Science Museum director says he will not judge historical figures
‘The museum visitor is not a witness that needs to be led to a conclusion by activist language’
THE Science Museum will not use “activist language” to influence visitors, its director has said as he warned against cultural institutions making “clumsy ahistorical judgments”.
Sir Ian Blatchford, the museum’s director, has revealed that the Science Museum Group, which oversees five institutions across the country, will not bow to the demands of campaigners.
He writes in The Daily Telegraph today that the “museum visitor is not a witness that has to be led to a conclusion” about British history.
In the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, many cultural organisations have taken steps to review collections and remove images of controversial figures linked to colonialism and slavery.
The British Library publicly has declared itself “anti-racist” and the British Museum removed a bust of founder Sir Hans Sloane from its pedestal, while the National Trust audited imperialist connections at its stately homes.
But Sir Ian says the institution will not rush into judging historical figures, nor will visitors be pressured with activist language into becoming a jury for past injustices.
“Our agenda is not political,” he writes. He argues that while museums must give an “honest, full story about our past” curators should be careful to prevent them presenting a “parade of clumsy ahistorical judgments”.
“Our tone will recognise that the museum visitor is not a witness that needs to be led to a conclusion by activist language,” Sir Ian writes. “Long experience has shown us that telling a story straight, with facts and evidence, always wins the day.”
His comments come after months of review and reform in UK institutions.
Sir Ian, previously the deputy director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, said that simply decrying historical figures at the behest of campaigners was not the best approach. “I have received a number of letters and emails making strident assertions about the violence of Empire,” he writes. “The museum’s complicity in concealment, and an insistence that we ‘call out’ the racism of certain historical figures. “At times like these one needs to pause, and then separate the wheat from the chaff.”
He said “legitimate revaluation” means that the Science Museum Group and member organisations like the National Railway Museum and Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum will address controversial legacies.
But Sir Ian’s method will be one of “additions not subtractions”. Figures such as James Watt will be noted as having supported the slave trade, and labelling and displays will also reflect the “facts of Empire”, while the textiles galleries at the Science and Industry in Manchester will make clear the source of the cotton and its links with slavery.