Documentation Site
Decolonising Discovery
(IDM)
For centuries, the concept of “discovery” has been shaped by a Eurocentric narrative—a vision of exploration in which European explorers claimed lands, artefacts, and knowledge, often at the expense of the indigenous populations who already inhabited these regions. This narrative erases those communities' rich histories, knowledge systems, and agency, centring European progress and agency as the driving forces of exploration.
Museums, as institutions, emerged within this framework of “discovery.” They became repositories of objects taken—often stolen—from these Indigenous places, displayed not to honour the cultures they came from but to provide access and engagement for colonial powers and their populations. The museum cataloguing systems reflect this history, perpetuating biases by organising and interpreting artefacts through a colonial lens.
These acquisition methods continue to affect museums today, raising critical questions: “Museums for whom? And to do what?” Who is the intended audience of these institutions? And how can museums shift from showcasing cultural dominance to fostering cultural understanding and equity?