John Carty is a Professor of Museum and Curatorial Studies at Adelaide University. His career bridges academia, cultural institutions and cultural diplomacy. He has worked with the National Museum of Australia, The British Museum, UNESCO and spent 9 years as Head of Humanities at the South Australian Museum. His movement between academia and cultural institutions focusses on connecting the collections and contemporary politics of Museums with innovative research and partnerships with Aboriginal artists, thinkers and communities. His major focus in recent years has been around the repatriation and reburial of Aboriginal Australian ancestors from both Australian and international institutions. He has worked extensively with Aboriginal artists and custodians throughout Australia on books, exhibitions and repatriation programs. In recent years that work has grown to focus on the cultural and cross-cultural histories encompassed by objects in museum collections. His projects explore new methodologies and models for bringing Aboriginal voices and values further into mainstream narratives of Australian history, Australian research, and contemporary Australian culture. His creative engagement with public debate and events is broad, spanning the Adelaide Festival of Ideas, Adelaide Festival, Illuminate Adelaide and Tasting Australia, amongst others.