Cesare Cuzzola

I am a Research Associate at the Research Centre for Museums and Galleries (RCMG), where I joined as a staff member in 2019.

I recently completed a PhD at the School of Museum Studies, exploring the role of material culture in the context of museum projects that seek to address contemporary social inequalities. My academic background is in anthropology with a specific focus on material culture studies.

Since 2024, I have been coordinating the Queer Heritage and Collections Network.

My doctoral research focuses on the role of collections in socially engaged practice exploring how material culture is used and interpreted in museum projects that tackle contemporary social issues.

As museums move towards non-neutral and socially politically and morally charged positions in the cultural panorama, practices designed to foster equality and diversity have become increasingly present. However, while many of these projects make use of objects to convey their message, research on the role of material culture in conveying such values has been scarce. My research seeks to address this gap in knowledge and understanding by examining some of these practices from a material culture perspective, including artefacts as critical actors in the museum’s endeavours to promote messages of inclusion, tolerance and empathy.

Moolhuijsen, N., Martiri, D., Cuzzola, C., Parigiani, R. (2025). Musei e generi. Etica, metodi e approcci per promuovere una cultura trans-positiva e accessibile nelle istituzioni culturali. Gruppo di Lavoro – Genere e Diritti LGBTQ+, ICOM Italia.

MacLeod, S., Sandell, R., Cowan, S., Scott, E.-J., Cuzzola, C., & Plumb, S. (2023). Trans-Inclusive Culture: Guidance on advancing trans inclusion for museums, galleries, archives and heritage organisations. Research Centre for Museums and Galleries, University of Leicester.

Cuzzola, C. (2019) 'Objects of Decolonization: The Social Role of Museums in Leading Public Discussion', Exhibition 38(2): 92-9.

Keynotes and Invited Talks:

• The role of material culture in socially engaged museum practice: collections, participation and advocacy [Il ruolo della cultura materiale in pratiche museali a scopo sociale: collezioni, partecipazione e advocacy], 14 April 2025, Università di Catania
• ‘It’s still alive and living’: Material culture in socially engaged practice, 30 October 2023, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Community-centred participation in museums [La partecipazione dei pubblici: comunità protagoniste], 30 June and 22 September 2022, in collaboration with Gruppo di lavoro AIEM, GEM Italy, ICOM Italia, NEMO

Conference Presentations:

• Musei, genere e queerness, 14 June 2024, ICOM Italia Webinar (presented with Prof Richard Sandell, paper title: Advancing LGBTQ+ rights through culture)
• The Museum for All People, 2-5 April 2019, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain (paper title: From Institutions for the Colonial Narrative to Spaces of Dissent)
• Reimagining The Human: A Two-Day Conference In Collaboration With ICME, 28-29 November 2018, Horniman Museum, London (paper title: The Socially-Engaged Museum: A Material Perspective on The Past is Now)
• Museums (em)Power, 13-14 September 2018, School of Museum Studies, Leicester (paper title: The Power of Material Culture: Challenging Neutrality through Museum Artefacts)

MSc in Visual Material and Museum Anthropology University of Oxford (2016-2017)

BSc in Anthropology University College London (2013-2016)