Editing Museum (section)

==Current challenges==

===Decolonization===
{{see also|Decolonisation of knowledge}}
[[File:Basalt statue, Hoa Hakananai'a (hidden or stolen friend). Moai; an ancestor figure, made by the Rapanui people. 1000-1200 CE. From Orongo (Polynesia, Easter Island); probably made in Rano Kao. British Museum.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Moai figure at the British Museum]]
A global movement for the decolonization of museums has been gaining momentum since the late 20th century.<ref>{{cite web |title=The battle at the British Museum for a 'stolen' shield that could tell the story of Captain Cook's landing |first=Bridget |last=Brennan |website=ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |date=10 May 2019 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-11/british-museum-battle-for-stolen-indigenous-gweagal-shield/11085534 |access-date=14 September 2020 |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806095341/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-11/british-museum-battle-for-stolen-indigenous-gweagal-shield/11085534 |url-status=live }}</ref> Proponents of this movement argue that "museums are a box of things" and do not represent complete stories; instead they show biased narratives based on ideologies, in which certain stories are intentionally disregarded.<ref name=":1">{{cite book|last=Procter|first=Alice|title=The whole Picture: the colonial story of the art in our museums and why we need to talk about it|publisher=Cassel|year=2020|isbn=978-1-78840-221-7<!--, 1788402219-->|location=England}}</ref>{{rp|9–18}} Through this, people are encouraging others to consider this missing perspective, when looking at museum collections, as every object viewed in such environments was placed by an individual to represent a certain viewpoint, be it historical or cultural.<ref name=":1" />{{rp|9–18}}

The 2018 ''[[report on the restitution of African cultural heritage]]''<ref name="Rapport">Felwine Sarr, Bénédicte Savoy: "Rapport sur la restitution du patrimoine culturel africain. Vers une nouvelle éthique relationnelle". Paris 2018; "The Restitution of African Cultural Heritage. Toward a New Relational Ethics" (Download French original and English version, pdf, http://restitutionreport2018.com/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815041636/http://restitutionreport2018.com/ |date=15 August 2021 }}</ref> is a prominent example regarding the decolonization of museums and other collections in France and the claims of African countries to regain [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifacts]] illegally taken from their original cultural settings.

Since 1868, several monolithic human figures known as [[Moai]] have been [[Relocation of moai|removed]] from [[Easter Island]] and put in display in major Western museums such as the [[National Museum of Natural History]], the British Museum, the [[Louvre]] and the [[Royal Museums of Art and History]]. Several demands have been made by Easter Island residents for the return of the Moai.<ref name=":3">{{cite news|last=Bartlett|first=John|date=16 November 2018|title='Moai are family': Easter Island people to head to London to request statue back|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/16/maoi-easter-island-statue-british-museum-talks-return|access-date=8 February 2021|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=22 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222184726/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/16/maoi-easter-island-statue-british-museum-talks-return|url-status=live}}</ref> The figures are seen as ancestors and family or the soul by the [[Rapa Nui people|Rapa Nui]] and hold deep cultural value to their people.<ref name=":3" /> Other examples include the [[Gweagal Shield]], thought to be a very significant shield taken from [[Botany Bay]] in April 1770<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Thomas|first=Nicholas|date=2018|title=A Case of Identity: The Artefacts of the 1770 Kamay (Botany Bay) Encounter|journal=Australian Historical Studies|volume=49|issue=1 |pages=4–27|doi=10.1080/1031461X.2017.1414862|s2cid=149069484|via=ResearchGate|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323281856|access-date=14 September 2020|archive-date=25 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225074951/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323281856_A_Case_of_Identity_The_Artefacts_of_the_1770_Kamay_Botany_Bay_Encounter|url-status=live}}</ref> or the [[Elgin Marbles|Parthenon marble]] sculptures, which were taken from Greece by Lord Elgin in 1805.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=28 March 2017|title=How the Parthenon Lost Its Marbles|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2017/03-04/parthenon-sculptures-british-museum-controversy/|access-date=8 February 2021|website=History Magazine|language=en|archive-date=2 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202183918/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2017/03-04/parthenon-sculptures-british-museum-controversy/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Successive Greek governments have unsuccessfully petitioned for the return of the Parthenon marbles.<ref name=":2" /> Another example among many others is the so-called [[Montezuma's headdress]] in the [[Museum of Ethnology, Vienna]], which is a source of dispute between Austria and Mexico.<ref name=":4">{{cite web|url=http://prehist.org/news/104/Mexico+and+Austria+in+dispute+over+Aztec+headdress/|publisher=prehist.org|title=Mexico and Austria in dispute over Aztec headdress|date=22 November 2012|access-date=24 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129020221/http://prehist.org/news/104/Mexico+and+Austria+in+dispute+over+Aztec+headdress/|archive-date=29 November 2014}}</ref>

