The Radicals: towards a practical framework for anticolonial museum practice and museology

Abstract

Whilst a consensus has begun to emerge that museums should decolonise, debate remains around how. Indigenous museology has already reimagined museum practice, and yet a way forward for anticolonial practice elsewhere has not yet emerged. The repatriation of Ancestors and belongings has long been tied up in discussions of anticolonial museology. Whilst repatriation alone does not equal a decolonised museum, elements of the repatriation process provide learnings that can be applied to anticolonial museum practice more broadly. Utilising these learnings, this paper brings together existing concepts for the first time and puts forward a new practical framework for anticolonial museum practice and museology – The Radicals. These Radicals provide an evolving set of principles that defer to Indigenous Peoples and centre respect.