Traces of slavery and colonial past in collection records

Investigating traces of slavery and the colonial past in collection records is a guide intended as a tool to begin such research and to help you look at your own collection in a different way, add new layers of meaning and connect different stories to it.

Some of the questions addressed in the guide are: How do you go about looking for traces of slavery and the colonial past in a collection? What steps are necessary and what are the pitfalls? Whose story are we telling, which objects bear witness to this? Where do the objects come from? To what extent are slavery and the colonial past visible in our heritage collections?

help them look at their own collection in a different way, add new layers of meaning and connect different stories to it

In what ways did the objects contribute to the creation of a colonial culture? By providing space for polyphony, more layers of meaning can be added to the heritage. It offers opportunities to make the shared history appealing and recognizable for all people in society. 

You can download the guide here