As well as an argument for the decolonization of museums, there is also the push by some to represent, in both exhibitions and new museums, the marginalized communities within a culture or society. One example of this is the Black Miner's Museum in Nottingham, England.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The lost story of Britain's Black miners |url=https://www.britsafe.org/safety-management/2021/the-lost-story-of-britain-s-black-miners |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=British Safety Council |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Home - Black Miners Museum |url=https://blackcoalminers.com/ |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=blackcoalminers.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>

=== Repatriation of human remains ===
[[File:Museum exhibit, Provincial Museum, Normal School.jpg|thumb|An exhibition of the remains of Native Americans at the [[Royal Ontario Museum]] in 1908]]In the United States, the repatriation of human remains from museum collections is shaped by the [[Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act]] (NAGPRA), enacted in 1990. This law requires museums and federal agencies to identify, inventory, and return [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] human remains and associated funerary objects to lineal descendants, tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nagpra/index.htm |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act {{!}} Indian Affairs |url=https://www.bia.gov/service/nagpra |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=www.bia.gov}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=2024-01-29 |title=US museums cover Native American displays as revised federal regulations take effect |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/01/29/us-museums-nagpra-native-american-displays-new-regulations |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=www.theartnewspaper.com |language=en}}</ref> Recent updates to NAGPRA have introduced stricter timelines and require museums to obtain consent from descendant communities before displaying or researching human remains and cultural items.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Field Museum Alters Cultural Galleries in Response to Updated Federal Regulations - Field Museum |url=https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/press/field-museum-alters-cultural-galleries-in-response-to-updated-federal-regulations |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=www.fieldmuseum.org}}</ref> Many museums have responded by covering displays and increasing consultation with affiliated tribes while reviewing collections for compliance. Despite these efforts, challenges remain, including incomplete inventories, limited resources, and difficulties in establishing cultural affiliation for some remains.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brewer |first=Logan Jaffe,Mary Hudetz,Ash Ngu,Graham Lee |date=2023-01-11 |title=America's Biggest Museums Fail to Return Native American Human Remains |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/repatriation-nagpra-museums-human-remains |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=ProPublica |language=en}}</ref>

