Practising Return: Policy, Power and Partnership

Can natural sciences collection offer a new look at the processes and policies linked to repatriation of museum holdings by taking a place-based approach?

Critiquing the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery's current Natural History Repatriation Policy and University of Bristol's lack thereof. Connecting with Māori Curators from Te Papa Museum, Aotearoa (NZ)

This project brings together an interdisciplinary team of curators and researchers to assess whether comparing repatriation practices at three institutions—Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, University of Bristol, and Te Papa Museum Aotearoa New Zealand can:
a) Establish a Bristol-based approach to the repatriation of and culturally sensitive work with natural sciences specimens, informed by Bristol's global-local history and multicultural communities.
b) Expand repatriation beyond the physical return of objects to include wider efforts of restitution, re-indigenising collections and connecting past, present, and future.
c) Create cross-cultural dialogues where museums prioritise reciprocity and meaningful exchange.