ABSTRACT
Contested Collections is a project led by researchers from King's College London and funded by an Economic and Social Research Council Impact Acceleration Account (ESRC IAA). Its aim is to provide primary school learners with the skills, language and confidence to engage in complex debates around issues of restitution and decolonisation by providing sets of learning materials and new narratives concerning artefacts whose ownership, acquisition, or histories are contested. Central to the project are high-quality 3D prints of the artefacts to encourage interactions not possible with the original works. Objects include those from the classical world, for example the Parthenon, but are not limited to ancient artefacts. Objects selected for Contested Collections also include high-profile cases like the Benin Bronzes. This chapter examines the development of the project, its collaboration with a number of partners and close involvement of a diverse group of student volunteers, looking towards its future delivery and impact on school learners.
