Cross-cultural relationships are inevitable and necessary part of maintaining and caring for collections in source communities. This presentation discusses the history of a community collection to illuminate some core tensions in the cultural heritage management process.
Paper long abstract:
Drawing on fieldwork in the east Kimberley community of Warrmarn, Western Australia, this presentation discusses the intricacies of the 'life' of the Warmun Community Collection; specifically, how it engages in various trajectories and articulates with different value systems, at the same time as being enriched and unsettled by a range of local Gija perspectives. In the presentation, I show how the Collection has been a vehicle for Gija value creation processes which are ongoing, and highlight the complexities that have arisen between people, such as negotiating differences, priorities, needs and cultural protocols. The research has found that time and space are needed for the owners and the community to determine the future of their Collection, as objects are (re)valued, as new ones are added and, as importance is placed on the process of making and using as much as for holding and conserving. The presentation aims to contribute to the broader field of research and discussion about managing relationships between museums and art institutions with source communities.