November 2012


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In October, The UWI Zoology Museum (UWIZM) helped host the annual conference of the Museums Association of the Caribbean (MAC) in conjunction with the National Museum and Art Gallery (NMAG). Delegates from 13 countries came to attend the conference, titled “Collecting the Caribbean: A closer look at Collection Policy and Management.”

The first day of the conference, held at the NMAG, started with a brief tour of the collections, the highlight of which was the newly installed display of artwork by Jackie Hinkson. Several presentations followed, starting with museum consultant Lisa Dillon, from Lord Cultural Resources, Toronto, Canada, who talked about the need for and development of a collection policy for a museum. Consultant Nigel Sadler from Sands of Time Consultancy, England had a session on documentation as part of a museum’s emergency plan – particularly important in a region prone to hurricanes and earthquakes. The day finished with presentations by two staff members from the UWI Mona Campus, Jamaica. First was Sherene James-Williamson who spoke about the UWI Geology Museum and how she has improved the displays and instigated many projects to make it more accessible. The last speaker of the day was Suzanne Francis-Brown, curator of the brand new UWI Museum based at the UWI Regional Headquarters, who spoke about the development of the museum and what she hoped for the future.

The second day of the conference at the St. Augustine Campus was opened by Deputy Principal Professor Rhoda Reddock, who gave a preview of the brand new webpage for the Museums and Collections of UWI St. Augustine. As curator of the UWIZM, I spoke about the development of an online database for the campus collections and my work over the last three years of overseeing the cataloguing of over 5,000 objects. This was followed by Dr. Glenroy Taitt, Head of the West Indiana and Special Collections Division, talking about a recent project to catalogue the Eric Williams Memorial Collection using the new database. Finally Yasmin Baksh-Comeau, curator of the National Herbarium, told everyone about the botanical collections and how they have been curated over the years.

The last day of the conference was a chance for delegates to tour some of Trinidad’s sights; they started at the Angostura Distillery and Museum where they were told about the secretive manufacturing process of the world famous bitters followed by a tour of its Museum, which contains the colourful Barcant Butterfly Collection. After an all too brief rum-tasting session they headed down to the Indian Caribbean Museum at Waterloo where the curator, Saisbhan Jokhan, gave them a tour after lunch. Next were quick stops at the Waterloo Temple in the Sea and the Hanuman Murti statue. The group then headed up to Caroni Swamp for a boat tour and a chance to see the national bird. After a light rain shower the skies cleared and the delegates were treated to a wonderful display of the scarlet ibis coming home to roost.

Next year the MAC conference will be hosted by the Museum of Belize & Houses of Culture in Belize.