This report draws attention to diaspora, migration, and mobility-engaged museums as a global sector, as well as their historic and geographic development, revealing the significant impact of these museums.
Diaspora, migration, and mobility-engaged museums are a growing sector amongst global cultural institutions. These museums play a significant role in shaping understandings of migration and representing diaspora identities, cultures, and experiences. Through their work, they also serve an increasingly diplomatic function in fostering mutual understanding amongst various groups and communities. At a time when migration is increasingly contested and politicized, the work of these institutions has never been more pressing. This report presents a global survey of the work of diaspora, migration, and mobility-engaged museums. Our study focused on understanding the sector, including the range and scope of institutions and their approaches, as well as their social and diplomatic impacts. This 2023 report shares our findings, which include an assessment of how diaspora and migration are defined in the sector, a typology of museums, their representational strategies, and an analysis of the cultural diplomacy work of these museums. Our research demonstrates the ability of these institutions to unsettle traditional understandings of culture and identity as bounded, singular, and homogenous and to foster narratives that bridge local and global connections.
This research was supported by funding from the Faculty of Information & Media Studies at Western University and the Canada Research Chairs program. Our work was undertaken at the Practitioner Media Lab at Western University.
Authored by Simge Erdogan-O’Connor, Giada Ferrucci, Renée MacDiarmid, Julia Piccolo, Sascha Priewe, and Sarah E.K. Smith.
