Nicholas Thomas

Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge

Nicholas Thomas' books on cross-cultural encounters, colonialism, art and museums include Entangled Objects: Exchange, Materical Culture, and Colonialism in the Pacific (Harvard University Press, 1991), which influentially contributed to a revival of material culture studies, Possessions: Indigenous Art / Colonial Culture (Thames & Hudson, 1999), and Discoveries: The Voyages of Captain Cook (Penguin Press, 2003). His recent writings on museum histories and practice include The Return of Curiosity: What Museums Are Good for in the Twenty-first Century (Reaktion Books, 2016). He has been director of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge since 2006, and has curated extensively, often in collaboration with contempo­rary artists. Over 2018–2019, he co-curated “Oceania” for the Royal Academy of Arts in London and the musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac in Paris.

For more information, read about Nicholas' current project Museum futures and visit his webpage.