Transformations of Museums in the 21st Century will be the focus of a free public lecture and discussion roundtable in the Queensland Museum Theatre, Southbank, on Saturday, October 21, 3pm – 5pm.
The event is being organised by Museum Studies at The University of Queensland.
The Director of the National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, the Netherlands, Dr Steven Engelsman, will be the international guest speaker, drawing on his experience at his Museum, which is considered to be the oldest “museum of mankind” in the world.
He will discuss the ways in which such museums, conceived during the 19th century, were used as instruments of colonialism to categorize people, constructing Europe as the pinnacle of human civilization. He argues that many museums have been slow to respond to the challenges of the 21st century, and examines how various European museums have been transformed and reinvented in dealing with the legacies of colonialism.
Dr Engelsman`s lecture will be followed by a discussion roundtable on how museums are transforming to retain their social relevance in postcolonial societies like Australia.
Participants include Dr Ian Galloway, Director of the Queensland Museum, Professor Amareswar Galla, Professor of Museum Studies at The University of Queensland and Chairperson of the Cross Cultural Task Force of the International Council of Museums, Paris; together with Ms Suzannah Conway, Executive Director, Museum and Gallery Services Queensland.
Contact: Dr Kim Selling
Project Officer, Museum Studies
School of English, Media and Art History
The University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD 4072
Email: k.selling@uq.edu.au Tel: 07 3365 2590
