Museums, Refugees and Communities

Domenico Sergi

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9780429620843
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Museum Studies

Museums, Refugees and Communities explores the ways in which museums in Germany, The Netherlands and the UK have responded to the complexities and ethical dilemmas involved in discussing the reasons for, and issues surrounding, contemporary refugee displacements.

Building upon an ethnographic study carried out in the UK with refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the book explores how object-led approaches can inspire new ways of thinking about and analysing refugees' experiences and European museums' work with their communities. Enlarging the developing body of research on museums' increasing engagement with human rights and focusing in particular on the social, cultural and practical dimensions of community engagement practices with refugees, the book also aims to inform growing debates on museums as sites of activism.

Museums, Refugees and Communities offers an innovative and interdisciplinary examination of museum work with and about refugees. As such, it should appeal to researchers, academics and students engaged in the study of museums, heritage, migration, ethics, community engagement, culture, sociology and anthropology.

1Museums, refugees and communities

Human mobility is a defining feature of the contemporary era, calling into question the existence of geopolitical entities and their borders. Refugee migration, in particular, presents a set of political and ethical challenges which are instigating increasing debate over human rights across the globe. In the last decade, the sheer scale of refugee movements in Europe has generated profound social divisions across the continent (Georgiou and Zaborowski, 2017). In 2019, the International Organisation for Migration estimates that over hundred and twenty thousand people claimed international protection in Europe and over a million applied for asylum in 2015 (IOM, 2020). Public debates about refugee movements are increasingly being conflated with discussions around the securitisation of borders and enmeshed with current issues concerning the future of the European Union (EU) and the COVID-19 virus outbreak (Crawley and Skleparis, 2018; Štefánek, 2020).

The increase in scale of migratory movements, coupled with rising economic insecurity and public health concerns, is being accompanied by a resurgence in nationalist discourses, which have turned refugees into the new strangers knocking at Europe's door. This raises questions around how museums can effectively participate in the debate about refugees’ rights across the continent and the extent to which they can really help refugees (Momaya, 2018). The ways in which the European museum sector has engaged with refugee displacement has so far been varied. Exhibitions and displays have discussed contemporary refugee movements and highlighted personal stories (Coates, 2019). Institutions have explored these complex issues through the lenses of history. Museums have also worked with refugees to gain insights from their knowledge and experience and commissioned works of art created by refugee artists (Charr, 2020). Organisations have also increasingly engaged with refugee groups to overcome the structural barriers encountered in their new localities (National Museums Liverpool, 2011).

This proliferation of museums’ work with and about refugees is yet to be assessed and systematically analysed. Despite the raising interest of museums to this area of practice, previous academic publications in the field of museum studies have tended to address migration as an all-encompassing analytical category and most often used immigration as a focus (Gouriévidis, 2014; Innocenti, 2014; Labadi, 2018; Lanz, 2014; Levin, 2017; Mason, 2013; Peressut et al., 2013; Walsh et al., 2014; Whitehead et al., 2015). In this volume, I argue that refugee displacements present a specific set of theoretical, ethical and methodological complexities that set them apart from other experiences of mobility and, therefore, require a more focused analysis. I address these concerns in the context of the politics of refugee representation articulated by museums in Europe and the work developed to support refugees’ civic participation.

Sandell (2011, 2007: 173) argues that museums can be particularly effective in countering prejudice by reframing, informing and enabling society's conversations about marginalised groups. Museums compete with other mainstream media in the articulation of public perceptions of certain subjects and worldviews. The narratives constructed by museums are influential in shaping public debates (Hooper-Greenhill, 2000; Janes, 2009). Hein (2011: 118) claims that museums have an inherent responsibility to represent, arguing that by not representing a particular topic, by intention or not, museums generate mechanisms of exclusion for the public consciousness. In relation to migration, Johansson and Bevelander (2017: 9–10) notice that museums can ultimately contribute to society's sustainable development. This point is echoed by Westerman (2017: 36) who claims that the principal task of those working in or researching museums should be to actively dismantle borders and to subvert the displays of power, deprivation and exclusion they promote. At the same time, as noticed by Pupavac (2008: 271) in the field of refugee studies, most scholarly contributions have understandably focused on negative representations of refugees, while relatively little attention has been paid to how refugees have been portrayed in more liberal and progressive contexts. Museums represent a good case study in this respect. Analysing the narratives constructed by European museums in relation to the identity and histories of refugees can highlight the strategies adopted and the ethical pitfalls involved in countering stereotypes about, and prejudices against, refugees.

Alongside representational politics, there are also fundamental concerns surrounding the ethics and practice of museums’ engagement work with refugee groups and these are the focus of this volume. This research is located in the field of museum's work with communities, with its emphasis on issues of democratic access, collaboration and participation (Clifford, 1997: 189; Crooke, 2007; Golding and Modest, 2013; Golding and Walklate, 2019; Karp and Lavine, 1991; Karp, et al., 1992; Peers, 2019; Peers and Brown, 2003; Watson, 2007).

