Main Activities and Collaborations of the Museum

Much of the Museum’s activities focus on the scientific research of anthropological and ethnographic artifacts, with the aim of improving their preservation and enhancement. Currently, the study and cataloging of all the collections is underway: the results are constantly published on the SIGEC web catalog of the Central Institute for Cataloging and Documentation of the Ministry of Culture (MiC). An example can be seen here.

Key Collaborations

  • Collaboration with National Museums Liverpool (UK) for the study of two items from the Museum’s Latin American ethnographic collection, namely the two Taino Cemí (one made of cotton and the other of wood) from present-day Dominican Republic. Between 2022 and 2023, these two Cemí were studied as part of the “MAETZE” project, which also involves E-RIHS (European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science).
  • Agreement since 2017 with the “La Venaria Reale” Conservation and Restoration Centre (agreement) to implement a conservation and research project on the Museum’s anthropological heritage, particularly focusing on the entire collection of mummified Egyptian bioarchaeological artifacts and South American remains. These artifacts are currently stored in the climate-controlled facilities of the Centre. The agreement also includes the DBIOS – Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology (University of Turin), the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape for the Metropolitan City of Turin, and the J Medical Center of Turin.
  • Memorandum of Understanding since 2022 with the Royal Museums of Turin and the Regional Directorate of Museums of Piedmont (prot. No. 0594233, 30/11/2022) for the study, conservation, and enhancement of non-European collections.
  • Agreement in 2023 with the Egyptian Museum of Turin to create a digital photographic archive as part of the “Archivi Riuniti” project.
  • Framework agreement in 2023 titled “Collaboration aimed at historical and scientific research of Turin’s cultural heritage through archive documentation and photographic collections,” signed between the University of Turin (MAET), the Academy of Sciences of Turin, and the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape for the Metropolitan Area of Turin (Historical Archive).

The progress of research and various activities of the Museum are presented as part of the seminar series titled “Anthropology at the Museum” (which reached its sixth edition in 2023), organized in collaboration with the University Museum System and the Department of Cultures, Politics, and Society of the University of Turin.

In the past, the Museum has also activated collaborations for exhibition purposes with:

  • Arteco Association and the Turin Civic Libraries, which have curated and hosted the outdoor exhibition “Museo in libera uscita” (14 December 2024 – 14 May 2025).
  • Royal Museums of Turin, which hosted the exhibition “Africa. The Forgotten Collections” (27 October 2023 – 28 February 2024) and “Anatomy of a Beginning” (from 17 October 2024).
  • Palazzo Madama – Civic Museum of Ancient Art, which hosted the exhibition “CONGO ITALIA. Rethinking the Past” as part of Black History Month – Turin, 2nd edition (2–27 February 2023).
  • The Reggia di Venaria Reale, which organized the exhibition “The World in One Room. Precious Evidence of Non-European Cultures from the Collections of the University of Turin” (8 October 2021 – 10 April 2022).
  • The Egyptian Museum of Turin, which organized the exhibition “The Anthropologist’s Gaze. Connections with MAET,” with the press release available here: CS_Lo sguardo dell’antropologo (13 June 2020 – 1 February 2021).

Curricular Internships and Educational Workshops

Since 2017, the MAET’s activities on ethnographic collections have benefited from the support of students from the University of Turin through the activation of curricular internships from the Bachelor’s Degree in Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology, the Bachelor’s Degree in Biological Sciences, and the Giorgio Gullini Specialization School in Archaeological Heritage. In addition, internships have been offered to students from the AMA – Museum Anthropology and Art course, the Department of Humanities at the University of Milan-Bicocca (with a focus on demoethnoanthropological heritage), and the second-level Master’s in Museology, Museography, and Cultural Heritage Management at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan.

Educational workshops have also been carried out for students from the five-year Master’s Degree in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage (University of Turin, in collaboration with the La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Centre).

 

Applications for internships are always open for students of the Bachelor’s Degree in Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology. For more information, please write to: museo.antropologia@unito.it.