About

The Santo Domingo Centre of Excellence for Latin American Research at the British Museum was a six-year programme created in 2019 with the aim to: 

• Support cultural heritage initiatives that are developed in Latin America and aims to create a network of communities that are interested in the heritage and material culture of the region.
• Give Latin American collections greater visibility and seeks to broaden the audiences who typically engage with Latin American contemporary and archaeological material.
• Test new models of collaborative museum research is conducted and disturbs traditional representations of Latin America.

The Centre acknowledges the manifold legacies of colonialism that “Western” anthropology and history museums embody. It has supported cultural heritage initiatives that act as a bulwark against social injustice and heterodoxy.

SDCELAR curators are specialists in archaeological and Indigenous cultures in Latin America, which is reflected in the projects we currently support. We currently welcome applications for small grants and collection research from under represented heritage communities, specifically from projects relating to Afrodescendent communities and cultures. The centre will privilege applications by members of these communities and grassroots projects.

Explore the map to find some of the Centre’s projects

This map provides access to the projects from across Latin America and the Caribbean that were either developed or supported by the Centre. These projects include contemporary art and heritage research initiatives that reflect the current innovative perspectives in the study of the culture and history in the region.