Evaluation

Decolonisation is an ongoing battle in world, and is a topic that has not been discussed adequately in my education. This reading was eye-opening to the issues that are still prevalent today, and I think the unique insight through the perspectives of museum curators highlighted some of the core issues about the lack of discussion regarding decolonisation and the lingering effects of colonialism in society. In Wajid and Minott's (2019) exhibition, they mentioned the importance of letting visitors know that the space was entirely self-aware and the first step into decolonising the art world was to admit that museums had played a major role in poorly portraying history from a balanced perspective.

"He asked, ‘Why would I come if the stories weren’t for me?’ But, we explained, these stories are for all of us and this made him very happy."

There is still a long way from reaching a conclusive end to colonialism; museums were designed to educate the masses, and even with Wajid and Minott's (2019) "self-imposed limitations and policing of language", the exhibition received critiques from those that were uncomfortable to learn of the untold stories and impacts that colonising has had. A review urged the exhibition to take on "a more 'balanced' perspective", though I believe that this contradicts the curators' initial intention. The reader is inclined to side with the authors through the purposeful use of pathos that ends the text: creating an emotive image that emphasises the significance of educating the population about decolonisation in order to dismantle racism.

Intro to - CTS

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