Things Fall Apart: VC talk Melanie Keen
Updated: Nov 23, 2023
Thumbnail Design: Bethany Hutchison
Image Credit: The Welcome Collection & University of the Arts London
Ripped paper texture: Adobe Stock
Melanie Keen is a Royal College of Art graduate based in London and the director of the ‘Welcome Collection’. The welcome collection is a free museum and library which showcases exhibitions, collections, live programming, digital, broadcast and publishing work. Through these showcases individuals are urged to learn more and reflect upon their own thoughts and feelings around health, science, medicine, life and art. The ‘Welcome Collection’ supports the evolution of science to solve the most poignant health concerns such as mental health, infectious disease and climate. Within the museum Keen works to showcase not only different health concerns but also the different characters, ideologies and historical stories provided by the artifacts within the collections. (Unknown I, 2022) (Unknown II, Unknown)
Recently Melanie Keen came to ‘Norwich University of The Arts’ to speak about one of the most challenging periods of her life for both herself and the ‘Welcome Collection’. Truly upon walking into the talk I had not heard about either the ‘Weekend Collection’ or the scandal which followed the ‘Medicine Man’ exhibition which closed in November 2022. However, by the end of the talk I left feeling educated on matters such as colonialism and the argument of cultural appropriation/appreciation alongside feeling inspired by Melanie’s strength and resilience in what was an incredibly challenging time for her.
So, what was the ‘Medicine Man’ exhibition? The ‘Medicine Man’ exhibition exhibited the collection of Sir Henry Welcome, a wealthy Caucasian pharmaceutical entrepreneur who collected in excess of one million artefacts from around the world. ‘Medicine Man’ exhibited a small part of this collection highlighting the ways in which individuals throughout time administered care to both themselves and those around them. The exhibition included artifacts relating to themes such as sex, birth and death. In more recent years, concerns started to be raised in regards to the way in which the exhibition was presented with many individuals feeling as if the exhibition was a celebration of Sir Henry Welcome’s colonial ways rather than an exhibition celebrating the diversity of medicine throughout the years and how different cultures responded to changing health concerns. (Unknown III, Unknown)
Melanie Keen delivered her talk in a diary style format. Therefore, the following paragraphs will follow a similar structure. Through highlighting the day in which it was publicised that the exhibition was closing to the present day almost a year later; I hope to provide a raw, emotional and accurate recount of both the reasoning behind the ‘Welcome Collection’s’ decision. Alongside the subsequent backlash and the standpoint of the museum in the present day.
Day 1
On the 25th of November Melanie Keen reposts on her Instagram story the announcement from the official ‘Welcome Collection’ Instagram page that the ‘Medicine Man’ exhibition is closing. Within this Instagram post both Melanie Keen and the ‘Welcome Collection’ recognise how problematic Sir Henry Welcome’s collection is urging both themselves and other individuals to consider: who did these objects belong to? How were they acquired? And what gave us (the museums) right to tell the objects stories?. The Instagram post acknowledges that disabled individuals alongside those of black and indigenous backgrounds are exoticized, marginalised, exploited and even excluded from the collection. In order to rectify this issue the ‘Welcome Collection’ urges artists and writers to respond to the work and to intervene providing more context on the pieces and drawing the focus away from Sir Henry Welcome. However, the museum feels as if this is not sufficient and therefore the announcement is made that ‘Medicine Man’ will be closing.
Although the post is made to acknowledge and to take accountability for the outdated nature of the exhibition in order to spark conversation; the exhibition is accused of ‘cultural vandalism’. Hence sparking a weeklong battle for Keen and her team. This completely juxtaposes the feeling of pride that both Keen and the ‘Welcome Collection’ felt for taking accountability and for posing the question ‘what’s the point of museums?’. Prior to the decision to close the exhibition the museum had taken its audience on a journey through panels and public talks alongside events and press releases in order to pre-warn individuals on the actions which the museum planned to take. Despite this, once the statement had been released the ‘Welcome Collection’ received a ferocity of responses which were not expected.
The Welcome Collection Instagram Stories (Click To Expand)
Day 2
Keen describes day two as ‘any other Saturday’. Despite reposting the museums announcement on her Instagram page Keen is not a massive user of social media and had therefore not seen all the media backlash aimed at both her and the ‘Welcome Collection’
Day 3
It is only on day three when Keen is sent a WhatsApp message from a colleague in the communications team that Melanie Keen is first exposed to the social media backlash. Keen is met with tweets criticising the closure alongside news articles such as ‘The Observer’ running negative online stories. Aside from the social media backlash there is also backlash within the museum with members of the public challenging front of house staff.
Day 4
Four days after the announcement Keen’s colleagues start to ask her how she is doing. Keen admits that at this point she is numb to the experience, not sure how she is feeling other than overwhelmed due to so much unexpected attention. Keen is also selflessly disturbed by the abuse that her colleagues have received and ensures that they’re ok and are being provided with necessary support. It is at this point that the ‘Welcome Collection’ decides to issue a statement on their website which is followed by further news coverage by the likes of BBC and ITV which expresses their disgust towards the ‘Welcome Collection’. The statement by the ‘Welcome Collection’ regarding ‘Medicine Man’ can be found here: (Unknown IV, Unknown) https://wellcomecollection.org/pages/Y4TdMBAAACMApB14
Day 5
Day five sees the continuation of more news articles. One in particular stating that ‘anyone with half a brain should be aghast at the decision to close ‘Medicine Man’. By standards of his day Henry Welcome is neither racist nor a disablist’. This statement in particular reaffirms ‘Welcome collections’ reason to close the exhibition and highlights the importance of progression and change. We as a society are not living with the same values as we did in the 19th century and the comment by the individual in question highlights the fact that the ‘Welcome Collection’ has not educated their audience enough on 21st century matters such as colonialism and cultural appropriation.
