Research Project

Contribute to the research study and stay connected with us on this Journey.

Here is the link to the: Research Questionnaire

As the wind changes in the cultural sector across the world, there have been a growing number of once-traditionally colonial institutions rearranging their internal structure to work alongside communities with lived and living experiences of colonialism. Museums and other heritage organisations have been on a similar trajectory and consistently come up against challenges, particularly around repatriation, provenance, and ownership of artifacts. 

This research in partnership with post graduate students at Queen Margaret University Edinburgh will focus on creating relationships and building pathways to assist museum staff in navigating these identified challenges. Through this research we will aim to add to existing roadmaps when forming these collaborations while keeping individual cultural needs in mind. 

Our current research question is: How can museums work with communities to build trust, and partnerships, heal intergenerational wounds, and focus on community and institutional sustainability? Through a mixed-methods research methodology, our project outcome is to create a toolkit that will assist heritage workers, museum staff, and other cultural protectors in bridging relationships between traditionally colonial institutions and communities. The research will take into consideration possible technological options, artist involvement, the advantages and disadvantages of networking opportunities, archives, collections management, storage, and more. 

If you need any support to complete the research questionnaire, for more information or to get involved email: info@zya.community