MEG Conference 2014: Call for papers

Collections, Collaboration and Communities

Museum Ethnographers' Group annual conference 2014

Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 April 2014

University of Aberdeen

Museums now embrace opportunities to work with a range of communities and to develop a variety of partnerships. Recent research has also re-conceptualised the relationships between objects and between objects and people. This conference will explore how museum collections can inspire and benefit from a range of collaborations, and the opportunities brought by different disciplinary perspectives. Issues to be considered could include:

What are the results of the ways that collections are understood, curated and interpreted differently?

What are the different ways in which different disciplines engage with communities - and what can be learned from them?

Can the 'relational museum' offer ways of reconceptualising relationships with communities?

How can these specialisms collaborate and increase the uses of collections?

How can collaborations help rejuvenate and develop collections without specialist curators?

Can partnerships with originating communities benefit other communities?

A 'work in progress' session is also planned for up-to-date information on current and on-going projects; this may relate to any field of museum ethnography not just this year's conference theme (informal 5-10 minute presentations are required).

Papers from the conference may be considered for publication in the Journal of Museum Ethnography published annually by the Group.

For further information or to propose papers or sessions contact:

Neil Curtis, King’s Museum, University of Aberdeen, Old Aberdeen Town House, High Street, Aberdeen AB24 3EN, Scotland

Tel: [+44] [0]1224 274304   

The closing date for submissions and abstracts is Monday 6 January 2014.

The Global Migrations of the Scottish People Since 1600: Issues, Debates, Controversies Conference

Scottish Centre for Diaspora Studies presents:

The Global Migrations of the Scottish People Since 1600: Issues, Debates, Controversies

Friday 4^th – Sunday 6^th July 2014

National Museum of Scotland

Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF

This is a free but ticketed event. For more information on the conference and booking details please visit the website www.ed.ac.uk/hca/global-migrations

This is set to be a very popular event and early booking is recommended as tickets are limited.  

If you have any queries please contact The Scottish Centre for Diaspora Studies at  scotdia@exseed.ed.ac.uk

Pacific Presences Conference

MEG Website evaluation feedback gratefully received...

After the huge success of the ACE funded 'Engaging Curators' project which is coming to an end, MEG has been successful in applying for further ACE funding to facilitate changes to the MEG website, revitalizing and extending MEG's online presence by increasing content and enhancing usability.

We would love to hear from you and would be grateful if you could spare a few minutes to complete our short survey to evaluate our current web offering and contribute ideas and input about what you would like to see available online.

Please click here to complete the survey

Many Thanks,

Faye Belsey (MEG web officer)

Pacific Presences

Introducing a major 5 year ERC funded project; Pacific Presences, based at the Museum 

of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA), Cambridge.

Pacific Presences investigates the art and history of the Pacific, and Europe's engagement with Oceania, through the rich ethnographic collections found in many European museums.  Whilst a few works have become icons of Oceanic art, extensive collections, formed over the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, remain largely unstudied. Focusing on collections from the Pacific, which are now in museums in Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom, this project will use inter-disciplinary methods to explore a broad range of artworks from the region. Considering the constitutive role of artefacts in Pacific societies whilst addressing the complexity of their cross-cultural histories, the project aims to confront and explore the colonial lives of the collections and consider their significance and salience to twenty-first centuries communities and audiences, in both the Pacific and Europe.

See more on the MAA webiste or follow us on twitter @ppresences to keep up to date on the project and its exciting research.

For more information please contact Ali Clark 

Course: Introduction to the arts of the Americas

Introduction to the arts of the Americas

The course is part of Certificate of Higher Education in World Arts and Artefacts administered by Birkbeck’s department of Art History. Introduction to the Arts of the Americas can be taken as a short course or as part of the programme. This module is directly linked to the British Museum exhibition Beyond Eldorado opening in Autumn 2013.

The Lecturer

Having taught indigenous arts of the Americas since 2002 Dr Max Carocci has been Programme Director of World Arts and Artefacts since its 2008. His interests and expertise in the Arts of North American Indian and Amerindian cultures have resulted in several curatorial positions at the British Museum, the Royal Anthropological Institute and independent art galleries across the UK. Anthropologist by training, Dr. Carocci has conducted fieldwork with several American Indian tribes, and has published extensively on the subject of American arts in articles, essays and edited collections. Among his latest books: Warriors of the Plains: the Arts of Plains Indian Warfare (British Museum press 2012); Turquoise in the Americas (Archetype 2013), and Ritual and Honour published in 2012 by the British Museum Press in conjunction with his exhibitions Warriors of the Plains.

World Arts and Artefacts

-Gain a University of London qualification – expand your knowledge and enhance your CV.

-Visit and learn about the rich collections at the British Museum (our world arts partner).

-Includes a mixture of practical and contextual modules, covering a wide range of regions, cultures and historical periods.

Sept- Nov 2013, 6pm-8pm 11 meetings

Birkbeck College and British Museum

Old regime: Std £350, ELQ £475, New regime: Std £500, ELQ £500

15 CATS

Full course outline and further information is available online or by request: 

Yvonne Ng – 0203 0738369 

To enrol: Call the enrolment desk on 020 7631 6651 or visit the website