Editing Museum (section)

===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>