Engaging Objects: Indigenous communities, museum collections and the representation of Indigenous histories

This partnership between the Australian National University, the National Museum of Australia and the British Museum, in collaboration with Indigenous research participants and communities, centres on the research process leading up to a major exhibition of the British Museums Australian Indigenous collections, and the post-exhibition impacts. It analyses historical and representational issues evoked in researching and creatingthe exhibition. It will result in new understandings of foundational Australian Indigenous collections and their historical and contemporary significance for scholars, Indigenous peoples and museums. It will contribute to the development of new museological paradigms about the display of Indigenous collections.