On this day, Keen is invited onto BBC radio’s ‘Front Row’ to talk about what is happening to the ‘Welcome Collection’. The talk goes better than expected and afterwards Keen goes out for a drink with a friend. Whilst with her friend she is informed about the large amount of online abuse and trolling directed specifically at her. In particular, a Wikipedia page accusing her of being a cultural vandal and another individual on social media trolling her by calling her ‘the queen of woke’.
Day 6&7
Day six and seven have been condensed as they were described by Keen as a ‘bit of a blur’. During this point, complaints from staff and members of the front of house started to surface revealing that working for the ‘Medicine Man exhibition was difficult due to the way in which the artefacts were displayed alongside the language which was used within the exhibition space. These individuals also had to partake in difficult conversations with guests in which it was asked whether the items should be sent back to their original origins. Many of the items within the exhibition were displayed in aesthetic ways on satin and velvet surfaces without any form of context. Yet again highlighting an outdated value of curation.
Day 8
On day eight the former director, Jeremy Farrar, of ‘Welcome’ (the global health foundation) sends a letter to The Times in order to highlight their solidarity and support towards the ‘Medicine Man’ closure. This letter is published online and is a pivotal moment for the exhibition as it highlights public backing. With the support of Jeremy Farr and the resilience of the ‘Welcome Collection’ ‘Medicine Man’ ultimately goes ahead with their closure on the 27th of November 2022.
The Present Day
After closing ‘Medicine Man’ the exhibition swiftly changed to ‘Being Human’. This exhibition primarily focuses on what it means to be human now and was curated with the help of multiple activists. The exhibition also touches upon medical advancements in the twenty-first century alongside individuals’ relationships with both themselves, others and the world as a whole. The exhibition features approximately fifty different artefacts such as artworks and objects. The exhibition is composed into four different sections. These four different sections focus on matters such as genetics, minds and bodies, infection and environmental breakdown. (Unknown V, Unknown)
Although an incredibly challenging time for both Melanie Keen and her team at the ‘Welcome Collection’ I think that the fallout from the ‘Medicine Man’ closure was a prominent and poignant time to educate those who were seemingly uneducated on matters such as white privilege, cultural appropriation and colonialism. The impact of this exhibition expands further than the exhibition space with the ‘Welcome Collection’ experimenting with making the whole building a more accessible, diversity driven and inclusive place. This can be seen within the ‘In Plain Sight’ exhibition which accommodates partially sighted and blind individuals by using lines on the floor to help them navigate through the space and also having periods of ‘lights up’ where high key lighting is used to aid those with visual impairments. (Unknown VII, 2022)
The themes of cultural appropriation and colonialism seen in the ‘Medicine Man’ exhibition can also be explored within fashion. Whether it be the outrage and horror sparked at Adele’s 2020 Instagram post which saw her sporting a traditional African hairstyle (Bantu knots). Or, in more recent years, the 2022 Met Gala which saw social media influencer Emma Chamberlin reportedly wearing the ‘Patiala Necklace’ created by Cartier in 1928 for the ruler of Patiala in India which was stolen by British colonialists in the 1940s. Alongside 2023 Halloween seeing individuals dressing up as Native Americans. It seems to me that fashion may still have a long way to go before we can culturally appreciate an item rather than appropriate it. (Unknown, 2020) (NG, 2022)
Bibliography
NG, Hayley (2022) Emma Chamberlain’s Met Gala necklace controversy Explained. Available at: https://centennialworld.com/emma-chamberlains-met-gala-necklace-controversy-explained/ (Accessed on 02.11.23)
(Unknown I) (2022) Honoraries- Melanie Keen. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/people/honoraries/honoraries-2022/melanie-keen (Accessed on 02.11.23)
(Unknown II) (Unknown) About us- Welcome Collection. Available at: https://wellcomecollection.org/pages/Wuw2MSIAACtd3Stq (Accessed on 02.11.23)
(Unknown III) (Unknown) Medicine Man. Available at: https://wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/Weoe4SQAAKJwjcDC (Accessed on 02.11.23)
(Unknown IV) (Unknown) Statement of the closure of our medicine man gallery. Available at: https://wellcomecollection.org/pages/Y4TdMBAAACMApB14 (Accessed on 02.11.23)
(Unknown V) (Unknown) Being Human. Available at: https://wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/XNFfsxAAANwqbNWD (Accessed on 02.11.23)
(Unknown VI) (2020) Adele accused of cultural appropriation over Instagram picture. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/sep/01/adele-accused-of-cultural-appropriation-over-instagram-picture (Accessed on 02.11.23)
(Unknown VII) (2022) In Plain sight. Available at: https://wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/Yv95yBAAAILuCNv6 (Accessed on 02.11.23)
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