The Work that Remains: Continuing the Reconciliation Work of Legal Tribunals through Museums

Abstract

"This article provides examples of how museums have partnered with legal institutions in the work of consolidating societal memory and fostering dialogue, recovery, and healing. The relationship between museums and tribunals is multifaceted. Museums may offer opportunities for recovery that legal processes cannot, but they may also reopen old wounds and cause new ones. Museums are not limited by the classification of people as perpetrators or victims, or by the legal definitions of offences. They can offer creative and artistic representations of different experiences and potentially reach diverse public sectors. But museums must act with knowledge of their historical role in colonialism and violations of human rights, and their exclusion of many in the development of their iconic status. Without self-reflection and a change from some traditional practices, museums may continue to generate power imbalances in the communities they intend to serve."