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Digital Representations of Slavery in Australia
Navigating Heritage, Identity and Power
Abstract The digitisation of exhibitions and collections has dramatically expanded access to and forms of cultural heritage, while also raising many questions around the power relations that underlie the production of this heritage. Whose heritage is being digitised, by whom, and for whom is it being recorded and represented? Such questions are especially pronounced in digital museum spaces facing issues of race and empire. Exhibitions on slavery in particular, which have proliferated across the globe since a ‘slavery memory’ boom in the late twentieth century and intersected with the digitisation of museums, underscore the tensions between contemporary politics, new forms of cultural heritage-making, and the colonial origins and frameworks of museums. This paper reflects upon the development and early conceptual phases of an online exhibition exploring legacies of slavery in Australia. Looking at the complex relationships and responsibilities between individuals, communities and institutions, this paper also explores evolving approaches to community engagement, audience contributions, and the question of the democratisation of content through digital and online storytelling. It considers the ways that selections in voice, medium, space and audience interact with ongoing and complex connections with British culture and heritage, to produce specific representations of slavery and forms of heritage in Australia. These differing forms intersect with and hold significant implications for Australian identities, contemporary politics, and lived realities.
Keywords Australia, Digitisation, Memory, Museums, Slavery
