public.project.abstract

The digital transition is having a significant impact across various areas of European societies, including museology. In this context, emerging literature highlights how the digital sphere shapes our understanding of the world while being influenced by complex software architectures and cultural and historically defined standards and biases.
Additionally, part of ethnographic museum collections consists of heritage from Indigenous peoples. While some settler societies have developed policies and protocols for the digitalization of collections in collaboration with Indigenous peoples, this has largely not occurred in Europe. This omission not only raises ethical and political concerns but also represents a missed opportunity to collaboratively shape the digital sphere through a plurality of perspectives.
To address these debates, the InDigit project will develop a prototype for a digital repository in collaboration with consultants from the Kamayurá Indigenous people (Alto Xingu, Brazil), based on their collection housed at the National Museum of Ethnology (MNE) in Portugal. The project's main objective is to examine the differences and similarities between the theories and practices of the MNE and the Kamayurá regarding classification systems, access protocols, care regimes, and notions of temporality. This process will also contribute to producing a manual with recommendations from the Kamayurá on managing their collections in both physical and digital formats.

public.project.team