Marking 50 years of MEG annual meetings, the 2024 conference was held at the Sainsbury Centre at the University of East Anglia. Hosted in collaboration with the Sainsbury Research Unit, the event brought together museum professionals, researchers, artists and community collaborators to explore the evolving role of ethnographic and world cultures collections in contemporary museum practice.

Taking inspiration from the Sainsbury Centre’s new concept Living Art: Sharing Stories, the conference focused on the museum as an active and responsive space. Through presentations, panel discussions and gallery conversations, participants reflected on how museums can engage with pressing global questions – from climate change and colonial legacies to repatriation, community collaboration and activism.

Themes included:

• Community-led curation and collaboration
• Repatriation practices and Indigenous agency
• Climate action and environmental justice in museums
• Knowledge exchange and the ethics of care
• Activism, archives and institutional change

The two-day event featured a gallery tour led by Dr Jago Cooper, and a special dinner at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. The conference closed with reflections on how museum ethnographers might shape the next 50 years of the field.

Organised by: Dr Karen Jacobs (Sainsbury Research Unit)
With thanks to: All presenters, chairs, and participants who contributed to this milestone event.

Download the full conference programme (PDF)