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Photographic objects in ethnological and anthropological collections are systematically called into question in current debates on the nature and functions of the museum vis à vis the legacy of colonialism and imperialism, systemic racism, and the persistence of Eurocentric and patriarcal ideologies. The aim of this dossier is to offer a first opportunity to confront these issues by sharing the experiences of three of the most important institutions of this kind in Italy and their daily work on the conservation, valorization, and communication of the cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This monographic issue is dedicated to the relationship between photography and the representation of identity and otherness in Italy. It contains contributions that, looking at different cultural and historical contexts, reflect upon the following: the agency of photographs in the construction and deconstruction of identity and difference; their function as a form of resistance and empowerment as well as in shaping collective narratives and memories; the role played in past and present times by museums that hold photographic materials pertaining to the representation of otherness in the perpetuation of racism and systemic inequalities or in the activation of a critical re-thinking of exhibition practices based on decolonisation and feminism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]