Dr Jilda Andrews
Areas of expertise
- Critical Heritage, Museum And Archive Studies 430202
- Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Artefacts 450102
- Heritage Collections And Interpretations 430206
Research interests
My major area of research expertise is in ethnographic collections in museums from Australian origins, the exhibition and display of ethnographic collections in museum contexts and ongoing relationships of exchange with Indigenous source communities including repatriation.
I also have experience in working with the exhibition and display of environmental history in Australian contexts and its intercultural dimensions.
The research facilities and techniques I use include public exhibition and display, autoethnography, applications of Indigenous philosophical concepts such as relationality, ecological thinking, cyclical time and cultural burning in practical applications in contemporary museum practice.
Biography
Dr Jilda Andrews is a Yuwaalaraay woman, cultural practitioner and researcher based in Canberra. Jilda draws from her heritage to investigate the connectedness of land, story and culture to objects in museum collections. Her focus on material culture and their associated stories continue to push the definition of custodianship, from one which is focused on the preservation of objects, to one which strives to maintain connections between objects and the systems which produce them.
Researcher's projects
'Great Australian Stuff' (2023-). Television Series. Wildbear Entertainment for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in partnership with the Naitonal Museum of Australia and the ANU Australian Studies Institute. Indigenous Consultant.
‘Great Southern Land’ - gallery of Australia’s Environmental History, Exhibition. National Museum of Australia. Permanent Gallery redevelopment project 2017-2022. Audience and Experience Coordinator (2017-2018), Curator (2018), Producer (Acting) (2019-2020), Consultant (2020-2022).
Currently Serving
- Advisory Committee on Indigenous Repatriation, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications: Office for the Arts. Australian Government.
- Research Associate, Global Station for Indigenous Studies and Cultural Diversities: GSI. Centre for Ainu and Indigenous Studies, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
- Visiting Fellow, College of Indigenous Education Futures, Arts & Society. Charles Darwin University.
- Co-Chair, Advisory Council. Kluge Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, University of Virginia.
- Member, Climate Solutions Centre, Australian Museum
- Member, Futures Oriented Museums Synergies (FORMS) global network.
Publications
- Andrews, J 2022, 'Value creation and museums from an Indigenous perspective', in Morphy, H., McKenzie, R. (ed.), Museums, Societies and the Creation of Value, Routledge, London, London, UK, pp. 225-239.
- Fforde, C, Andrews, J, Ayau, E et al. 2022, 'Emotion, Affective Practice, and the Taking of Indigenous Ancestral Remains', in Stevenson, Alice (ed.), The Oxford handbook of museum archaeology, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 45-64.
- Fforde, C, Andrews, J, Ayau, E et al. 2022, 'Emotion and the return of ancestors: Repatriation as affective practice', in Stevenson, Alice (ed.), The Oxford handbook of museum archaeology, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 65-84.
- Andrews, J 2021, 'String ecologies: Indigenous country and pastoral empires', in Gaye Sculthorpe; Maria Nugent; Howard Morphy (ed.), Ancestors, Artefacts, Empire: Indigenous Australia in British and Irish Museums, British Museum Press, London, pp. 59-68.
- Andrews, J 2021, 'Traditional Ecological Knowledges in Textile Designs of Northern Australia', in Joanna Barrkman (ed.), Aboriginal Screen-Printed Textiles from Australia's Top End, University of Washington Press, Seattle, pp. 201-210.
Projects and Grants
Grants information is drawn from ARIES. To add or update Projects or Grants information please contact your College Research Office.
- Return of Cultural Heritage (ROCH) program (Secondary Investigator)