Transnational Island Museologies & Shared Island Stories – School of Art History
In June, the School of Art History hosted the hybrid international conference Transnational Island Museologies, in partnership with the International Committee for Museology (ICOFOM). The event also featured the 47th ICOFOM Annual Assembly.
The conference formed part of the five-year research project Shared Island Stories Between Scotland and the Caribbean: Past, Present, Future, which had been selected by the European Research Council (ERC) and funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Shared Island Stories is coordinated by Professor Karen Brown of the School of Art History and delivered by a core team of Research Fellows, PhD students, part-time investigators, and partner organisations based in Scotland and the Caribbean.
Key collaborators include the Harris Community Trust and the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, who partnered in an innovative Transatlantic Youth Exchange. The project also benefited from the guidance of a strategic Advisory Board of experts from both regions.
Together, the team explores the shared challenges facing islands – from coastal erosion and climate change to depopulation and unsustainable tourism – while addressing questions of heritage, Empire, and climate justice. The June conference drew on these themes to consider how community museums and heritage organisations could work with NGOs, policymakers, and local businesses to advance sustainability and climate action.
Keynote speakers included Hilda Flavia Nakabuye, Founder of Fridays for Future Uganda, and Professor Conal McCarthy, Victoria University Wellington, New Zealand.
The Shared Island Stories Transnational Youth Exchange between the island communities of Barbados and the Outer Hebrides in Scotland has been shortlisted for the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Award for Sustainable Development Practice in Museums: Reshaping Sustainable Development Practice in Museums (2025).
The Shared Island Stories research project was selected by the European Research Council (ERC) and funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) with reference: EP/X023036/1. It is coordinated by the School of Art History at the University of St Andrews.