Drs. Heather Milne and Angela Failler (University of Winnipeg) have been awarded an Aid to Small Universities Grant to support their ongoing development of the Museum Queeries project. This grant intends to 1) expand the Museum Queeries Research Network , 2) connect with potential research partners for collaborative projects, and 3) provide a context for the training of student Research Assistants.
The Museum Queeries project seeks to stage intersectional interventions into museums and museum studies by foregrounding Two Spirit and queer approaches alongside decolonial approaches and practices with the aim of developing a critical discourse on the overarching whiteness and heteronormativity of museum curation and providing critical and curatorial contexts in which queer and decolonizing lenses can work in tandem to diversify curatorial and representational practices. While these objectives attest to the fact that Museum Queeries is a project that is broad and far reaching in its scope, the ASU funds will be directed specifically towards a crucial and necessary next step in the development of this project: the formalizing of a partnership with the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives (CLGA) in Toronto. The CLGA’s mandate and goals are compatible with ours and will serve as a vital partner for Museum Queeries and a crucial site for us and our Research Assistants to carry out our work. These funds will also go towards the continued mentorship of student Research Assistants.