'Every aspect of museums is affected by colonialism', say the Decolonise Cambridge Museums founders

[Judi Lynn]

Marion Willingham speaks to Anna Freed and Rosalind Phillips-Solomon, founders of the Decolonise Cambridge Museums Society, about the past, present and future of the university museums



The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, one of the seven university museums
KATIE KASPERSON

As widespread attention to the Black Lives Matter movement raised calls for institutions to address their connections to empire and slavery, the University of Cambridge was a prime target. Many societies designed to ‘decolonise’ curricula were founded or revitalised, controversial windows were removed, and the University of Cambridge Museums (UCM) publicly declared their commitment to decolonisation.

At least partially responsible for this last development was the work of Rosalind Phillips-Solomon and Anna Freed, two of the three founders of the Decolonise Cambridge Museums society, launched in October 2021.

“During the wave of momentum for the BLM movement over the summer of 2020, I remember seeing a statement put out by the Universty of Cambridge Museums (UCM),” says Rosalind. This was “A commitment to change”, released on the 5th of June 2020. “I hadn’t found it quite satisfactory”, she adds.

At the time, she, alongside Anna and others from the Decolonise History of Art and Decolonise Archaeology initiatives, articulated this dissatisfaction in an open letter. The letter demanded that UCM take a more proactive and transparent approach to addressing their colonial histories.

More:
https://www.varsity.co.uk/interviews/22865