Didar: Activating Exhibition Spaces With Diaspora Communities In Melbourne

Abstract

The twenty-first century conservator is more regularly involved in collection-based community engagements. This is in response to and influenced by the revised roles of cultural institutions as social spaces that recognise the importance of inclusivity, community participation and sustainability. Despite this focus on communities, the practical details and the care needed to undertake this work are not adequately documented. The challenge for conservators, needing to stay relevant and connected, is how best to engage participants from diverse backgrounds in structured and meaningful ways. This research sought to develop practices around conservation that is engaged with communities, working with culturally diverse groups in an exhibition setting. In 2022, the exhibition Didar: Stories of Middle Eastern Manuscripts from the University of Melbourne opened in the Arts West Gallery. Sixty manuscripts were displayed alongside Grimwade Centre research for the first time. The exhibition presented a timely opportunity to reach out to communities. Our approach was open-ended, inspired by the themes of the manuscripts and materials to increase our chances of engagement. Reflective practice supported the iterative event design process, which aimed to create opportunities for audience meaning making and interpretation. Pen portraits were employed as a method of data presentation to offer vignettes of participant narratives. Such narratives are part of the ethos of care that the research team aimed to put into practice—in this case, care for stories and care for the ways in which individuals connect with the collection. This paper adds to the scholarship needed to professionalise conservation community engagement.