Manchester Museum launches new Decolonise! trail

08 May 2025

Exhibition confronts colonial legacies and invite public reflection

Manchester Museum has launched a new Decolonise! trail – a resource designed to help visitors reflect on how museums have been shaped by colonial histories and to encourage thoughtful conversation about power, representation and accountability.

As part of the Museum’s ongoing commitment to anti-racism, equity and social justice, the Decolonise! trail invites visitors to explore overlooked stories, unpick dominant narratives and understand the complex historical contexts that shaped the Museum’s collections.

Why this matters at Manchester Museum

Like many museums across Europe, Manchester Museum’s collections were shaped during the age of Empire, when cultural items, nature, belongings and even ancestors were removed from countries that Britain and other European powers forced control over. Manchester Museum was established to house and display these ‘spoils of Empire’, often interpreting the world through a narrow, colonial lens.

The Decolonise! Trail is part of Manchester Museum’s long-term work to offer a more thorough, transparent and inclusive history of its collections - recognising the realities of Empire and ensuring the Museum is a space for critical reflection and open dialogue.

A guide to reflection and action

Featuring eight stops across the Museum, the trail foregrounds questions about power, representation and the legacy of Empire. Some trail points provide additional historical context and address the removal of cultural belongings during colonial rule; others highlight existing decolonial work taking place within the galleries.

The trail has been developed to encourage reflection and conversation about the role museums play in shaping our understanding of history, culture and power, inviting visitors to critically engage with the Museum's collections and how their colonial legacies continue to impact our world today.

“I’m so excited for the launch of the Decolonise! trail — it’s a bold invitation to our visitors to question our displays and be more curious about our history,” said Chloe Cousins, Social Justice Manager at Manchester Museum.

“For a long time, museums have presented the world through a very narrow lens and spoken about and on behalf of communities represented through the collections. But museums are changing. More and more practice is centred in justice and in orienting power away from museums and towards communities whose belongings are held here. The trail is an intervention that directly asks visitors to join us in this reflective work, and I’m really looking forward to the engagement that comes from that.”

Supporting visitor care

Some content on the trail relates to themes of racism, colonial violence and homophobia, and includes galleries where ancestral remains and taxidermy are present. Visitors are encouraged to move through the trail at their own pace. Those wishing to continue conversations can contact the team at: socialjustice@manchester.ac.uk