ICME (International Committee for Museums and Collections of Ethnography) and the Horniman Museum and Gardens invite scholars and practitioners to explore innovative practices and theories in object-led work with ethnographic collections. Object-led practice can draw strongly on our ability to employ the senses to reimagine our place in the world. In-depth engagement with ethnographic objects in particular can promote social interactions and critical reflections on the logics of power and prejudice upon which collections are constituted.

This two-day conference, organised in collaboration with ICOM national committees of Pakistan, Germany, Croatia and Norway, is informed by humanist anthropology, which starts from the experience of human actors, addressing what it means to be human and to live a human life. In ethnographic museums, it supports and imagines diverse forms of public engagement and education and promotes activism.                 

On the first day speakers will respond to the questions addressed by the conference. The second day follows a workshop format which translates into practice the debates explored using the Horminan’s collection.

The Horniman has a long-standing interest in object-led practices and it is an ideal venue to examine this theme. The Horniman's World Gallery of anthropology, opened in June 2018, celebrates human creativity, imagination and adaptability. In October we will launch The Studio, a new gallery curated with local community partners exploring the connections between socially engaged art and anthropology.

Keynote speaker Dr. Sandra Dudley  will open the conference. Her research as a social and material anthropologist transects social anthropology, museum studies, and material culture studies.

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