Decolonization, diversity and accountability: The role of museums in democracies of the global north

Abstract

Over the last twenty years, the global phenomenon of migration flows has contributed significantly to shaping the multicultural and multiethnic identity of the West's major metropolises in the Global North. Faced with the challenge of integrating this new migrant presence, museums on both sides of the Atlantic have sought to reinvent their role and purpose. The British and the Louvre were created to celebrate the achievements of empire and the West's civilizational superiority. In order to decolonize and rethink this public space and assign it a broader civic role, museum directors have sought to make their institutions spaces of accountability and inclusion as well as reconsider their role as guardians of an often looted cultural heritage. This essay will explore the radical shift that has occurred in conceptualizing the museum's social role in helping to foster an open society in multicultural democracies of the Global North.

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