Museums are a focal point of our learning and heritage, often built during the British Empire and occasionally displaying looted heritage from other nations. It’s not always like that though, some museums overly work to make us question how we see the world and what needs to change.
For this conversation we welcome representatives from the Migration Museum and the Museum of Neoliberalism to discuss making museums that make a difference. How they got started, what they are looking to achieve and what the pains and pleasures of curating for a more ethical world are.
Migration is a pressing contemporary issue and is at the centre of polarised political and online debate. But there’s an underlying story of comings and goings stretching back many centuries. And this story goes to the heart of who we are today. The Migration Museum was founded by Barbara Roche, who first made the case for a migration museum for Britain almost 20 years ago, stemming from her time as Britain’s immigration minister, and from visiting similar museums in other parts of the world – notably Ellis Island in New York.
The Migration Museum explores how the movement of people to and from Britain across the ages has shaped who we are – as individuals, as communities, and as a nation.
The Museum of Neoliberalism is a small museum exploring an obscure economic ideology that has come to dominate our lives. It is curated by Darren Cullen and Gavin Grindon. Darren Cullen is an artist and illustrator best known for his Pocket Money Loans installation at Dismaland, Action Man: Battlefield Casualties and the Hell Bus, a bus exhibition unveiled at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow.
