The Past is Now

Abstract

Through reflections on the exhibition, ‘The Past is Now: Birmingham and the British Empire’, this article explores what happened when Birmingham Museums Trust attempted to display stories of the British Empire by practically applying decolonial theory. The pursuit of false neutrality as a means of exercising authority in museum displays about the British Empire is explored here as the form of imperial celebration, which the decolonial work responded to. Reflecting upon the difficulties of this endeavour and discusses the context of this work both from the perspective of museum workers and the author’s personal perspective as a Woman of Colour. In so doing, the article highlights how racial identities affects the ways decolonial practices are executed, in particular the impact of emotional labour and the value of lived experiences of People of Colour as counter narratives. As such it interrogates the concept of authority at the centre of this exhibition.