Opinion
A Patronizing Argument Against Cultural Repatriation
In the past few decades, cultural institutions in the West have increasingly felt pressure to return artifacts acquired through questionable means during the colonial era.
British Museum
News
Once More, Britain Refuses to Return the Elgin Marbles
In 2013, UNESCO asked the British Museum to let it mediate a deal between it and the government of Greece, which has been calling for the return of the Elgin Marbles with ever-growing fervor for the past 30 years.
News
For #MuseumWeek, Institutions Share Their Secrets Online
What are museums hiding in their pasts and inside their collection storage vaults? Some of those secrets (or just lesser-known facts) are being shared by institutions around the world this Museum Week through the hashtag #secretsmw.
News
UK Institutions Relying Less on Corporate Sponsorship
In January, many were surprised to find that BP's controversial sponsorship of Tate Britain represented a relatively small slice of its overall funding.
Art
British Museum's Display of Aboriginal Artifacts Prompts New Demands for Their Return
There are only a handful of bark art examples from the Dja Dja Wurrung in Australia, and they're leagues away from their place of origin. A new exhibition of indigenous art of Australia at the British Museum, which holds these artifacts in their collections, will finally bring them back to the South
Art
Let Them Eat Art: Queens Through the Ages
In her infamous speech at the British Museum last year, writer Hilary Mantel described Kate Middleton, future queen of England, as a “shop-window mannequin” whose sole purpose was to look pretty and give birth.
In Brief
24-Hour Strike Affects UK Museums
An all-day strike yesterday saw operations at a number of UK museums stopped or decreased as nearly 250,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union walked off the job over caps on pay and pensions, the Guardian reported.
Art
A Coven of Art Convenes to Examine the Face of the Witch
Whether you imagine a witch as a monstrous Macbeth conjuror, or a more innocuous pointy-hatted character riding a broomstick, it's likely the visuals of art have something to do with it.
Opinion
British Museum Wants Someone to Update Its Website for Free [UPDATED]
The British Museum is a flagship cultural institution with 2013 expenditures of £115.4 million (~$186.2 million). It is also, according to a current online listing, seeking free help from experienced coders in the guise, naturally, of an internship or "student placement" with its "Digital Team."
Art
Crowdsourcing the Bronze Age in a New Platform for Archaeology
Some of the most significant records on human history remain inaccessible to a wide audience. A new open source crowdsourcing platform called MicroPasts is looking to involve online amateurs in collaborations with professional archaeologists to create digital records of archive collections.
News
Indigenous Action Highlights British Museum's Role in Colonialism
Last Friday, January 11, Idle No More London staged a UK solidarity action in London's British Museum. Standing in solidarity with the Idle No More movement, which originated last November with the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit communities in Canada, members of Idle No More London chose the museum
News
British Museum Maintenance Workers Strike Against Privatization
Roughly 50 maintenance workers and cleaners at the British Museum staged a brief strike this past Monday, the AFP reports, protesting the museum's plans to privatize maintenance work starting next April. The workers are represented by the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union and Unite, and bot