Decolonising the Museum

Decolonisation, at its simplest, is when a colonial power gives up its control of a colony, withdrawing from it and leaving it independent. This is a process that western imperial powers have been undertaking since the end of the second world war; allowing their overseas possessions to become self-governing. Britain, for example, granted India independence in 1947 and this was the beginning of a long process of gradually breaking up Britain’s Empire, allowing former colonies to become self-governing nation states. However, decolonisation can mean much more than this and can relate to dismantling the legacies of colonialism that run deeper than just the occupation of overseas territories. Many museums and galleries now recognise that they are institutions founded during the colonial era and their collections, to a greater or lesser extent, were acquired from areas of the world that were colonised. They are coming to recognise how important this history has been in shaping their growth as institutions and the collections they hold. In the Great North Museum: Hancock we have world cultures collections that come from different parts of the world that were under British rule. We also have numerous biological and geological specimens from former British colonies. In many ways the museum can be seen as a reflection of British imperialism and visitors can gain a sense of the extent of the British Empire from the Museum’s collections. <a href="https://twmuseumsandarchives.medium.com/decolonising-the-museum-3c277e7a71cd">Click Here</a>