Animal Bodies in the Museum: Acts of Artmaking, Collective Knowledge, and Complex Conversation Around Museum Taxidermy

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore how critical acts of making during a participatory museum workshop and subsequent studio-based research-creation can inspire poly-vocal discourses around museum taxidermy as repositories of complex histories. Centred on four animals on display at the Redpath Museum, this program of research sough to reanimate these animals and reposition their context within the museum space and wider world beyond. Through collaborative exploration and creative acts of making, art educators can engage and shape the discourse around taxidermied animal bodies, giving them new life as tools for teaching and learning in museum spaces.