Curating with care: how a scholarship enables Valentina Scazzola to investigate museum practice
MA Curating Cultures student Valentina Scazzola shares how the SOAS Recognition Award scholarship is enabling her to reflect on exhibitions as spaces of dialogue, care and shared knowledge. She is keen to contribute to broader conversations about how cultural institutions can work more ethically and inclusively.
A strong academic background and experience in the field
My name is Valentina Scazzola, and I am currently studying on the MA Curating Cultures at SOAS.
My academic path began in cultural anthropology, where I developed a strong interest in material culture, museums, and the ways objects embody social, historical and relational meanings.
Alongside this academic work, I gained hands‑on experience through museum internships in Italy, where I explored how anthropological research can inform curatorial practice in concrete and responsible ways.
These experiences revealed the potential of museums not only as spaces for display, but also as places where relationships, knowledge and interpretation are continuously negotiated.
The impact of the SOAS Recognition Award
Choosing to study Curating Cultures felt like a natural continuation of this journey. The programme allows me to bring together my anthropological background and my curatorial interests, applying critical perspectives to the museum field while bridging research and practice.
I was also drawn to the way SOAS engages with complex and sometimes uncomfortable questions, fostering open and respectful conversations.
What most attracted me was its understanding of decolonisation not as a standalone topic but as a foundational approach, one that encourages continuous reflection on the categories and assumptions through which we interpret the world.
Scholarships and recognition awards do far more than provide financial assistance. They create the conditions for thoughtful, critical and responsible research to take place.
While I was already committed to pursuing this degree, the SOAS Recognition Award made it financially sustainable for me to devote myself to my studies. Knowing that my work was valued strengthened my confidence and encouraged me to approach my research with greater focus and responsibility.
Scholarships and recognition awards do far more than provide financial assistance. They create the conditions for thoughtful, critical and responsible research to take place.
Investigating participation and institutional practice
During my internships and research experiences, I became increasingly aware of the tensions between the participatory ambitions of museums and their institutional realities.
That’s why, in my dissertation, I am examining how cultural institutions negotiate the relationship between object‑based approaches and voice‑based practices.
Ultimately, I want to understand how these dynamics determine who gets to speak, who is listened to, and on what terms.
I am exploring how participation, authorship and accountability are defined, managed and made visible, and how these processes are influenced by organisational structures, professional roles and curatorial frameworks.
Ultimately, I want to understand how these dynamics determine who gets to speak, who is listened to, and on what terms.
Future plans and a reinforced sense of responsibility
After graduating, I hope to work within a cultural institution that engages with objects, art or archives while collaborating closely with local communities.
Knowing that my studies are supported by a wider community has reinforced my sense of responsibility as both a student and a researcher.
I want to deepen my understanding of how curatorial, organisational and participatory processes operate on a day‑to‑day level and to identify areas where change is most needed.
In the longer term, I hope to pursue a PhD that brings academic research and museum practice into closer conversation.
Knowing that my studies are supported by a wider community has reinforced my sense of responsibility as both a student and a researcher. I hope this support continues to enable future students to pursue their work within an environment defined by openness, critical reflection and shared responsibility.
Header image credit: crispy via Adobe Stock