I build on the debates introduced in the sector by the ‘new museology’ movement: Vergo (1989) places this movement within a specific western European tradition whilst Guido (1973: 12) highlights the contribution of the civil rights movement of the late 1960s in the American South. I also draw on reflections about the notion of the ‘ecomusée’ coined by de Varine (1978) to place ecology, in its wider sense, at the heart of museum practice (see also Corsane et al., 2007; Davis, 1999). My approach has been also shaped by considerations on the ‘museo diffuso’ (Drugman, 1982; Emiliani, 1974; Lanz, 2014: 149–162) adopted in Italy to describe a model of a museum reaching out to local territories, communities and partnerships. These contributions have tended to emphasise museums as a force for inclusion. With some notable exceptions (Golding and Modest, 2013; Golding and Walklate, 2019; Watson 2007), little emphasis has so far been placed on the exclusionary mechanisms museums might also enact when engaging with community groups. The analysis of the interplay between mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion is particularly important in relation to working practices with refugees who are likely to experience multiple levels of wider social inequalities.

Analysing these contributions on refugee representations and community engagement practice is of fundamental importance as it is key to assessing whether and how museums can actively contribute to debates about refugees’ rights in Europe. By working with refugees, as well as advocating for human rights, museums can reposition themselves in relation to the structures of power and knowledge and engage with alternative forms of knowledge. The first aim of this research is to critically assess whether a wide range of museum initiatives in three European countries have effectively counteracted mainstream refugee narratives. My second aim is to analyse the impact of engagement work with refugees on community settings and vice versa. Thirdly, I assess how working practices with and about refugees can enhance our understanding of museums and their collections. The ultimate objective is to outline potential areas of intervention for museum practice that might guide a better understanding of contemporary refugee mobilities.

Contribution to literature on human rights, museums and refugees

This volume contributes to the literature in a number of ways. It addresses questions raised in relation to museums’ relationship with human rights debates; it addresses concerns around museum activism; and it also enters into a well-established academic discourse around museums and migration by offering an analytical focus specifically on work with and about refugees. The new social movements of the later 20th century and the global influence of human rights discourses have given rise to increasing calls for museums to represent the rights of marginalised groups in a more equitable and fair manner (Sandell, 2011: 131). The principles of human rights, which have inspired struggles for justice since World War II, underlie such demands (O’Neill and Silverman, 2012). This has led to questions of whether museums should contribute to social justice issues, extend government policy priorities or participate in protesting human rights abuses (Labadi, 2018; Sandell and Nightingale, 2012).

Groups whose histories and identities have been silenced or misrepresented by museum narratives are increasingly demanding a voice in museum displays and programmes. A growing number of institutions across the world are increasingly engaging with these debates, notable examples are the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and the Federation of International Human Rights Museums – set up by the International Slavery Museum of Liverpool. The first iteration of the Contemporary Art and Human Rights Programme developed by Glasgow Museum Service is also illustrative of museums’ attempts to frame debates around refugees within a wider human rights framework (see Bruce et al., 2007). As discussed by Janes and Sandell (2019: 6), museums cannot be blamed for the asymmetry in the ability of all groups to exercise their rights, but neither are they disconnected from it. According to Sandell (2017: 192), museums play an unacknowledged and overlooked part in shaping the ‘social and political conditions within which human rights are negotiated, continually recast and disseminated, constrained or advanced’. Message's (2013) documenting of the African American and American Indian civil rights-related social and reform movements’ activities on the Smithsonian Mall throughout the 1960s and 1970s is a notable example.

Sandell (2012) argues that museums are now highlighting their ability to function as fora for representing the rights, differences and viewpoints of diverse communities. However, he also notes that little is known about the social consequences of museums’ increasing engagement with human rights and pointed to the need for more in-depth empirical investigations of rights processes within specific settings (196). This book aims at filling this gap, exploring museum work with refugees in the context of European asylum policies and specific local environments. In discussing museums’ commitment to human rights, Anderson (2012) also posited that ‘cultural rights’ – defined by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights as ‘the right to freely participate in the cultural life of a community’ – should equally be of concern to museums. The author argues for an ethically based understanding of social engagement, asserting that museums must fulfil their duty to provide access to culture, creativity and reduce inequalities in social participation (217). This is particularly crucial for refugees whose cultural rights as non-citizens are increasingly questioned by wider sectors of society. This volume contributes to the debate around refugees’ cultural rights, discussing the profound differences in how such rights might be exercised across Europe.

This research seeks also to contribute to the growing concern about activism in museums. The diversity and wide-ranging applications of museum activist practices are discussed in a recently edited volume by Janes and Sandell (2019). Lynch's (2019: 120–122) chapter in that volume, for example, references relevant working practices with refugees. As discussed by Sandell (2012), museum activism is by no means a new concept, but one which still generates a range of criticism and tensions among academics, practitioners and institutional bodies. The latest attempt of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) to update the definition of museums at its last 2019 biennial conference in Kyoto is illustrative in this respect. The new definition, which has now been deferred, describes museums as “democratizing, inclusive and polyphonic spaces for critical dialogue about the pasts and the futures.” The definition also stresses championing “human dignity and social justice, global equality and planetary well-being.” Ahead of the conference, twenty-four ICOM national branches, including France, Italy, Spain and Germany, objected to the new definition, with some critics arguing it was too ideological. Throughout this volume, I adopt the definition of museums presented at the 2019 ICOM conference in claiming that museums are not and neither can nor should be neutral. As argued by Janes (2015), the notion that museums should be neutral is supported b...