Rethinking dialogues in museum spaces : an Amerindian ethnographic collection in Italy

Abstract

This paper presents some challenges for the reorganization of the ethnographic collection hosted at the Centro Studi Americanistici "Circolo Amerindiano" in Perugia, Italy. Since the collection will move to a new site, the possibility to reformulate curatorship and exhibitory narratives arises. Current claims for more inclusive, decolonized, dialogical and participative experiences of museums and exhibitions highlight the importance for contributions from the people that produced and live with the artefacts, images, and other elements constituting the collections. The aim of this paper is to describe some of the difficulties and possible solutions for making such participation effective in a European collection dedicated to Amerindian peoples.