Curating Challenging Collections: Interpreting Eric Gill
Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft has long confronted the complexities of its collection, particularly those surrounding Eric Gill — an artist whose legacy is marred by the documented abuse of his children. The museum has addressed this difficult history head-on, refusing to separate the art from the artist without critical reflection.
Building on the provocative exhibition Eric Gill: The Body, which invited audiences and practitioners to grapple with ethical questions of interpretation, the museum now presents It Takes a Village. Developed in collaboration with the Methodist Modern Art Collection and the Methodist Survivors Advisory Group, this new exhibition and its outreach programme explore how museums can responsibly engage with histories of abuse, working alongside survivors to imagine new possibilities for interpretation and care.
This sector-focused seminar, hosted at Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft and supported by the Centre for Design History at the University of Brighton, offers museum professionals a space to reflect, learn and share strategies for curating ethically complex collections.
Chaired by Dr Claire Wintle (University of Brighton), presentations on the project by Steph Fuller (Director/CEO, Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft) and Dr Ann Sumner (Methodist Modern Art Collection) will be followed by a response from Dr Lesley Murray, Professor of Sociology at the University of Brighton and expert in gender-based violence. Together, they will explore the challenges and opportunities of confronting Gill’s legacy — and what might come next.
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Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft has long confronted the complexities of its collection, particularly those surrounding Eric Gill — an artist whose legacy is marred by the documented abuse of his children. The museum has addressed this difficult history head-on, refusing to separate the art from the artist without critical reflection.
Building on the provocative exhibition Eric Gill: The Body, which invited audiences and practitioners to grapple with ethical questions of interpretation, the museum now presents It Takes a Village. Developed in collaboration with the Methodist Modern Art Collection and the Methodist Survivors Advisory Group, this new exhibition and its outreach programme explore how museums can responsibly engage with histories of abuse, working alongside survivors to imagine new possibilities for interpretation and care.
This sector-focused seminar, hosted at Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft and supported by the Centre for Design History at the University of Brighton, offers museum professionals a space to reflect, learn and share strategies for curating ethically complex collections.
Chaired by Dr Claire Wintle (University of Brighton), presentations on the project by Steph Fuller (Director/CEO, Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft) and Dr Ann Sumner (Methodist Modern Art Collection) will be followed by a response from Dr Lesley Murray, Professor of Sociology at the University of Brighton and expert in gender-based violence. Together, they will explore the challenges and opportunities of confronting Gill’s legacy — and what might come next.
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