ABSTRACT
Museums actively invest value in objects through processes of collection, documentation, preservation, exhibition and public engagement. While value may be embodied in the complex histories and physical presence of objects, it is enhanced by the ongoing multiplication of social relations with regard to particular objects and modes of engagement. The development of open and productive relations with members of source communities, an essential part of decolonizing processes, highlights divergent and at times conflicting systems of value. Working with communities of origin is also a factor in value creation, leading to multi-perspectival and cross-cultural understandings with the potential of contributing to social inclusion and community regeneration. Drawing on a recent collaborative project to re-display MAA’s Pacific collections in the ‘permanent’ anthropology gallery, this chapter explores distinct and often competing notions of value propagated by professional museum practices, academic research, communities of origin, local audiences and UK funding bodies and considers ways that they may creatively overlap in the production of value.
