A snaphot from the 2020 Inward/Outward Symposium, hosted by the Netherlands Institute of Sound and Vision.

“Ivory found in the city”. Photograph taken by RK Granville following the capture of Benin city, Nigeria, by British forces in 1897. © CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Pitts Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.

The poster of the documentary ‘17.10.61’ about the police-led massacre on the 17 October 1961, following the peaceful demonstration of 30,000 Algerian in Paris, during the Algerian War (1954–1962).

Ejengi spirit dance at Mongengé village, Central African Republic, 1987. © CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Pitts Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.

E. H. Man with five Andamanese and a measuring pole in background. Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Union Territory of India), 1878 circa. © CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Pitts Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.

“Ivory found in the city”. Photograph taken by RK Granville following the capture of Benin city, Nigeria, by British forces in 1897. © CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Pitts Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.

"What is Suriname?" A still image from a video series produced by Polygoon-Profiti for viewers in the Netherlands, 1947–48. © Netherlands Institute of Sound and Vision

“Ntumpane (talking drums)”. Ntumpane imitates the sound of words of the human voice. Photograph taken and sound recorded by British anthropologist Robert S. Attray, Ghana, 1921–32. © CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Pitts Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.

POLYVOCAL INTERPRETATION OF CONTESTED COLONIAL HERITAGE

PICCH explores how archival material created in a colonial mindset can be re-appropriated and re-interpreted to become an effective source for decolonization and the basis for a future inclusive society. We will engender a polyvocality that can be incorporated into the archive itself providing new ways to enter and explore the past via a contemporary interpretative frame.

Many memory institutions across Europe hold records of a colonial past now contestated from both communities of origin, ethnic minorities and civil society at large. Professionals in the field ask what to do with this problematic heritage, from returning items when appropriate, to rewriting the historical context in a more critical and inclusive way.

Partners in PICCH are three colonial audio-visual heritage organisations with a rich collection of original film and sound, some of it produced at the height of empire, ranging from ethnographers' footage for 'educational' purposes to more direct propaganda films to bolster colonial ideologies.

PICCH draws from the different expertise of the partners, from archive and user studies, to natural language processing technologies, to postcolonial theory, to co-creation. We will
draw a common map of racialised representations and their imperial contexts and use problematic visualisation and language in the records to open up a dialogue between the heritage and a variety of users, including archivists, researchers, filmmakers, and grassroots organisations.

Browse through the research we do and get in touch if interested.

NEWS

We are compiling a list of resources about contemporary sensitivity, decolonisation, and co-creation. Get in touch if you know of others!

Call for papers: “Heritage, Community, Archives: Methods, Case Studies, Collaboration” conference, 12-13 June 2023, Sheffield, UK.

A theoretical framework for uncovering the colonialist bias in anthropological audiovisual material hosted at the Pitt Rivers Museum was presented at the 2022 MeCCsa conference and at the 2022 EYE International Conference.

User research presented at ASIS&T 24-Hour Global Conference.

New book from Dr Ying-Hsang Liu.

Introducing the team from Oslo Met.

ONGOING RESEARCH

We are composing a glossary of critical terms, interpretations, and definitions. You are welcome to contribute.

Partners

Associates