Deconstructing and Co-constructing: Museums and the Social Museological Turn – Bruno Brulon Soares

Moderated by: Katarzyna Jagodzińska

27.5.2026, 6 pm

In the series: Deconstruction of the Museum

Lecture and discussion in English

The talk examines the longstanding discussions on decolonisation and reparation across the museum sector to question the end-goal of the deconstruction process triggered by social movements in the 1960s and 1970s. Drawing on the frameworks of social museology, Bruno Brulon Soares in his lecture shifts the focus from institutional critique to the social uses of museums by present-day communities. By exploring the multiple ways in which museums and communities nurture one another, Soares considers how collaboration has been practised under emerging ethical imperatives – particularly those involving care work and the negotiation of power imbalances that frequently arise in such exchanges. The redistribution of authority between communities and professionals is highlighted as a persistent challenge in developing a truly collective expertise founded on knowledge-sharing and mutual understanding.

The lecture will be followed by a discussion raising various aspects of current museum practice, diving into examples from South America and Europe in order to seek common ground and examine a potential for systemic change in museums.

 

Bruno Brulon Soares is a Reader in Museum and Heritage Studies at the University of St Andrews, an award-winning author and experienced museologist. He has worked closely with community-based museums in Brazil and with several heritage projects at the grassroots level involving anticolonial practices and social movements. He is Chair of the International Committee for Social Museology, SOMUS, and serves on several committees, including the ICOM Standing Committee for Ethics.