Beyond the Binary: Queering and Questioning Collections and Displays at the Pitt Rivers Museum
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Podcasts from the Beyond the Binary Project, held at the Pitt Rivers Museum. Building on existing engagement work with LGBTQ+ stakeholders and set out an ambitious programme to build inclusive practice within theMuseum. This will transform the Museum through events, interpretation and exhibitions.
By 'queering', we mean challenging hetero-normative interpretations of the Museum’s collections - and identifying human histories that are unrepresented as a result of intolerance. This is so that no individual or group feels excluded from the Museum because of their sexuality or gender, and so that all visitors - however they might identify themselves - can understand humanity better.
We will re-interpret objects within our permanent collections with the aim of providing a richer, more diverse context to their histories and stories. The project will challenge accepted historical interpretations and offer alternative understandings from people with different identities. We will work with a broad range of partners, from researchers to community activists, to reshape the Pitt Rivers as a welcoming inclusive space.
In addition to exploring the existing collections, this project will include a community focussed acquisition programme. Although the Pitt Rivers has some objects that tell the stories of LGBTQ+ histories, there has not been a dedicated endeavour to accession LGBTQ+ cultural and historical artefacts into the collection. We will collect objects from British communities and a number of objects from across the globe that highlight traditions of gender non-conformity, bringing British LGBTQ+ heritage into conversation with global LGBTQ+ material culture.
# | Episode Title | Description | People | Date | |
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5 | Beyond the Binary: Gender, Sexuality, Power - Introduction | Introduction to Beyond the Binary: Gender, Sexuality, Power podcast series. | Jozie Kettle | 06 Jan 2020 | |
4 | Beyond the Binary: Gender, Sexuality, Power Episode 1: Museums, beadwork and Indigenous agency | Jozie Kettle (Pitt Rivers Museum), talks to Dan Laurin about his involvement in the 2020 exhibition Beyond the Binary: Gender, Sexuality, Power. | Dan Laurin, Jozie Kettle | 06 Jan 2020 | |
3 | Beyond the Binary: Gender, Sexuality, Power Episode 2: Uncovering queerness within the collections | Jozie Kettle (Pitt Rivers Museum), talks to Mara Gold about her involvement in the 2020 exhibition Beyond the Binary: Gender, Sexuality, Power. | Mara Gold, Jozie Kettle | 06 Jan 2020 | |
2 | Beyond the Binary: Gender, Sexuality, Power Episode 3: Bacchus – queer party god of contradictions? | Jozie Kettle (Pitt Rivers Museum), talks to Harriet Haugvik and Cameron Wallis about their involvement in the 2020 exhibition Beyond the Binary: Gender, Sexuality, Power. Harriet and Cam explore Bacchus’ complex and intriguing connections to queerness. | Harriet Haugvik, Cameron Wallis, Jozie Kettle | 06 Jan 2020 | |
1 | Beyond the Binary: Gender, Sexuality, Power Episode 4: Queering Christianity and gender transition. | Olivia Sharrard (PRM) talks to Lance about changing representation in the Pitt Rivers museum, navigating life in Oxford and how they’ve ‘queered’ objects within the collections related to Christianity. | Lance Millar, Olivia Sharrard | 06 Jan 2020 |