Description
This paper aims to explore the politics dimensions curating material memory digitally. It explores the ways in which an internet-enabled cyberspace as a medium of display alters our understanding of a museum space through a close study of the Museum of Material Memory (MMM). Founded in 2017, MMM is an electronic museum that is fully based on social media and a website. The museum defines itself as a ‘digital repository of material culture of the Indian subcontinent’ that aims to flesh out family and social histories of ordinary South Asians. This completely crowdsourced initiative relies on contributions from the public which are then displayed on social media and their website through images and a write-up. It uses the internet to narrate family histories and anecdotes through histories of seemingly banal objects – such as utensils, heirlooms and books –thereby seeking to democratise history. The paper examines the ways in which the virtual platform has enabled MMM to be at once different from, and similar to conventional, physical museums on issues like ownership and possession of objects, categorisation of exhibits, etc. The paper then demonstrates how the very medium that makes the museum participatory and inclusive (internet) could simultaneously hinder its inclusivity. In today’s age where museums are trying to appeal to different constituencies, the paper explores the extent to which this model of display – crowdsourced exhibits through a virtual interface, becomes viable.
