Rethinking Relationships
Rethinking Relationships is an Arts Council England funded project that began in September 2024 and runs until December 2026.
We are working in partnership with members of the African Diaspora and people from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana to explore collections and develop museum practice that better serves their needs.
At the Horniman we will be focusing on collections from Ghana, working with partners and communities to explore the collections.
Collections
The project works across four UK museums:
- Horniman Museum and Gardens,
- Pitt Rivers Museum (University of Oxford)
- Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (University of Cambridge)
- World Museum in Liverpool
The Museum Ethnographers Group is a partner in the project and we will be sharing the results of our research through them.
Collaboration is at the heart of what we do and our partners include heritage professionals, community members, researchers, artists, diaspora groups and academics. Our work and outcomes are tailored to the specific contexts of the museums and our partners.
An update from the Rethinking Relationships team and the Horniman
An initial collaborative event between Ekóma and Rethinking Relationships focused on exploring the Horniman’s Ghanaian collections, planned for March 2025, was cancelled in solidarity with a protest at the Horniman organised by Gaza Biennale, a decision we entirely respect. The protest was not directed towards the Rethinking Relationships project.
Since then, the Horniman has been in conversation with Rethinking Relationships project partners and other community partners who expressed concerns related to the protest, and we thank them for their feedback and their openness.
Their input has led to important reflection and dialogue about how the Horniman facilitates spaces for critical engagement with collections, including from Palestine and the wider SWANA region.
Through Rethinking Relationships, we will explore with community partners how Ghanaian cultural heritage could be better represented in the Horniman’s collections, through honest and transparent conversations and a process of shared decision making.
We will facilitate spaces for conversation that is led by community members. This includes what meaningful access to Ghanaian collections looks like, speaking freely on important topics such as restitution and ownership of the collections, critiquing museum practice, and centring underrepresented voices.
The Horniman is committed to learning from our community researchers (both past and present) and working towards a museum that better reflects the needs of our communities.
Events
We are currently developing events to showcase the collections and inspire potential researchers to get more involved in the project. We are developing our events in collaboration with African partners and they feature experts, practitioners and opportunities to interact with the collections and each other.
Ekóma, a black curatorial duo, are running a series of workshops for community researchers exploring the Horniman’s Ghanaian collections. The workshops will focus on ‘de-centring the museum’ and developing a critical perspective on the museum and the collections it cares for in a way that is led by and aligns with Ekóma’s ethos.
Workshop outputs will include a toolkit for community members and museum participants that will be implemented at the Horniman to support future community research.
You can sign up for the workshops with Ekóma here.
People
The team is made up of Nicola Stylianou (Project Co-ordinator) and two Relationship Managers, Tom Fearon and Joel Fagan. You can contact us via RethinkingRelationships@prm.ox.ac.uk or follow us on Instagram.
Rethinking Relationships builds on a previous project of the same name. Led by JC Niala from 2019-2022, it focused on collections from Kenya and Nigeria.
