The Orwell Memorial Lecture 2020 was delivered by Dr Tristram Hunt on the theme 'Decolonising the Wonder House: Orwell, Empire and the Museum'. Drawing upon their novels set in the British Empire and their biographical details, Hunt explores how two literary giants – George Orwell and Rudyard Kipling – can help to frame today’s conversation around the legacies of a colonial past, and movements to decolonise museums and universities.

This first ever ‘online’ Orwell Lecture was explicitly conceived as an international event, bringing together audiences and experts from around the world. The lecture was followed by prerecorded responses from Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, managing trustee and honorary director of the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum, and Thant MyintU, a Burmese historian who established the Yangon Heritage Trust.

Dr Tristram Hunt is the Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London – the world’s leading museum of art, design and performance. Since taking up the post in 2017, Tristram has focused on support for design education in UK schools, expansion of the photography department, and encouraging debate around the museum’s global collections. Prior to joining the V&A, Tristram was MP for Stoke‐on‐Trent Central and Shadow Secretary of State for Education. He has a PhD from the University of Cambridge and is the author of several books.

Tasneem Zakaria Mehta is an art historian, writer, curator, designer, and cultural activist. A leader of India’s heritage preservation movement, Mehta has successfully pioneered the revival and restoration of several of Mumbai’s important cultural sites. As managing trustee and honorary director of the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum, Mehta conceptualised, curated, designed, and implemented the institution’s restoration and revitalization.

Thant MyintU is a Burmese historian, writer, former UN official, and conservationist. The author of four books, MyintU is currently the Chairman of U Thant House, a leading education and discussion centre in Yangon, Founder and Chairman of the Yangon Heritage Trust, and a Founding Partner of the Ava Advisory Group. He is also an Affiliated Scholar of the Centre for South Asian Studies at Cambridge University. In 2012, he established the Yangon Heritage Trust to protect the city’s architectural heritage and encourage new ideas in urban planning.

The Orwell Memorial Lecture, given in memory of the author, essayist and journalist George Orwell, has been given annually since 1989 and has attracted notable speakers including Daniel Finkelstein, Kamila Shamsie, Dr Rowan Williams, Dame Hilary Mantel, Robin Cook and Ruth Davidson MSP. Speakers are tasked with discussing any topic ‘Orwell might have been interested in’.

Originally held at the University of London, Birkbeck and the the University of Sheffield, the Orwell Memorial Lecture usually takes place each year at University College London, home of the UNESCOregistered Orwell Archive, the most comprehensive body of research material relating to the author’s life anywhere. The Orwell Foundation is based at UCL’s Institute of Advanced Studies. This year, however, the Orwell Memorial Lecture was held exclusively online for the first time.

The Orwell Memorial Lecture is generously sponsored by Richard Blair, George Orwell’s son.