Mattie Reynolds

Biography

Mattie is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, a Native American tribe from the Southeastern USA. Mattie is the Department Chair and an Assistant Professor for the museum studies programme at the Institute of American Indian Arts, a Native American arts college that serves Indigenous students from around the world.

Mattie is responsible for managing the needs of the department; developing lectures and classroom activities; and seeking partnerships with organisations both nationally and internationally, to support the growth of the students and faculty. Her teaching focusses on curation with an emphasis on community engagement, collections management and repatriation, all of which center Indigenous history, culture, and ways of knowing into Western museum theory and practice.

Mattie’s research interests focus on the international comparison of best practices in the museum field related to curation, exhibitions and collections management for institutions with Indigenous collections and how those best practices have changed over time due, in part, to community collaboration. She is additionally interested in how that comparison can be translated into curriculum.

During her time on the ITP, Mattie looked forward to broadening her approaches to teaching museum studies, and understanding the British Museum’s approaches to education, training, and outreach. She also looked forward to connecting with the other ITP participants and learning about their experiences and approaches to museum practice, as well creating a space for sharing Indigenous perspectives.

At the British Museum

During her time at the British Museum, Mattie was based in the Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas and her UK partner placement was spent at Manchester Museum, Manchester Art Gallery and Whitworth Art Gallery.

Mattie’s participation on the International Training Programme was generously supported by the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust.