THE EXHIBITIONIST

The exhibitionist is a decolonial project by London based Australian material culture historian and activist Alice Procter. Her academic work concentrates on the intersections of postcolonial art practice and colonial material culture, settler storytelling, the concept of whiteness in the 18th and 19th centuries, the curation of historical trauma, and myths of national identity. Her MA research is into new modes of dissenting and disruptive narrative in museum spaces.

Under the umbrella of The Exhibitionist she offers:

Uncomfortable Art Tours

Uncomfortable Art Tours are exactly what they sound like.

In a country that’s repeatedly failed to come to terms with its colonial past, led by politicians who seem to think the past is the future, she seeks to resist triumphalist nostalgia with art history. How did the narratives of Empire come into being? Who controls them? And how can we learn to see through the whitewash to the truth?

These Tours focus on how major institutions came into being against a backdrop of imperialism. On each tour, she unravels the role colonialism played in shaping and funding a major national collection, looking at the broader material history of celebrated works: where the money comes from, the ways they’ve been displayed, and the ideological aesthetics at work. The history of British art is also the history of empire and genocide, written by collectors who traded in landscapes and lives.

Currently, Uncomfortable Art Tours run at six sites: the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate Britain and the Queen’s House (National Maritime Museum).

Display it like you stole it

Display it like you stole it’ is a call for museums to rethink the politics of display in their galleries. From label text to lighting, how is ownership created and dissent shut down? Who is the authorial voice here, and what is considered worthy of inclusion? It’s well past time for museums to be honest about their acquisitions history and how objects arrive in their collections in the first place. Badges are available at Uncomfortable Art Tours, and at some events.

In her website you can also find a podcast and an uncomfortable library.

http://www.theexhibitionist.org