The British Museum’s attempt to participate in a worldwide publicity stunt has backfired tremendously, as they have revealed that they steer clear from too many Asian names since they “can be confusing”.
The tweet was in response to a question posited by the Sydney Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences during the worldwide #AskACurator event, wherein museums all over the globe answered burning questions from inquisitive minds.
And although several curators responded to this inquest, the British Museum’s “Keeper of Asia”, Jane, soon found her answer standing head and shoulders above the rest — for the wrong reason.
Netizens were quick to point out just how problematic this sentiment was, especially coming from someone of authority.
The British Museum quickly realized the error in their ways and offered two apologies…
…which were, again, met with dissatisfaction from Twitter users.
Perhaps the British Museum will think twice before participating in the next #AskACurator event; hopefully, this experience has challenged them to consider using more “Asian names” in the future.
Feature image via Wikimedia Commons / (Left): Diliff (CC-BY-SA-3.0) / (Right): Mike Peel (CC-BY-SA-4.0)
