World Cultures Gallery

The World Cultures galleries at Exeter Museum were created during the last three years and are based around the old 'Ethnographic' galleries and collection. While many objects previously on show are included in the re-display, hundreds of items that have been in storage - or in the case of the Totem Pole, created especially for the new galleries - have been selected for display. This is not neccessarily a process of simply choosing the most popular or attractive objects from a huge and varied collection. Many people, and a number of considerations, were involved in putting together a permanent exhibition which is educational and inspirational but which addresses issues such as ownership of the objects and the ways in which they have been brought to Exeter.

The Conservation Department of the Museum has been involved in the creation of the World Cultures galleries at a high level and their work is documented elsewhere on this site. Images of just a few of the wonderful objects on display are included here as is a recent update on the ongoing World Cultures project from curator Len Pole:

"One year on the potential of the no longer 'new' World Cultures galleries and the other items in the collection which are not on display is beginning to be realised. This is mainly through two projects, the aims of which are: improved environmental conditions for the collections, enhanced access to the objects themselves and information about them, greater use by many more visitors from a wide range of communities within the region and the country, and dissemination of knowledge about them to the communities from which they come throughout the world.

The first project is primarily aimed at providing appropriate spaces within the Museum to store the reserve collection, i.e. those objects not on display for a variety of reasons. Broadly there are two main reasons for this:

• Care and conservation of the objects
• Improved access to the collection

There is also an investigation into the best way of improving access to the data on the collection, in terms of, for instance, research or education.

The second project is now under way to develop appreciation and understanding of the communities and cultures represented in the World Cultures galleries, particularly by means of a number of targeted activities and the use of ICT. This is being implemented in conjunction with the Telematics Centre of the University of Exeter through a number of activities: archiving the creation of a new Totem Pole in the museum in 1998; undertaking and archiving workshops relating to displays of textiles from West Africa and India in May and June 2000, bead working and braid making from various parts of the world (October-December 2000), demonstrations of stone carving from Zimbabwe (June 2000), wood carving and other crafts from the Yoruba region of Nigeria (Summer 2001). Each of these activities will be targeted at specific groups, such as 16-25 year olds, 5-11 year olds, the art community, schoolchildren of all ages. There will also be a requirement to develop links with originating communities where appropriate. This project will continue until the autumn of 2001.

The overall aim of the project is to promote a sense of co-ownership of the collections between the communities served by the Museum in this region and the originating communities of the collections themselves."

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