CURATING ‘CELTS’: LESSONS FROM THE BRITISH MUSEUM EXHIBITION
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2020-12-06

This paper will critically reflect on the process of curating the British Museum’s exhibition ‘Celts: Art and Identity’ (25th September 2015 – 31st January 2016), organised in partnership with National Museums Scotland. It will focus on how the curators sought to challenge, but also to build on, established narratives and preconceptions, by telling stories through objects, texts, images, and 3D design, and how the final exhibition was received. Early-stage focus groups asked members of the public for their responses to the word ‘Celts’, and ‘Celtic’. This helped to shape the structure and narrative of the exhibition. Rather than focusing on the negative (“There’s no such people as the Celts”, “It’s more complicated than that”), the exhibition sought to tell a compelling story of how the meaning of the name ‘Celt’ has changed over the last 2500 years. The aim was to capture the public’s imagination by presenting recent academic work in a new light, re-invigorating debate about national identities in the UK and beyond. The paper will conclude with an evaluation of the press reaction to the exhibition, and impact on visitors, based on the British Museum’s summative evaluations. Was the exhibition successful in its aims? What worked well, and what could have been improved?


Author(s): Farley, Julia (British Museum)