Oriental Museum
On Wednesday the 20th of October all members of the team (Felicia, Remi, Floris, June and Oliver) went on a trip to meet with the first of our museum partners, the Oriental Museum at the University of Durham. We were welcomed by Curator Rachel Barclay who led us to the new permeant Silk Road Gallery where we took a seat surrounded by objects ranging from a crystal parrot to various Buddha statues, and from glass jars to a magnificent Chinese bed.
Rachel introduced us to the museum and the collection, and talked us through its history, from its initial opening as a teaching Museum in 1960 to the projects and exhibitions planned for the near future. We were particularly impressed by the museum’s close collaboration with local communities – Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Christian South and East Asian, as well as migrant and refugee groups – in the contextualization, evaluation, and display of its collections.
Then we were invited to roam the museum and explore the various galleries as well as a fascinating temporary exhibition on the archeological site of Taxila in Pakistan, developed in in collaboration with the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Pakistan and the UNESCO Chair in Archaeological Ethics and Practice in Cultural Heritage. You can also view the exhibition online in either English or Urdu.
After exploring the museum, we came together with Rachel again and talked through ways in which the project and the museum could collaborate over the coming years, from in-person events to longer-term projects and digital content. Some of the first events we are planning include organizing a PGCE training workshop on how to teach migration and material culture, creating thematic visitor guides and activity packs to be used by visitors of the museum, and collaborating in the potential (re)development of permanent galleries or temporary exhibitions.
We left the museum feeling excited about what this collaboration has in store. We can’t wait to explore and research the Museums rich collections and continue the conversation with Rachel and her team as we move forward with the project.
