Can community museums regenerate the past? Local experiences for a decolonial reflection Lecture by Bruno Brulon Soares, ICOFOM President organised by the Museums, Galleries and Collections Institute (MGCI)

The Museums, Galleries, Collections and Heritage Institute (MGCHI) based within the School of Art History engages in research, education and training in cultural heritage, with a particular focus on museums, art galleries and historic houses, and their collections. The institute was founded upon the expertise built up over many years from running our Museum and Gallery Studies courses, which have helped to establish St Andrews as Scotland's leading centre for training and research in the heritage sector.

"Community Heritage" is front and centre of many new heritage strategies and visitor attractions in Scotland, and yet it is primarily managed by volunteers and lacks definition as a sector in its own right. Over the past two years, the MGCHI within the School of Art History has worked in partnership with a number of organisations and grass-roots initiatives to understand the community heritage landscape of Scotland better -- its characteristics, current needs and potentialities.

This guest lecture will be presented by Professor Bruno Brulon Soares from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, who has just been elected President of ICOM's museology group, the International Committee for Museology (ICOFOM), and has been working on community museums in the cultural landscape of Rio. In the frame of ICOFOM, MGCI has been working together on ideas around museums, community and decolonisation. In St Andrews, he will discuss his research into Favela museums as well as recent interviews amongst Afro-Caribbean community museums in Brazil.

ICOFOM's vision is to foster the development of quality knowledge in the museum field and inclusivity through the increase of a diverse membership and engagement as the International Center for Museology, reflecting all regional streams of museology through an affirmative action policy.

This MGCHI/School of Art History coordinated project has been funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh.