Join us for the launch:

Thursday, August 2nd at 2:45 pm
The University of the West Indies
Cave Hill, Barbado

Museums and Communities: Changing Dynamics draws on author Deborah Tranter's experiences as the director of the Cobb+Co Museum in Toowoomba, Australia since its opening in 1987. It charts the changing dynamics between the museum and its community that have provided enormous benefits to both the institution and the community itself.

The engagement process and subsequent outcomes between museums and their stakeholder communities are often neglected by both practitioners and academics. Much has been written and spoken about the need for museums to engage with and be responsive to their communities, but many museums, in practice, still remain indifferent to their key stakeholders.

Museums can play substantial leadership roles within communities. This occurs when the relationship between the museum and its community becomes entrenched with shared values. These values can facilitate social, cultural, and economic benefits for both museums and their communities. This book explores these values and their expression within a regional museum context.

Deborah Tranter

Deborah Tranter is Director of the Cobb+Co Museum in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. She is also Director of Queensland Museum Regional Services and is responsible for delivery of museum services across Queensland. In 2000 she was recognized for her contribution to cultural heritage and cultural tourism in regional Queensland with an Order of Australia Medal. She is the author of Cobb & Co. Coaching in Queensland and Cobb & Co. in Japan and was awarded her PhD from the University of Queensland in 2011.

Join us for the launch:

Saturday, August 4 at 3:10 pm
The University of the West Indies
Cave Hill, Barbados

International Heritage Instruments and Climate Change considers the current and potential effectiveness of two UNESCO instruments, the 1972 World Heritage Convention and the 2003 Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention, in protecting and safeguarding the world’s cultural heritage against the escalating threat from climate change. Rae and John Sheridan argue that strengthened Conventions, boldly administered and publically engaged, may provide an improved chance for both heritage and humanity.

The book discusses climate change vulnerability, legal effectiveness, ‘sustainable development’ and human issues such as displacement, health threats, security, climate justice, ethics and impacts leading to marginality and cultural loss. It also presents a case study built around the culturally rich region of Leh, Ladakh, which was recently devastated by climate change mediated flooding and landslides.

Rae and John Sheridan

Rae and John Sheridan have a lifelong interest in conservation and photography. They have worked as self-funded volunteers in Sabah, the Solomon Islands, Ladakh and Timor-Leste. They well appreciate global inequity and are concerned about political desensitisation to the daunting challenge of escalating climate change.

Join us for the launch:

Sunday, August 5 at 9:00 am
The University of the West Indies
Cave Hill, Barbados

Plantation to Nation: Caribbean Museums and National Identity explores the evolution of Caribbean museums from colonial-era institutions that supported imperialistic goals to today’s museums that aim to recover submerged or marginalized histories, assert national identities and celebrate cultural diversity.

This book is the first to focus on the growth and development of Caribbean museums and museology, to address museums across the region regardless of nation or language, and to allow for much-needed discourse on their evolution. Museologists from across the region and the international community address the challenges faced by museums in the Caribbean, both historically and in the contemporary setting.

Editors: Alissandra Cummins, Kevin Farmer, and Roslyn Russell

Alissandra Cummins is Director of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, and a lecturer in Heritage Studies, Caribbean Art and Museums at the University of the West Indies. She has also served as President of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) 2004–2010, and as founding President of the Museums Association of the Caribbean (1989–1992).

Kevin Farmer is Deputy Director of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society (BMHS). He holds a Master’s degree in Heritage Studies from the University of the West Indies.

Dr Roslyn Russell is a historian, editor and museum consultant who lives in Australia. She has written a number of books and articles on Australian history and literature and has worked as a content developer for museum exhibitions of Barbados and Caribbean history and art since the mid-2000s.