FOI Request - Museums and Galleries and the Arts

Request 101003806201

In relation to the museums/galleries owned/funded/overseen by the council, for the past two years up to date:

1.a) What work has been carried out to “decolonise” collections: addressing colonial legacies, racism, and to make the museum more racially inclusive?  For example, what labelling has been added to contextualise potentially harmful narratives about slavery etc.  

b) What has been removed from display?

c) Can you please provide any interval guidance/manuals provided to staff to assist them with this work

2.a) For the past two years up to date, what work has been carried out to make collections, events and education work to make it more inclusive for the LGBTQ+ community?  For example, tours, new displays, new labels?

b) Can you please provide any interval guidance/manuals provided to staff to assist them with this work

3.a) Could you please provide details of formal approaches for the return of cultural artefacts, and for all requests for the repatriation of cultural artefacts, for example, for the return of Aboriginal material.

b) Can you break this down by the date of the first approach, with details of the objects in question, the parties requesting them, and the status of discussions/negotiations at present

4.a) In relation to any council owned/funded/overseen venues: for arts, music, or other cultural activities, what has been done to ensure racial and LGBT inclusion?

b) What policies are in place with regard to referencing the use of the shape to certain groups or those with certain political views?

Response 15-07-2025

1. Not applicable. Due to budgetary constraints, operation of the Moray Museum Service ceased on 1st April 2020 and the Falconer Museum with Store is closed until an alternative Operating Model is established. Meantime the collection continues to be monitored and the buildings maintained. 

2. As per 1. 

3. The Falconer Museum in Forres, participated in the repatriation of a Maori skull to New Zealand in 2016, along with other institutions as part of the Karanga Aotearoa repatriation programme, according to the Museums Association. The skull, held by the museum for over 130 years, was returned to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa for repatriation to its ancestral Maori homeland. This was part of a larger effort to return the remains of around 60 individuals, the majority of whom were held by the Smithsonian Institute, to New Zealand

4. As per 1.