There is a trend/movement in the museum sector to question the heritage of the museums themselves (their buildings and purpose) and the collections that live in them. This has been played out in academic papers, articles, Twitter discussions and in the actions of some museums. At the Museum of Cornish Life, we believe that it is as relevant for us as for the large nationals.
In 2020 volunteer researcher Julia Webb-Harvey began an enquiry into our collection rooted in three influences:
* The Citizen Curator programme she took part in and its invitation to look for the hidden stories.
* Decolonising Museum collections debates and actions in other museums.
* The rise in 2020 of Black Lives Matter, and a new relevance to looking at objects relating to institutional racism.
This lead to an exploration of the collection the museum held from the now closed Camborne Museum. Join us as Julia shared what she uncovers from this collection stored under the eaves.
- Under the Eaves
- Sugar Nips
- The Egyptian Collection
- Evaristo’s Epitaph
- What can we Learn from Evaristo’s Epitaph
- Ivory, The Pursuit of White Gold
- The Cornish and the Boer War
- Mexican Antiquities in the Camborne Collection
- The Dancing Girl of Naukretis