The Origin of Origins (Tatiana Quevedo Mogollon, Colombia, ITP 2024)

Written by Tatiana Quevedo Mogollon, Communities, Accessibility and Inclusion Program Coordinator, Museo Nacional de Colombia (Colombia, ITP 2024)

Today we woke up with the sun and went out to catch the train; our destination was Oxford, full of expectation.

We arrived at the station; it was our first time in this university town: the flowers never ceased to amaze us. We walked around dazzled like children, feeling astonishment as we made our way to the Ashmolean Museum, yes, the world’s first university museum.

We traversed 331 years of history, interacted with the various collections for over an hour, and recognized how “knowledge of nature is very necessary to humane life…”

Next, we set out to explore the city and have lunch in the beautiful inner garden of the University of Oxford. Churches, bicycles, and monuments accompanied us during the walk. Once seated in the garden, we shared our feelings and ideas, and chatted amongst the flowers.

Later, in the company of Richard Parkinson, Professor of Egyptology at the University of Oxford, and Loretta Kilroe, Project Curator: Sudan and Nubia, British Museum, we had a special tour filled with years of history and never-before-seen curiosities at Queen’s College and the Peet Library. I take this moment to say thank you, ITP, for allowing us to be in a space restricted to only members of the college. We have placed our signature in the visitors’ book and also in our hearts, where an incredible memory remains.

As we made our way to our last stop, to the rhythm of the rain, we arrived at the Pitt Rivers Museum, where we delved into ourselves. Walking through the corridors, we came to understand that all humans have similar desires. No matter where we live, we can relate to cultures different from our own and find common ground.

We concluded our tour at the Museum of Natural History, bidding farewell with the roar of the dinosaurs. Unexpectedly, the sun came out as we returned to the train station, saying goodbye to an incredible university city.

On the way back, as I looked out the window and reviewed the day’s events, I exclaimed aloud, “What a magnificent experience today!” We were able to live a part of the origin of museums.” I can seize this opportunity to reflect and reconstruct what we are as museums, identifying what we have not done well, so as not to repeat it with present and future generations.

I also wonder, and today I want to propose to you: what if we return to the origin? Do you remember the first time you went to a museum, what it smelled like, what you felt…? Don’t forget that first feeling, just like today’s.

ITP friends, even if you work in a museum, never stop being amazed like when you were a child, or like when you first saw the Queen’s College and Peet Library.