Evolving societal attitudes towards museum collecting practices have necessitated museum professionals to re-evaluatethe way we manage and look after Human Remains collections. It is no longer justifiable to collect for collection’s sake andregistrars play a crucial role in caring for these collections, while ensuring adherence to ethical standards and legalrequirements. Collections must be interpreted, displayed, and used according to today’s ethical standards. With this inmind, the author aims to showcase how Human Remains are managed and used within the context of a teaching andresearch collection at University College London (UCL).
The focus will be placed on issues of consent, particularly within the context of the Human Tissue Act (2004), whichprovides the key legal framework for managing collections involving human remains in the UK. The presentation will alsodelve into the practical considerations essential for registrars and collections specialists to manage these collectionsresponsibly and ethically. Additionally, it will highlight the importance of ensuring consent for viewers encountering humanremains and UCL Museums approach on achieving this.
Furthermore, drawing from examples in the UCL's Science and Pathology collections, the author will discuss proceduralframeworks surrounding ancient DNA sampling and scientific destructive analysis, underscoring their pivotal role injustifying the retention of human remains collections at UCL, reinforcing the overarching theme of ethical and responsiblemanagement of human remains collections.

Reshaping Heritage: Law, Logistics, and Learning from the Ni'isjoohlMemorial Pole's Rematriation
In late 2023, National Museums Scotland and the Nisga’a Nation undertook the immense task of returning an 11-meter-high totem pole, weighing over 1 tonne, from Edinburgh to the Nass Valley in Northwest Canada. Now on display in the Nisga’a Museum, the Ni'isjoohl Memorial Pole is the first cultural belonging to be legally transferred out of Scotland’s National collections for the purposes of rematriation.
This presentation reflects on the application of UK law as well the practical considerations of returning collections to countries of origin. I will explore how National Museums Scotland worked with the context and restrictions of UK law, the logistical challenges of moving a totem pole of this size, as well as the cultural sensitivities that informed and changed our processes for the better.

In 2020, the Dutch Council of Culture released "Colonial Collection and Recognition of Injustice" offering clear guidelines for the ethical management of colonial artifacts. These guidelines became integral to the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture, and Science's Policy vision on colonial collections by January 2021, marking a significant stride towards addressing historical injustices. Central to this policy is the acknowledgment of source countries' rights to request the return of colonial objects. Restitution decisions concerning objects from the State Collection are delegated to the State Secretary, facilitated by the independent Colonial Collections Committee.
These state collections often form vital components of ethnographic museums in the Netherlands, underscoring museums' dedication to assisting in managing and addressing restitution claims.
Registrars of Dutch ethnographic museums play an important role in this process. They are tasked with documenting and tracking colonial objects within museum collections. Working closely with curators, provenance researchers, conservators, and relevant authorities, to ensure compliance with legal and ethical standards. The registrar contributes to the execution of restitution decisions, facilitating the transfer of objects back to their source countries.
The restitution process shares similarities with a loan procedure, but operates with unique dynamics that demand collaboration among all parties involved. It's important to note that the handling of restitution isn't one-sided or solely driven by the perspectives of former colonial powers. Instead, it relies equally on the viewpoints, desires, and expectations of source countries.
In this contribution, I will share my experiences with restitution, providing practical insights for registrars navigating similar terrain.

WTW is a multinational company providing global broking insurance services. Our industry and product specialisation help clients to balance their current and future challenges. The arts industry requires uniquely specialised solutions for its management of risk, and we work in partnership with clients.
Several institutions have been affected by protesters’ demonstrative actions over the past few months. Various affiliations include #metoo, Ultima Generazione, JustStopOil. As to risk mitigation, are museums ready to face the challenge of unpredictable actions by exhibitions’ visitors and protesters? Do they have dedicated procedures in place? Is the insurance market ready to share the burden of such new scenario? WTW will arrange a workshop where different players will be discussing, sharing stories and, possibly, solutions.

Hear about Wellcome Collection’s approach to inclusive exhibition design, and how it was implemented in the recentexhibition, ‘In Plain Sight’ which was designed with and for blind and partially sighted people. The exhibition explored thedifferent ways we see, and the tools that shape how we view the world. We trialed new ways for our visitors to experiencethe exhibition that engaged a number of senses and was more accessible, from a tactile floor line guiding visitors aroundthe gallery, invitations to touch artworks and Lights Up sessions with brighter and more even lighting conditions.
The focus of this presentation will be on Lights Up. We increased lighting by agreed lux levels periodically over the courseof the exhibition, to facilitate better access for those with a vision impairment or other sensory processing difficulties, whilstnot increasing light exposure on collections and loans excessively. It was a collaborative project between Exhibitions andConservation, and our lenders, considering both conservation science and visitor experience to find ways to balancepreservation and collections care with inclusive and accessible design.
We will talk about calculating lux exposure and negotiating with lenders, our smart lighting control system, feedback fromuser evaluation, and how we will continue this offer going forward as part of a Relaxed Opening programme.

The work of the registrar has increasingly changed, also in Italy, in particular in the Renaissance rooms of Palazzo Strozzi, which, for the past ten years or so, has been hosting international exhibitions with large-scale installations and different and unusual materials: organic, natural, chemical, industrial, digital, etc.
The exhibition Anish Kapoor. Untrue Unreal (which ended in February 2024) meant a significant change of pace in terms of design, installation and even maintenance during its course.
The case of the Anglo-Indian master's works strongly influenced our spaces, providing us with an opportunity for creative and fruitful mediation with the artist's studio - in what they called 'dirty rooms' - in order to safeguard the architecture of the building, while respecting the design, the artist's idea and the materiality of the works themselves.
We invited our colleagues from the Royal Academy of Arts to participate in a discussion about the challenges and opportunities associated with producing temporary exhibitions with living artists in a historic suite of galleries. The Represented an exhibition with Anish Kapoor in 2009 and has continued its long history of developing an ambitious programme of temporary exhibitions with living artists to this date.