Is there Space for Spirituality in the Contemporary Museum?

Abstract

This paper outlines the subject and findings of the author's doctoral thesis, completed at Flinders University of South Australia in 2010, entitled “The Spirit of Change in Museums” which examined the influence of Indigenous cultural and spiritual beliefs and practices on contemporary museums and considered the implications for future developments of the role of the Museum (). The author demonstrates that in mainstream and community museums, Indigenous elders, ceremonialists and artists are using both cultural protocols and museological methods to protect culturally-sensitive knowledge, preserve or renew spiritual aspects of culture, and address contemporary social and cultural issues such as protection of cultural rights and recovery from post-colonial trauma. This is creating new models of museums shaped by local cultural and spiritual values and ceremonial practices. The author also suggests that by recognising spiritual and intangible dimensions of cultural artefacts and their significance to traditional owners, mainstream museums can potentially play an important role in contributing to these efforts.