Curating Discomfort: The Dismantling of White Supremacy, Privilege, and Fragility in Museum Spaces
As part of this Black History Month a group of SEIN members took a trip to the Hunterian, and were guided through the Curating Discomfort project by the Curator of Discomfort Zandra Yeaman. Representatives from Romano Lav, Women on Wheels, Govanhill Baths, Kin Kitchen and Rumpus Room came together to learn about the ideas of white supremacy that are perpetuated by museums, the interventions and structural changes the project is putting into place, and to view exhibited pieces through a different lens.
Curating Discomfort is not an exhibition, and it is not only a community engagement exercise. It is a mix of collaborating with external community groups and members of staff within the museum to embed anti-racism into everything that the Hunterian does. Zandra pointed out that this is very deliberate, that “the last thing the museum needs is another community engagement exercise” that does not address power structures. What is needed is to change the institution, and to see exploring the whole stories of an object as integral.
To put into context some of the work of Curating Discomfort we began by looking at The Blackstone chair. The labelling of the chair describes it as the place University of Glasgow medical students sat for their oral examinations, and talks a little bit about the format of these examinations. Zandra explained to us that this was in fact the chair that James McCune Smith, the first African-American doctor, sat in for his examination as a student at the University. Stories like this fight against black history being erased from the narrative of Scottish history. Not only that but these stories enrich the descriptions, allowing visitors to the museum to engage better with the significance of the items on display.
This chair only represents one aspect of what Curating Discomfort is about. Museums, as a colonial idea, perpetuate historically taught white supremacy – the project is about disrupting this and challenging the barriers global majority people face in museums. Through interrogating whiteness, challenging funders’ ideas, properly paying community curators, and facilitating anti-racism work within institutions instead of doing it for them, this project will leave a lasting impact.
Our time at the Hunterian was extremely thought provoking, opening our eyes to the work that needs to be done in museums, and more widely across many institutions. We were left to analyse our own individual relationships with museums – in what ways we are excluded from spaces and in what ways we perpetuate harmful structures and ideologies. The project is unusual, ambitious and extremely important. We are very thankful to Zandra for taking the time to talk with us, sharing her knowledge and views. We would recommend for everyone to look into the project and visit the display in the Hunterian.
More information about ‘Curating Discomfort’ can be found on the website, The Hunterian (gla.ac.uk).
related Resources From the SEIN Website:
An Anti-Racist Organizational Change Tool for Nonprofits
From Mecca to Musselburgh
No Radio Silence
For the Love of Teaching: The Anti-Racist Battlefield in Education
Hearing the Voices of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Communities – Inclusive Community Development
Me and White Supremacy: How to Recognise Your Privilege
Combat Racism and Change the World
Muslims in Scotland - The Making of Community in a Post - 9/11 World
She Settle in the Shields: Untold Stories of Migrant Women in Pollokshields
No Problem Here – Understanding Racism in Scotland
Romaphobia - The Last Acceptable Form of Racism
Who Belongs to Glasgow? – 200 Years of Migration