WHEN : 19th April, 4:00pm
WHERE : UQ Art Museum
Cultural Restitution in the Digital World: Understanding a New Political Economy of Images in the Pacific
The digitisation of museum collections has transformed the way people access and engage with objects. It opens opportunities for a new kind of analytical understanding of collections as well as the ‘digital repatriation’ of objects. This presentation examines these issues critically through an analysis of the use and application of 3d digital images of ethnographic objects by Pacific people. It takes as its focus two collaborative projects set up to support the restoration of cultural knowledge in the Pacific by enabling remote access to 3d digital images. The first project involved the return of a high-resolution 3d digital image of a plank canoe to a community in the Solomon Islands. The other, currently in progress, provides access to 3d images of museum objects for a community in Papua New Guinea using a participatory design methodology. This presentation takes a critical approach to cultural restitution through an analysis of Pacific people’s perceptions of digital images, and the difficulties and opportunities that exist.
Dr Graeme Were is Convenor of the Museum Studies Postgraduate Programme at The University of Queensland and the Director of Postgraduate Studies in the School of English, Media Studies and Art History. His recent work includes the monograph Lines that Connect: Rethinking Pattern and Mind in the Pacific (University of Hawaii Press, 2010) and the co-edited volume Extreme Collecting (Berghahn Books, 2012). His research interests include: anthropological approaches to material culture and museums; digital heritage and source community engagement; and materials and design in Pacific society.
