Who cares? Museum conservation between colonial violence and symbolic repair

Abstract

ABSTRACT Recently, museums have been under growing scrutiny. The public debate has focused mainly on two things: The way cultures and objects are presented and displayed in museum galleries and the questions of restitution. However, 80–99% of a museum's collection is and will probably remain in storage. This paper changes the focus from exhibition or restitution to conservation, understood as a set of practices preserving and giving access to art and material culture. More precisely, I study preventative conservation and collection management as political actions. Building upon the unvaluable work carried by conservators in the US and beyond, but also including other voices and alternative gestures, I aim to start a conversation about what conservation could be in a postcolonial museum.