Brenda Caro Cocotle Critiques Decolonization Promises in Museums

In a 2019 article for Afterall, Brenda Caro Cocotle offers a critical perspective on modern museum practices that claim to embrace decolonization. She contends that, despite a rise in curatorial initiatives, public events, and discussions surrounding decolonization, museums continue to operate within a colonial framework, serving as instruments of national heritage and reinforcing colonial hierarchies. Cocotle notes two primary trends in recent decolonization efforts: one centered on identity and representation, the other advocating for the South as an epistemological alternative. She connects the multicultural exhibition 'Magiciens de la Terre' (1989) and community museum initiatives in Mexico, spearheaded by Cuauhtémoc Camarena and Teresa Morales since 1985. The postcolonial shift in contemporary art is associated with Okwui Enwezor's Documenta 11 (1998–2000) and Walter D. Mignolo's concept of 'decolonial aesthetics,' explored in the 2010 Bogotá exhibition 'Estéticas decoloniales.' Cocotle argues that these initiatives often remain superficial rather than transformative, with the South being assimilated into the museum-as-business model. She concludes that while museums may struggle to decolonize, they could forge new ethical frameworks by confronting their inherent contradictions.