Intersectional GLAM 2021: Disrupt and Empower by Vicky Bramwell

I was fortunate to win a place on the virtual conference “Intersectional GLAM 2021: Disrupt and Empower” on 17th August.

GLAM stands for Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums. The values on their website state:

“Memory institutions have a social responsibility to protect our collective memories. However, unequal power structures result in many forgotten, undervalued and erased histories from various underrepresented groups. This includes; LGBTQIA, Disabled, BAME, First Nations, Neurodivergent, working-class and women. We believe with training and tweaks to current organisational practices we can give these voices the space they deserve.”

I have read, heard, and seen lots of different things about unconscious bias recently, which always makes me think about any biases I may have myself. I think the only way we can understand ourselves is to keep listening to the experiences of the people around us and think about the difference we can make in our own actions and experiences. I know I am often unsure how to approach subjects around equality, diversity, and inclusion, so I think the more I engage with people’s lived experience the better.

One of the sessions was from Nathan “Mudyi” Sentance, a Wiradjuri Librarian working for the Australia Museum on how cultural collections held by the museum can be made more accessible to First Nations. His session discussed representing history factually, but with the challenge of representing the voice of the First Nation not the white view. This builds on discussions ongoing across the world around representing the voice of all those in history, not just from the white perspective. I think what resonated with me was the message that everyone’s lived experience is different even if they are from the same culture, so in order to understand you need to listen to as many voices as possible. 

This theme came through again in the session by three “Museum Detox Members” discussing their experiences of working in the sector. One of the speakers spoke of being a woman, an older migrant (French) woman, of colour and neurodivergent. She described herself, constantly building on her characteristics, to show the range. It clearly demonstrated the characteristics which make us the person we are, and which can also present the challenges. It was thought provoking, as you naturally at the time start to list your own characteristics and think about how this may bring challenges or privileges brought about by biases you can encounter.  Another speaker spoke of her experiences in the workplace, the influence of being the “wrong shade of brown” and the impact of having an accent, she touched on the issue of a diversity panel, which she spoke of having only “one token brown person”. The third speaker discussed the “lottery of birth”, coming from a Calais refugee camp, getting a well-paid job in PR, but deciding to make a change in career to a museum and eventually working for the International Slavery Museum (in Liverpool). She had started to feel that her identity is in fact her “superpower” and she can be who she is, however, she described herself as only one of six from a BAME group.  

We also heard from CIC Directors Jane Cordell and Hormoz Ahmadzadeh about their life experiences, which included becoming deaf and mental illness. These experiences inform the training and coaching they deliver to organisations, to empower marginalised groups who then become role models themselves. Again, the speakers were inspiring.

I cannot do any of the speakers justice in this blog, the sessions do not really lend themselves to someone else writing about it. As it was all their lived experience, and the power of the presentations was the people themselves and the questions it makes you ask yourself. There were messages around not expecting minorities to constantly be the voice to explain what it is like to be in their shoes. Consultation was a strong theme though, listening to lots of voices and experiences, being person-centred, considering as many views and feelings as possible. From a library perspective, it is about also ensuring your collections and policies represent those voices.