Dr Thupten Kelsang

Reanimating Tibetan Heritage: Transforming collections, Empowering communities

I am an Early Career Research Fellow at the V&A and the lead for the AHRC-funded Reanimating Tibetan Heritage project. Using the case study of Tibetan collections (at the V&A and eight external participating institutions), the project focuses on developing a methodology and proof-of-concept for working with communities, working at an intersection of theory (anthropology, participatory action research (PAR), and Indigenous research methods) and museum practices/departments (conservation, curatorial and collections). Focused on creating methodology and structure, this project seeks to highlight new types of ‘decolonial’ approaches to museums and working with communities.

I am a museum anthropologist by training, with a DPhil in Anthropology from the University of Oxford. At Oxford, I was awarded the Clarendon Fellowship and have also received multiple academic grants, including Wenner-Gren’s Engaged Research Grant and the Ho Family Foundation Dissertation Fellowship. I curated the Tibetan Objects in Transition display in the Pitt Rivers Museum and have been consulted by the British Museum, the Pitt Rivers Museum, the British Library, and the Horniman. Before pursuing museum research and practice, I was a community organiser and independent researcher, speaking and advising on Tibetan heritage at platforms such as the Kochi-Muziris Biennale and the Prince Claus Fund.