Rights and rites; improving digital access to Indian specimens to unlock cultural significance and context.

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This project uses equipment obtained through the CapCo grant Phase One to generate 3-D-images of biocultural specimens from the Indian sub-continent, to share with our community partners in innovative ways, to facilitate discussion and encourage interaction between local community groups of Indian heritage and Museum Curators. Interpretation of the biocultural collection at Amgueddfa Cymru is restricted to Eurocentric, scientific descriptions which exclude people who do not feel represented by this approach. This narrow interpretation creates barriers to engagement with diverse communities who place greater value on interpretations drawn from the culture and language of a specimen's country of origin. Specimens currently lack an understanding of cultural context and significance to the communities or the diaspora, from where they are derived, so users are deprived of a wider understanding of the collection and ethnic groups are deprived of a voice through co-curation. Engagement is limited to those who can visit the Museum or material we can take to them (thus precluding large or delicate items).The project aims to: a) engage community groups of Indian heritage with relevant biocultural specimens; b) encourage dialogue and knowledge-exchange about the Indian flora; c) co-create new interpretations for Indian specimens, drawing on people's lived-experience and cultural understanding of the specimens' country of origin; d) create new permanent records for specimens to include the new, co-created content. We will achieve this by: e) using the 2-D imaging (and collection visits, Covid-19 permitting) to allow the community group to select priority specimens of interest or significance to them for 3-D scanning and interpretation; f) undertaking 3-D scanning of specimens to share with community groups, in person and online, to facilitate re-curation/co-curation and to solicit further comments and interpretations from wider audiences; g) working with community leaders to run workshops and collection visits, to draw out untold stories of the specimens and address concerns about their colonial past; h) producing blogs with new embedded 3D specimen images, co-created by participants and curators, explaining the significance of selected plants in traditional Indian rituals and ceremonies and/or describing their medicinal applications; i) creating short films about specific plants; films and blogs will be available on-line, to promulgate collection details internationally; j) on-line information and workshop outputs will be used to inspire original responses from creative-writing course participants; k) encouraging deeper discussion and recording of specimen's cultural context and sharing specimen details with communities in the original source countries; l) promoting intergenerational understanding of Indian traditions and supporting cultural identity; m) employing a digital assistant to support scanning work and ensure that relevant records are updated and widely accessible; derived data on cultural context will complement the scientific data, providing a more comprehensive representation of specimens. The project will culminate in a digital and on-site open-day, where curators and community will present their work. This project will increase the relevance of our collections to audiences who may historically have faced barriers to engaging with natural history collections in British museums. This work forms part of a wider decolonisation programme which aims to ensure that everyone in Wales feels represented by Amgueddfa Cymru.