Project questions

• How can we rethink Pre-Raphaelite and Arts and Crafts objects through the lenses of anti-racism and decoloniality?
• How can contemporary museum practitioners interpret and engage audiences with these complex and difficult histories of art and design; what challenges and opportunities do they offer?
• How can museums and galleries work ethically in collaborating with contemporary BIPOC artists and designers to engage with these nineteenth-century objects and their legacies?
• How can the group build on its activities to create collaborative resources for museum and higher education practitioners? 

About the project

Race, Empire & the Pre-Raphaelites, a research group operating through the British Art Network, ran from 2020-2025. The group, co-led by Victoria Osborne (Senior Curator, Art, Birmingham Museums) brought together museum workers, academics and artists to explore the global contexts of Victorian art and design, particularly in relation to ideologies of Orientalism and Empire. It used Birmingham's rich collections as a starting point for broader conversations about how Victorian art and design might be explored with and for contemporary museum audiences.  

Links and resources

• Download the resource pack (PDF): 'Approaching Race and Empire in collections of nineteenth century art and design – A resource pack for museums and galleries’ by the British Museum.
• Race, Empire and the Pre-Raphaelites website- A project blog compiling further reading, resources and project activities.
• Case Study: Reimagining How We Display Victorian Art by the University of Birmingham.