The Exhibitionist
Uncomfortable Art Tours
Uncomfortable Art Tours are exactly what they sound like.
In a country that’s repeatedly failed to come to terms with its colonial past, led by politicians who seem to think the past is the future, we seek to resist triumphalist nostalgia with art history. How did the narratives of Empire come into being? Who controls them? And how can we learn to see through the whitewash to the truth?
These Tours focus on how major institutions came into being against a backdrop of imperialism. On each tour, we unravel the role colonialism played in shaping and funding a major national collection, looking at the broader material history of celebrated works: where the money comes from, the ways they’ve been displayed, and the ideological aesthetics at work. The history of British art is also the history of empire and genocide, written by collectors who traded in landscapes and lives.
Currently, Uncomfortable Art Tours run at six sites: the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate Britain and the Queen’s House (National Maritime Museum).
The Tours first ran in June 2017 as part of the Antiuniversity Now festival.
Display it like you stole it
‘display it like you stole it’ is a call for museums to rethink the politics of display in their galleries. From label text to lighting, how is ownership created and dissent shut down? Who is the authorial voice here, and what is considered worthy of inclusion? It’s well past time for museums to be honest about their acquisitions history and how objects arrive in their collections in the first place.
Badges are available at Uncomfortable Art Tours, and at some events.
Dear Art Gallery... postcard
from £2.00
the podcast
The Exhibitionist started as a podcast. It's on long term hiatus while Alice works on other things. It's still available here:
An Uncomfortable library
This is a selection of suggested books, recommended sites, and resources developed by others, relating to museums, race, identity and curation. It's a work in progress and I really appreciate any suggestions of things to add.
An Uncomfortable Library - my ongoing bibliography
Social Justice and Museums Resource List - created by LaTanya S. Autry (@artstuffmatters)
Archival Decolonist - Nathan Sentance's incredible blog on First Nations knowledge and representation in GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives and museums)
some Press stuff
this isn’t exhaustive, but it is exhausting. I talk too much.
(no, I’m not going to link to the D*ily M*il)
Alice Procter (The Exhibitionist) on Tipu’s Tiger - Object Lessons Space, 01.02.2019
Unwrapping the Egyptian Mummy - Words To That Effect, 28.01.2019
Penguin Sex and Stolen Artifacts: Museum Tours Through a New Lens - New York TImes, Alex Marshall 17.01.2019
‘Not everything was looted’ - The Guardian, Haroon Siddique 12.10.2018
Alternative museum tours explore colonial loot, biased narratives - Al Jazeera, Aditya Iyer 16.09.2018
This London student is forcing the West to accept the uncomfortable truth behind Britain’s colonial art acquisitions - Elle India, Neville Bhandara 13.07.2018
Une jeune Britannique veut montrer la part d’ombre des grands portraits de nos musées - L'ADN, Margaux Dussert 2.5.2018
Slaver! Invader! The tour guide who tells the ugly truth about museum portraits - The Guardian, Bridget Minamore 24.4.2018
Museums are hiding their imperial pasts – which is why my tours are needed - The Guardian, Alice Procter 23.4.2018
The Times, 17.4.2018
about alice procter
taken at the Victoria and Albert Museum for Object Lessons Space, and used with their generous permission
I'm a historian of material culture, with a BA in Art History and an MA in Anthropology, both at UCL. I have seven years of tour guiding experience at heritage sites and galleries, and I curate exhibitions, organise events, make podcasts and write things under the umbrella of The Exhibitionist.
My academic work concentrated on the intersections of postcolonial art practice and colonial material culture, settler storytelling, the concept of whiteness in the 18th and 19th centuries, the curation of historical trauma, and myths of national identity. My MA researched new modes of dissenting narrative in museum spaces. I am Australian, but mostly grew up in England.
If you want to collaborate on a project, organise a tour or workshop or generally have a chat, get in touch.
This is an education project, not a business, but I pay myself and my helpers for their time. Buying tickets or badges helps keep tours and workshops as affordable as possible. There are free spaces available for every tour, just email me.
I am represented by Claudia Young at Greene and Heaton, so please contact her with media enquiries.