International Museums Conference & ICOFOM 47th Annual Assembly Transnational Island Museologies
The International Committee for Museology (ICOFOM), the School of Art History at the University of St Andrews, and the European Research Council (ERC) selected and UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) funded Shared Island Stories research project are pleased to welcome delegates to the hybrid (in-person and online) conference on the topic of Transnational Island Museologies, to be held from 5–7 June 2024. The conference will also host the 47th ICOFOM Annual Assembly on Friday, 7 June 2024.
While islands are conventionally associated with romantic ideas of local distinctiveness and isolation, many small islands share the growing problems of coastal erosion through rising sea levels and storm intensification, as well as economic recession, depopulation and inappropriate tourism development. This conference takes its cue from the theme of the research project Shared Island Stories between Scotland and the Caribbean: Past, present, future to unearth hidden stories and entangled spaces in emerging transnational island museologies. Shared Island Stories is a five-year research project selected by the European Research Council (ERC) and funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It is coordinated by the School of Art History at the University of St Andrews and aims to investigate relationships between the archipelagos of Scotland and the Caribbean. Drawing on history, heritage studies, sustainable development, art history and memory studies, the project asks: Which collections from the islands tell unfinished stories of Empire? What is the role of heritage communities in sustainable development? How can island community museums partner with NGOs, policy and local organisations and businesses for climate action? How can health and well-being be understood in relation to community heritage, traditional ecological knowledge and island life? What does this new knowledge bring to debates on climate justice, especially as they relate to the role of youth?
Keynote Speakers:
Hilda Flavia Nakabuye Founder, Fridays for Future Uganda
Conal McCarthy, Professor of Museum and Heritage Studies, Victoria University Wellington, New Zealand.
This conference is part of a research project that was selected by the European Research Council (ERC) and funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) with project reference: EP/X023036/1. It is coordinated by the School of Art History at the University of St Andrews in collaboration with the International Council of Museums (ICOM)'s International Committee of Museology (ICOFOM).