The UWI Museum is the place to go to gain an understanding of the history of The University of the West Indies.

The idea of a UWI Museum dates back to the first plans drawn for the university – then the University College of the West Indies (UCWI). British architects Norman & Dawbarn included a museum in their 1947 scheme and the university’s Medical Museum was an important facility for teaching over many decades. Through the years, several persons related to the university have renewed the idea of a general museum, without success, Some have had in mind a place primarily to house the university’s art collection; but first curator Dr Suzanne Francis-Brown proposed a primary focus on the institution’s history and development, and its regional agenda, with exposure of regional art as a relevant element. The small museum finally came to life when Vice Chancellor E. Nigel Harris made space available just off the lobby of the Regional Headquarters Building, occupied in 2012. That space is now our home.

Present Context

The museum falls within the ambit of the UWI Office of Administration. We collaborate consistently with the University Archives and UWI Library systems, especially with respect to research and representation of university history. The museum perceives itself as a resource for the entire university system, and beyond.

Other early collaborators have included the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social & Economic Studies (SALISES), The Caribbean Institute of Media & Communication (CARIMAC), The Department of Library & Information Studies (DLIS), The Department of History & Archaeology.