Exchange: Community-Led Collections Research Project

We are currently working with National Museums Scotland who has been awarded a grant by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) with Royal Museums Greenwich. The grant will enable organisations around the UK to work with community groups and explore experiences of empire, migration, and life in Britain through their collections.

The Exchange: Community-Led Collections Research Project will see funding distributed to galleries, libraries, archives and museums. This will allow for work with South Asian, African and African Caribbean diaspora organisations, answering research questions identified by these community groups.

The project will see National Museums Scotland and Royal Museums Greenwich working as a hub. They will gather evidence for best practice guidelines, provide expert guidance and hold a central fund, which will be distributed to partner organisations around the UK.

Outputs will include new research into the historic and contemporary meanings of objects, which will inspire new, creative projects defined by community groups and centred around partner organisations’ collections. These will challenge and expand on established representations of diaspora experiences.

Our involvement

6 participants have been successfully interviewed and recruited to join the David Livingstone Birthplace Exchange Working Group.

Between January and June 2022, the 6 participants will work together to deliver a creative project, inspired by our collection. This will be facilitated by our team by supporting participants to conduct research, undergo training and produce creative outcomes that explore experiences of empire, migration and life in Britain.