The Defying Expectations exhibition at the Brontë Parsonage Museum: a reflection on contemporary curatorial practices

Abstract

This article reflects on the curatorial practices in the Brontë Parsonage Museum’s 2022 Defying Expectations costume exhibition, to assess its strengths and weaknesses and to identify opportunities for similar exhibitions to be launched and improved upon in the future. The Defying Expectations exhibition included interactive art installations, recreations and illustrative reconstructions alongside traditional display methods, and this article evaluates the effectiveness of such a blended approach. Written from the perspective of a museum professional, the article considers how the exhibition developed contemporary curatorial practices and its legacy. Drawing on heritage studies and curatorship, the article juxtaposes information gleaned from literary analysis with an assessment of material culture. It assesses the exhibition’s aim of reinterpreting Brontë’s reputation as choosing plain and practical clothing by foregrounding her interest in colourful and multicultural textiles, which raises questions of individual, local and national identity as well as regarding the effects of colonisation.