In Europe, repatriation of human remains also reflects changing ethical standards and public attitudes, but the process is shaped by a patchwork of national laws, institutional policies, and international agreements. In the United Kingdom, the Human Tissue Act 2004 allows national museums to return human remains under certain conditions, and several institutions have repatriated remains to Indigenous communities, including those in Australia.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Merritt |first=Eve Collyer |date=2025-03-07 |title=Human body parts for sale, on display and in collections: Law, policy and campaigns for repatriation |url=https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/human-body-parts-for-sale-on-display-and-in-collections-law-policy-and-campaigns-for-repatriation/ |language=en-GB}}</ref> In Germany and France, museums follow guidelines that encourage transparency, consultation, and case-by-case assessment of repatriation requests, especially for remains acquired in colonial contexts.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jean-Nabbache |first=Simon |date=2022-07-01 |title=Toward the Repatriation of Human Remains as a Postcolonial Museum Practice: The Return of Toi Moko from France to Aotearoa New Zealand |url=https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/museum-worlds/10/1/armw100115.xml |journal=Museum Worlds |language=en |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=193–198 |doi=10.3167/armw.2022.100115 |issn=2049-6729|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":7">Heeb, B., Ahrndt, W., Schnalke, T., Wesche, A., Sarah Fründt, Stephan Schiffels, Andreas Winkelmann, Thode-Arora, H., Thielecke, C., Geißdorf, M., Lenk, C., Pickering, M., Ayau, E. H., Alma Nankela, & Jeremy Silvester. (n.d.). ''Guidelines care of human remains in museums and collections''. https://www.museumsbund.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/dmb-leitfaden-umgang-menschl-ueberr-en-web-20210625.pdf</ref> Some institutions emphasize the scientific value of retaining remains, while others prioritize engagement with source communities and cultural restitution. The process remains complex, involving legal, political, and ethical considerations, but there is growing pressure from the public and governments for museums to address colonial legacies and return human remains to descendant communities.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-19 |title=Is it ever ethical for museums to display human remains? |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240118-is-it-ever-ethical-for-museums-to-display-human-remains |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":7" />

===Labor issues and unionization===
[[File:Philadelphia Art Museum workers rally - April 1, 2022-001.jpg|thumb|Workers rallying at the Philadelphia Museum of Art]]
;Background
The past few years has seen a unionizing movement. US museums workers have initiated dialogs about labor and collective organizing in the cultural sector. In 2019 the workers in multiple museums voted to form unions with more protesting to press for a fair contract and against unfair labor practices.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wagley |first=Catherine |date=2019-11-25 |title=Museum Workers Across the Country Are Unionizing. Here's What's Driving a Movement That's Been Years in the Making |url=https://news.artnet.com/market/union-museum-analysis-1714716 |access-date=2022-05-26 |website=Artnet News |language=en-US |archive-date=26 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526052819/https://news.artnet.com/market/union-museum-analysis-1714716 |url-status=live }}</ref> During that year over 3,000 cultural workers anonymously started to share their salaries online through a pay transparency spreadsheet.<ref name="Small">{{Cite news |last=Small |first=Zachary |date=2022-02-21 |title=U.S. Museums See Rise in Unions Even as Labor Movement Slumps |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/21/arts/design/museums-unions-labor.html |access-date=2022-05-26 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=1 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601043816/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/21/arts/design/museums-unions-labor.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Marciano Art Foundation, a museum established by co-founders of [[Guess (clothing)|Guess clothing]], Maurice Marciano and [[Paul Marciano]] closed indefinitely in November 2019 after workers attempted to [[unionize]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2019-11-06/marciano-art-foundation-announces-that-it-will-not-reopen-in-the-wake-of-layoffs|title=Marciano Art Foundation announces it won't reopen in wake of layoffs following union drive|last=Miranda|first=Carolina A.|date=2019-11-06|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|language=en-US|url-status=live|access-date=2019-11-07|archive-date=26 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526052820/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2019-11-06/marciano-art-foundation-announces-that-it-will-not-reopen-in-the-wake-of-layoffs}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2019-11-08/marciano-art-foundation-closing-fallout-museum-union-drive|title=What's next for nonprofit museums after the closing of the Marciano Art Foundation?|last=Miranda |first=Carolina A.|date=2019-11-08|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526052821/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2019-11-08/marciano-art-foundation-closing-fallout-museum-union-drive|archive-date=26 May 2022|access-date=2019-11-08}}</ref> The Marciano Foundation released a statement a month later that the closure was permanent.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2019-12-06/moca-recognizes-employee-union-afscme-marciano-closure-permanent |last=Miranda |first=Carolina A. |title=MOCA will voluntarily recognize new employee union; Marciano closure is permanent|date=2019-12-07|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-09|archive-date=26 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526052820/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2019-12-06/moca-recognizes-employee-union-afscme-marciano-closure-permanent|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the country of [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] 40 employees were fired May 2022 as part of a restructuring. The newly formed union, the Georgian Trade Union of Science, Education, and Culture Workers said in a statement they said the employees were fired illegally and the reorganization was "carried out by the employer in an untransparent and maladministered manner" and that the organization will "definitely fight to the end to protect the rights of employees." Fired senior curator Maia Pataridze said the new management mentioned her social media posts criticizing the government.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dafoe |first=Taylor |date=2022-06-02 |title=State-Run Museums in Georgia Abruptly Fired 40 Employees, Allegedly in Retribution for Forming a Union |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/employees-fired-from-state-run-museums-in-georgia-2124928 |access-date=2022-06-15 |website=Artnet News |language=en-US |archive-date=15 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615013552/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/employees-fired-from-state-run-museums-in-georgia-2124928 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Georgia Museums Respond to Unionization Push by Brazenly Firing Dozens of Employees |url=https://www.widewalls.ch/news-feed/georgia-museums-unionization |access-date=2022-06-15 |website=Widewalls |language=en |archive-date=10 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710023351/https://www.widewalls.ch/news-feed/georgia-museums-unionization |url-status=live }}</ref> Among those fired was union chair, Nikoloz Tsikaridze, a senior researcher and archaeologist who associated the discharging of himself and other museum staff was for forming a union, and said that [[Thea Tsulukiani]], the Georgia Minister of Culture had "punished" them.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-26 |title=Georgian culture minister accused of purging critics from National Museum |url=https://oc-media.org/georgian-culture-minister-accused-of-purging-critics-from-national-museum/ |access-date=2022-06-15 |website=OC Media |language=en-US |archive-date=24 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624222801/https://oc-media.org/georgian-culture-minister-accused-of-purging-critics-from-national-museum/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Union vows to fight "unlawful mass dismissal" of Georgian National Museum employees |url=https://agenda.ge/en/news/2022/1938 |access-date=2022-06-15 |website=Agenda.ge |archive-date=9 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609175255/https://agenda.ge/en/news/2022/1938 |url-status=live }}</ref>

