Abstract
In 2018, the University of the West Indies and the Barbados Museum & Historical Society embarked on a project to facilitate a community-led composite history of the Caribbean migratory experience to Britain. This was the museum’s first attempt at an intentional, large-scale community collaboration across the diaspora. One of the resulting outputs – The Enigma of Arrival: The Politics and Poetics of Caribbean Migration to Britain – was a rare Caribbean-based travelling exhibition on post-war migration from the Caribbean territories to Britain and the subsequent post-independence rejection by the United Kingdom of Caribbean migrants. Our practice proposes, a model for how Caribbean museums with global communities and audiences can incorporate inclusive practices. In this paper we chronicle how the museum has evolved from small organically evolving community interventions and collaborations, to this major project with a formal practice frame work as examples of a ‘community of practice’ . It concludes by briefly exploring next steps for imagining the truly inclusive museum in our curatorial practice going forward.
Presenters
Kaye HallEducation and Community Outreach Officer, Education and Community Outreach, Barbados Museum & Historical Society, Barbados Natalie McGuire
Curator, Social History and Engagement at the Barbados Museum & Historical Society
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
2023 Special Focus—Museum Transformations: Pathways to Community Engagement
KEYWORDS
Inclusive, Community, Engagement, Caribbean, Windrush, Accessible, Decolonial, Models, Practice, Curation
