VISION STATEMENT

Our vision is to create a transformative, community-centred approach to engaging with colonial medical photography that places the knowledge, experiences, cultures, perspectives, and humanity of the people represented in these archives at the heart of archival interpretation, access, and stewardship. We value the contributions of descendant communities, communities represented within the collections, and those who share similar historical experiences, recognising them not as subjects of the archive but as essential knowledge holders, partners, and contributors to its future understanding.

Our vision is not simply to improve access to archives, but to foster a model of archival and heritage practice that acknowledges historical injustices, respects cultural knowledge systems, and supports healing where possible. By having a community archive practice organisation leading the project (Decolonising the Archive) we envision a more balanced approach  and lens to the findings.  We seek to re-establish an ethical lens through which colonial medical photography can be understood, challenging historical approaches that often prioritised documentation over dignity, observation over consent, and data collection over human experience.

Through this work, we aim to bring humanity back into the conversation surrounding medical photography by encouraging critical reflection on both how such images were created and why they were created. We believe that ethical engagement requires consideration not only of the photographic record itself, but also of the power structures, intentions, and consequences that shaped its production and continued preservation.

By creating opportunities for communities to contribute their knowledge, challenge historical narratives, and inform decisions about interpretation and access, we seek to establish a framework in which communities can become active partners in correcting, contextualising, and reclaiming histories too often recorded about them rather than with them. In doing so, we hope to contribute to a more equitable, accountable, and culturally responsive approach to archival practice—one that places dignity, care, consent, and human connection at its centre

LSHTM was established in 1899 with funding from the Colonial Office with the object to

facilitate British colonialism and white settlement through research and the treatment of

tropical disease.

The LSTHM Archives reflects this problematic past, with holdings including photographs of

people from colonised nations taken by School staff and other donors. For many of these

images there is little provenance, but it is assumed that these photos were taken without

consent or an understanding of why they were being taken and how they might be used.

Owing to their sensitive nature, these photos have remained hidden as we are uncomfortable

with researchers accessing them but through our decolonising work, we understand the

importance of making these accessible in an appropriate way.

This project has been designed to reframe access to LSTHM’s colonial medical photo

collections, ensuring that we preserve and promote the collections in a respectful and

equitable manner.

Working with Decolonising the Archive (DTA) we hope these conversations will help us to

reconcile institutional archival practices with community archiving initiatives.

Decolonising the Archive (DTA) was founded in 2011 and focusses on the definition,

safeguarding and activation of our collective archives, they have worked with, supported and

trained hundreds of people across the UK and internationally.