some type of adult girl

museeeuuuum:

museemusee:

malayansunbear:

malayansunbear:

a lot of ppl in the notes of the previous post are mentioning museums hoarding stolen cultural objects which is important beyond measure but museums shutting down due to lack of funding will not result in repatriation of cultural materials, they would most likely be auctioned off to private ultra-wealthy collectors to recoup some of their debt and we’d never find these objects again let alone be able to repatriate them. i understand the desire to say ‘fuck museums let them die’ for this reason but it won’t have the result you think it will, and it will also mean that all of their ethically sourced and donated materials (which for most museums are the vast majority of their collections) will no longer be cared for by experts but again, sold off to private collectors who can do whatever they want with them or deteriorate in storehouses indefinitely. this would be catastrophic for public history and collective knowledge-sharing across the globe across cultures, and museums in post-colonial and run by/for racialized or otherwise oppressed ethnic groups will fall first because they receive FAR less funding than the large western institutions. just repeating phrases and sentiments you’ve seen online as a form of performative activism without knowing anything about what you’re talking about does more harm than good and doesn’t make you look smart or clever just foolish it’s so deeply annoying and frustrating

i don’t know why all of you seem to think the only museums that exist are the massive western imperial institutions that have historically dealt with stolen artefacts, the majority of museums are Not these large institutions and there are museums across the globe in every country that require funding to preserve That Country’s Own Material History. stop acting like you know everything because you read a twitter thread about it oh my fucking god

Another aspect for people to be aware of is that there are regulations and laws that museums must adhere to concerning cultural property. If you want to ensure that museum collections are being looked over and objects being returned, advocate for more funding and job positions. I work for a pretty large museum, but we struggle to keep up with NAGPRA and Provenance research because we need money. Museums (even places like Met and Getty who are very problematic) have employees with good intentions and WANT to follow regulations. Protests in the halls of Museums won’t do much except annoy and harrass low wage part timers. Join Advocacy Days, volunteer, contact politicians if you really want to make a change.

Fucking support your local museums

(via marzipanandminutiae)