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The University Museums and Collections Conference (UMAC 2023) will bring 197 delegates from 30 countries together to discuss 鈥榯ruth telling鈥� in museums. 聽

The challenge of legacy collections and repatriation will be among topics discussed. Attendees include curators who have connected Indigenous students with museum artefacts which belonged to their forebears and created platforms to discuss the colonial systems that gave rise to the creation of many museums.

鈥淢useums around the world are reckoning with their past,鈥� said Michael Dagostino, the University of Sydney鈥檚 Director of Museums and Cultural Engagement.听鈥淲e need to be brave, acknowledge what has happened and atone for past acts.

鈥淭he museum acquisition practices of earlier centuries don鈥檛 hold up to community standards. In an environment where culture should be fiercely debated, university museums must have robust discussions about how to engage students, researchers and the wider public to ensure their collections remain relevant and reflect contemporary values in higher education and broader society.鈥�

The impact of war on Ukrainian museums, Western Australian collections in international museums and the role of choreography in museums are just a few of the sessions included in UMAC 2023鈥檚 extensive program.听

Three senior Indigenous scholars - Professor Jennifer Barrett,聽Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous (Academic) at the University of Sydney; Professor Gaye Sculthorpe from Deakin University; and Associate Professor Ali Baker from Flinders University - will deliver keynote addresses reflecting the conference鈥檚 theme.

"It is incumbent upon to acknowledge the role our university has played in the colonial project," she said. "Our cultural collections are testament to that history and therefore core to truth-telling."

University museums date back to 1683, when the Ashmolean Museum opened at the University of Oxford. The Nicholson Museum opened at the University of Sydney in 1860, the first university museum in Australia, after Sir Charles Nicholson donated his substantial collection of antiquities to the University. 聽

鈥淯niversity museums are distinct institutions,鈥� said Mr Dagostino. 鈥淭heir collections inform students and researchers. Here at the Chau Chak Wing Museum, we offer bespoke programs using museum objects to teach subjects ranging from archaeology to economics. 聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting to bring our annual conference to Australia and experience the Chau Chak Wing Museum, one of the most interesting recent academic museum developments in the world,鈥� said the UMAC President, Andrew Simpson.

鈥淢useums are changing from being points of scientific and cultural authority to being networks of scientific and cultural agency, and academic museums often lead the way.鈥澛犅�

Coinciding with its role as host, the Chau Chak Wing Museum鈥檚 object-based learning program is a finalist for the annual UMAC Award, which celebrates innovation, creativity and excellence at university museums.

鈥淲e鈥檙e proud to be able to bring together people who are passionate about the role of museums in society to the new Chau Chak Wing Museum,鈥� said Mr Dagostino.