Penguin Sex and Stolen Artifacts: Museum Tours Through a New Lens

Title: Penguin Sex and Stolen Artifacts: Museum Tours Through a New Lens
Author: Alex Marshall
Media Outlet: The New York Times
Publish Date: January 17, 2019

“One of the most prominent series showing museum collections through a new lens is led by Alice Procter, a 23-year-old art historian studying for a master’s degree at University College London. Her “Uncomfortable Art” tours look at how imperialism and colonialism underpin the collections of some of London’s major cultural institutions, including the British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery.

Ms. Procter discusses, for example, how items were acquired in colonial times and paintings were used to shape national identity in Britain, which portrayed itself as a superior and benevolent society. She hands out badges featuring the slogan “Display It Like You Stole It,” and sells “Dear Art Gallery...” postcards to let cultural institutions know when labels are inadvertently racist, sexist or “totally impenetrable,” among other options.”