Cataloguing the 'Oriental'

Image: Detail of wallpaper catalogued as ‘oriental’ in the museum database. Courtesy of Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, Middlesex University.

Cataloguing the ‘Oriental’ (2023) is a body of research with the Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture (MoDA), unpacking the use of the term ‘oriental’ in their database, and its implications for museums and decolonial practice.

Developed through the New Museum School and University of Leicester’s School of Museum Studies, the project involved first~hand research of MoDA’s Silver Studio Design Collection and culminated in a published report. This expounds the need to tackle in~built assumptions in museum databases and terminologies, and to empower East and Southeast Asian people to name, represent and celebrate their own heritages.

Date

2023

Role

Researcher, Collaborator

Practice

Research, Curatorial, Collections Management

Partners

Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture (MoDA), Middlesex University, University of Leicester's School of Museum Studies, New Museum School, Culture&

Image: Detail of wallpaper catalogued as ‘oriental’ in the museum database. Courtesy of Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, Middlesex University.

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Cataloguing the ‘Oriental’ includes a range of case studies examining how so~called ‘oriental’ designs are described across records, and how terminologies have, or have not, changed over time. Beyond simply reporting words used uncritically in the past, the research offers suggestions for how MoDA might unpack and redress them today, and include more diverse voices in the conversation.

Alongside the report, I contributed to a series of blog resources for MoDA and the Collections Trust, and a presentation for the Archives and Records Association, to share the findings more widely.

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In partnering with MoDA in this work, I hoped to help the museum to continue to think critically and be open to doing things differently in future, to make their collections more engaging, inclusive and accessible for all.

Find my full report and recommendations here:

Kerr, Kirsty (2023). Cataloguing the ‘Oriental’ in MoDA’s Silver Studio Collection. Middlesex University. Preprint. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22023/mdx.24081330.v1

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The museum voice is not neutral or definitive. Terms like ‘oriental’ presume and reinforce a White gaze and a Western audience. However, ‘decolonising’ MoDA’s catalogue is not as simple as updating a problematic word... Beyond challenging colonial narratives and (mis)perceptions of Asian cultures and identities, museums have an opportunity to amplify new voices, and to empower people to speak for themselves ~ to name, represent and celebrate their own heritages, and to tell their stories from their own perspectives.

~ excerpts from report

This project was part of Culture&’s New Museum School Advanced Programme with the University of Leicester. This scheme aims to expand audiences and nurture a museum workforce that better represents the diversity of the UK.

Update: MoDA is currently in the process of closing and finding a new home for the Silver Studio Collection and this research.