Questioning care for things (and their people)

There is an increasing assertion within the heritage sector that museums holding ethnographic collections should position themselves as spaces of care. Yet the concept of “care” in this context is ambiguous and contested, encompassing everything from the meticulous physical conservation of objects to the nurturing of relationships through community engagement. In practice, a routine gulf often exists between the care museums profess and the lack of care perceived by communities whose material cultural heritage is held in these museums. This article interrogates that tension, beginning with the negotiated access that community members must secure to reconnect with meaningful collections. Using the Rethinking Relationships and Building Trust around African Collections project as an ethnographic case study, this article traces how initial ideals of care were challenged and reinterpreted through collaboration with producing communities. Crucially, objects from the collections emerged as mediators in this process, revealing both the possibilities and limits of museum care. The analysis examines what the ideal of care affords and obscures within the charged context of colonial histories, illustrating how engaging with objects and their people can transform museum practices and reshape historical narratives. Ultimately, despite its contradictions, care endures as a guiding concept—both an aspirational ethic for museum professionals and a persistent demand from communities—because of its potential to bridge past injustices with more equitable and healing futures.