;History
In the United States, labor unrest within the arts and cultural sector go back at least nearly a century to 1933 when a New York-based collective of artists eventually known as the Artist's Union used collective bargaining for state relief for unemployed artists.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Monroe |first=Gerald M. |date=1972 |title=The Artists Union of New York |journal=Art Journal |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=17–20 |doi=10.2307/775601 |jstor=775601}}</ref>
 
In 1971 administrative staff at New York's Museum of Modern Art formed the organization "Professional and Staff Association of the Museum of Modern Art" (PASTA), the first union of professional employees, as opposed to maintenance and service people, at a privately‐financed museum. The contract negotiated would provide a wage increase, protection against termination without cause, and direct access to trustees and policy-making processes at the museum. While there was some interest from workers at other museums at the time, for the next fifty years there was little change in museums adding union representation of their professional employees.<ref name="Small"/><ref>{{Cite news |last=Glueck |first=Grace |date=September 26, 1971 |title=MOMA Gets a Taste of PASTA |pages=Section D, Page 24 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/26/archives/moma-gets-a-taste-of-pasta.html |access-date=2022-05-26}}</ref>

===Sustainability and climate change===
{{See also|Green museum}}
Increasingly museums have responded to the ongoing climate crisis through enacting sustainable museum practices, and exhibitions highlighting the issues surrounding [[climate change]] and the [[Anthropocene]].

===Digital culture===
As [[digital culture]] has increased in society, museums have needed to respond to these changes in the facilities that they offer online.<ref>{{cite book| editor-last1=Giannini | editor-first1=T. | editor-link1=Jonathan Bowen | editor-last2=Bowen | editor-first2=J.P. | editor-link2=Jonathan Bowen | title=[[Museums and Digital Culture: New Perspectives and Research]] | publisher=[[Springer Nature|Springer]] | series=Series on Cultural Computing | date=2019 | isbn=978-3-319-97456-9 | doi=10.1007/978-3-319-97457-6 | s2cid=146115899 }}</ref>