Migration Exhibitions and The Question of Identity

The longstanding and diverse nature of Australian museums’ engagement with the history of migration ¹ offers a rich case study for those interested in the history of the representation of migration in museums and the ways in which it intersects with public debate and policy concerning immigration and living in a multicultural society. It is our hope that a discussion of these relationships in Australia and the types of exhibitions and curatorial strategies that have developed in response to them over the last thirty years will offer a useful basis for international comparison across countries, including those with similar settler histories as well as those experiencing more recent migrations and challenges to the ways in which they have thought about their identity.