ABSTRACT
Puawai Cairns, Director of Audience and Insights at Te Papa Tongarewa in New Zealand, emphasizes the importance of making museums dynamic and culturally relevant by focusing on the people and communities they represent. She stresses that culture should come from the people, not just the objects in the museum. Cairns believes in the significance of increasing Indigenous representation within museum staff and leadership to ensure museums truly serve their communities. She argues that one cultural appointment is not enough, and that Indigenous cultures need allies and friends at all levels of museum organization. While she acknowledges the challenges of decolonizing museums, she believes it is possible by questioning and rebuilding every aspect of how museums operate, including legislation, policies, and procedures. Discussing performance conservation, Cairns emphasizes the importance of using cultural objects, recording their use, and understanding the power of conservation decisions. She discusses the limitations of capturing culture in museums, recognizing that museums can never fully recreate the context and essence of a culture. Instead, she advocates for creating new moments and relationships between museums and communities to ensure cultural practices continue to evolve and thrive. Cairns ultimately envisions a future where museums empower communities to become active creators and participants in cultural preservation.
