The Centre for Computing History’s collection celebrates the incredible evolution of computing technology over the past 80 years. However, with tech embedded in all our lives, and the UK predicted to generate over 30,000 tons of e-waste a week by the end of this year, the museum is keen to work with local people and organisations to explore how to reinterpret their collection and tell alternative stories about the environmental impact of tech.
Lisa McGerty, CEO of the centre, said,
“While many museums are grappling with how to tell the stories of objects from cultures that were affected by colonialism, this is our equivalent ‘skeleton in the closet’. Our collection commemorates amazing technological progress, but if we do not critically examine our collections and displays now, future visitors will rightly question why we ignored this crucial aspect of the objects we collect and showcase. We are delighted to be awarded this grant, which will allow us to work with local people to co-design an approach to this challenge and find out how we can tell these local and global stories in a way that inspires real change.”
The Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund is run by the Museums Association, funding projects that develop collections to achieve social impact. Since its launch in 2011, it has awarded 178 grants totaling over £12.9 million.
For more information about the Centre for Computing History please visit www.computinghistory.org.uk, and to register your interest in taking part in Broken Tech: Broken Earth, please email projects@computinghistory.org.uk.
