Digital heritage and epistemic justice

Epistemic justice is one of the main arguments for decolonisation in heritage studies and related disciplines and practices. Museums and the academy are actively promoting and discussing dissonant or difficult heritage, its relation to colonisation, and its various and multiple aftermaths. However, when combined with the latest technologies, heritage practices are susceptible to neocolonial forms of subjugation. In this chapter, the author argues that while technology might be seen as yet another tool of oppression, it can also serve as a vehicle for decolonisation. Empathy, political engagement, and sensibility can all be found in projects situated at the intersection of art and digital archaeology. This chapter applies the art/archaeology theory to two artistic projects – Morehshin Allahyari’s ‘Material Speculation: ISIS’ (2015–2016) and Nora Al-Badri and Jan Nikolai Nelles’ ‘The Other Nefertiti’ (2015) – to prove how art can support digital heritage in promoting and discussing epistemic justice.