Project Details
Description
Aim
This project brings together an interdisciplinary team of curators and researchers to assess whether comparing repatriation practices at three institutions—BMAG (Bristol Museum & Art Gallery), UoB (University of Bristol), and TPM (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 restitutional efforts, re-indigenising collections and connecting past, present, and future.
c) Foster deeper cross-cultural dialogues where museums prioritise reciprocity and meaningful exchange.
Background
The UK holds over 137 million natural sciences specimens across more than 83 institutions. As climate change and biodiversity loss intensify, these collections are increasingly used for research and public engagement. While many specimens were locally collected, a significant number originate from regions formerly colonised by the British Empire.
At BMAG, a major portion of its 19th and early 20th century collection came from outside the UK, acquired via imperial shipping, colonial collectors, and the Bristol Zoo. Similarly, UoB’s Earth Sciences Collection holds over 5,000 mineral specimens—36% from non-European and 27% from colonised countries.
Despite the size and global scope of these collections, repatriation within natural sciences remains rare. Repatriation efforts typically focus on ethnographic or archaeological items deemed to hold cultural, spiritual, or artistic value. Natural science materials are often viewed through a strictly scientific lens, sidelining discussions of return or decolonisation.
This project seeks to challenge this exclusion by drawing on prior work at BMAG and UoB and learning from TPM - a global leader in repatriation and bicultural museum practice. It asks whether guidance from TPM can inform a Bristol-based, culturally sensitive approach and what this could look like across both institutions.
This project brings together an interdisciplinary team of curators and researchers to assess whether comparing repatriation practices at three institutions—BMAG (Bristol Museum & Art Gallery), UoB (University of Bristol), and TPM (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 restitutional efforts, re-indigenising collections and connecting past, present, and future.
c) Foster deeper cross-cultural dialogues where museums prioritise reciprocity and meaningful exchange.
Background
The UK holds over 137 million natural sciences specimens across more than 83 institutions. As climate change and biodiversity loss intensify, these collections are increasingly used for research and public engagement. While many specimens were locally collected, a significant number originate from regions formerly colonised by the British Empire.
At BMAG, a major portion of its 19th and early 20th century collection came from outside the UK, acquired via imperial shipping, colonial collectors, and the Bristol Zoo. Similarly, UoB’s Earth Sciences Collection holds over 5,000 mineral specimens—36% from non-European and 27% from colonised countries.
Despite the size and global scope of these collections, repatriation within natural sciences remains rare. Repatriation efforts typically focus on ethnographic or archaeological items deemed to hold cultural, spiritual, or artistic value. Natural science materials are often viewed through a strictly scientific lens, sidelining discussions of return or decolonisation.
This project seeks to challenge this exclusion by drawing on prior work at BMAG and UoB and learning from TPM - a global leader in repatriation and bicultural museum practice. It asks whether guidance from TPM can inform a Bristol-based, culturally sensitive approach and what this could look like across both institutions.
Layman's description
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?
| Status | Finished |
|---|---|
| Effective start/end date | 1/08/25 → 30/11/25 |
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