the exhibition Africa. The forgotten collections (Royal Museum of Turin, 27th October 2023 – 25th February 2024). Although small in scale, these activities prepare for the museum’s future reopening and foster participatory museology.

Keywords: Museums; Ethnographic collections; Colonial heritage; Archival silence; Decolonisation; Public Engagement.