Whose Classics? Curating Antiquity in Contemporary Museums (23.06.26)

We are pleased to announce an online evening lecture by Dr Hardeep Dhindsa titled “Whose Classics? Curating Antiquity in Contemporary Museums.” Full details below. The event will be held on the 23rd June at 7pm.

The evening will also include the Annual General Meeting of the network. Please save the date and come along to support the network. The meeting is expected to be short and we need a quorum of members for the AGM so your attendance is warmly encouraged! Please email connectingclassicalcollections@gmail.com to register.

The event is for members only, but please pass on details to anyone you think might be interested and encourage them to join the CCN.

“This lecture explores what happens when classical scholarship moves beyond the university and into the civic museum. Drawing on my work at Birmingham Museums Trust, I examine how research on classical reception, race, empire, and the afterlives of antiquity is translated into public display, object interpretation, and community consultation. Through case studies including Egyptomania, conservation, learning programmes, and ethical exhibitions, I consider how classical collections are actively negotiated across galleries, stores, and public spaces. Ultimately, I argue that curating the classics is not simply about preserving the past, but about shaping how antiquity is understood in the present.”

Dr Hardeep Dhindsa (he/him) is the Curator of Victorian Art and the Global at Birmingham Museums Trust, and specialises in Greco-Roman art and its receptions. He is interested in the relationship between Whiteness and classical antiquity across the British Empire, particularly during the long eighteenth century. He completed his doctoral studies at King’s College London and is currently a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. Hardeep has collaborated with several cultural institutions, including The British Museum, The National Trust, and The National Gallery to develop public programmes addressing the difficult histories of empire.