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In Defence of Collections Part 1: An Introduction to the Collections Debate

Posted on 8 June 2022 by Sorcha Riby

Concerns relating to the colonial motivations and attitudes behind museum collections have caused many industry professionals, especially those based in the West, to question whether collections are, and if they […]

In Defence of Collections Part 6: The Role of Museum Collections- A Summary

Posted on 8 June 2022 by Sorcha Riby

The museums sector is committed to education, a commitment we saw renewed at ICOM. Commitment to education means a commitment to people and society, and therefore also to collections. The […]

In Defence of Collections Part 5: Collections- The Colonial Issue

Posted on 8 June 2022 by Sorcha Riby

Recent anxieties around colonial collections and the need to confront their social legacy is the main force behind challenges to collections’ centrality to museums. Sharon Heal, director of the Museums […]

In Defence of Collections Part 4: Collections- The Key to Quality Public Education

Posted on 8 June 2022 by Sorcha Riby

The Museums Association report’s results suggest that the only thing the British public are more interested in than learning is the collections themselves. Jones (2018, p.15), Ambrose and Paine (2018, […]

In Defence of Collections Part 3: Access, Education, and Public Appeal- One in the Same?

Posted on 8 June 2022 by Sorcha Riby

The public education provided by museums has been the primary concern of museology of the last three decades, and therefore remains the ideal outcome of museum engagement, despite being branded […]

In Defence of Collections Part 2: What Does a Museum Do?

In Defence of Collections Part 2: What Does a Museum Do?

Posted on 8 June 2022 by Sorcha Riby

What does it mean for a museum to ‘do’ something? The primary challenge to ICOM’s revised museum definition is that it is an aspiration, rather than a description of what […]

Frequently Asked Questions in Taxidermy

Frequently Asked Questions in Taxidermy

Posted on 12 March 2020 by Ella Berry

Photo of me (left) talking to guests at the National Museum of Wales After Dark event alongside vertebrate curator Jennifer Gallichan (centre) and Nichola Hope (right) drawing. Photo courtesy of […]

Tubey or not tubey, that is the question…

Tubey or not tubey, that is the question…

Posted on 5 February 2020 by Caitlin Jenkins

‘There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.’ (Hamlet, Act 2 Scene 2) Every object has its own story to tell. Some stories are happy, some […]

Kintsugi: a Japanese traditional ceramic conservation skill

Kintsugi: a Japanese traditional ceramic conservation skill

Posted on 5 November 2019 by Shan-Ying Chen

Introduction Kintsugi, also called Kintsukuroi, is a set of traditional Japanese ceramic repairing skills that has been practiced for centuries. Archaeologists and historians have found that some excavated pottery in […]

Feeling conflicted

Feeling conflicted

Posted on 31 March 2019 by Eleanor Sweetnam

Before I begin, I must say that this blogpost is merely a discussion centred around my initial thoughts at the beginning of the conservation process of a British military uniform. […]

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