Annika E. Mazzarella

Annika is an aspiring ocean activist and emerging museum professional. She has a passion for being in and around water and actively promotes water safety awareness by teaching aquatic lifesaving and lifeguarding courses.

Her MSc dissertation on the materiality of marine mollusc shells, in relation to ocean exploitation, in Scottish museums was the winner of Archaeology Scotland’s Student Prize 2021 for Best Postgraduate Dissertation.

Annika is currently exploring ocean conservation as an Ocean Wise Ambassador apart of the 2022 (Great Lakes) Ocean Bridge Classic Cohort.

Her future museum studies doctoral research aims to theoretically explore our societal collection and preservation practices of marine material and will examine how ecology can intersect with museum curation to design an embodied ‘underwater’ experience.

MuseumNext Next Generation Summit
Tuesday, 19th July 2022

The ‘Fishy’ Curatorial Choice of Museums

Aquatic animals, plants and organisms living freely in and behind ‘aquarium-like’ glass display cases create splashes of excitement in museums; but, is it an ethical curatorial choice? Dive into the ‘fishy’ underwater world of ocean exploitation in museums to explore how both living and non-living marine life can swim away from shore. This coastal adventure will bring to the surface the negative environmental impact and hypo-critical result of this curatorial choice.

Full Schedule Here