Pub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/13500775.2022.2157556
Kai Yin, William Nitzky
Abstract Compared to traditional museums, ecomuseums encompass community, heritage and a cultural landscape, transforming a place into an in situ museum. When employed as a cultural tool or heritage project, ecomuseums are dedicated to representing local distinctiveness and strengthening a sense of place. What happens when the intentions are such, but the development practice for ecomuseums is inherently fraught with challenges? This article reveals that in China, ecomuseum projects intending to develop a sense of place and local participation encounter practical dilemmas from their particular methodology and practical processes. Through the perspectives of both an insider developer participant and an outsider anthropologist, we describe and analyse two cases from China: Bai Yang Po, located in Shanxi province, and You Tian, in Zhejiang province. These two case studies reveal that ecomuseum principles, site selection and project implementation in China do not correspond with local populations’ sense of place. Using participant observation, questionnaires and semi-structured interview data, we argue that extra-local scholar and government-led directives establish distinct physical boundaries for ecomuseum projects that do not follow the logic of local people’s lives, nor their relationships with each other and with their environment. In this paper we present two key concepts—openness of place and fluidity of place—and in connecting them with our case studies, illustrate how a sense of place that transcends physical boundaries can be viable for ecomuseum projects in China.
{"title":"Openness and Fluidity of Place: A Practical Dilemma for Ecomuseums in China","authors":"Kai Yin, William Nitzky","doi":"10.1080/13500775.2022.2157556","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13500775.2022.2157556","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Compared to traditional museums, ecomuseums encompass community, heritage and a cultural landscape, transforming a place into an in situ museum. When employed as a cultural tool or heritage project, ecomuseums are dedicated to representing local distinctiveness and strengthening a sense of place. What happens when the intentions are such, but the development practice for ecomuseums is inherently fraught with challenges? This article reveals that in China, ecomuseum projects intending to develop a sense of place and local participation encounter practical dilemmas from their particular methodology and practical processes. Through the perspectives of both an insider developer participant and an outsider anthropologist, we describe and analyse two cases from China: Bai Yang Po, located in Shanxi province, and You Tian, in Zhejiang province. These two case studies reveal that ecomuseum principles, site selection and project implementation in China do not correspond with local populations’ sense of place. Using participant observation, questionnaires and semi-structured interview data, we argue that extra-local scholar and government-led directives establish distinct physical boundaries for ecomuseum projects that do not follow the logic of local people’s lives, nor their relationships with each other and with their environment. In this paper we present two key concepts—openness of place and fluidity of place—and in connecting them with our case studies, illustrate how a sense of place that transcends physical boundaries can be viable for ecomuseum projects in China.","PeriodicalId":45701,"journal":{"name":"MUSEUM INTERNATIONAL","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46504040","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/13500775.2022.2157563
Camila Plaza
Abstract This paper summarises an analysis of university museums, pinpointing the debates that have framed these institutions both as objects that can be studied and as a field of research that continues to evolve. Twenty years after the first conference held by UMAC in 2001, it is time to reflect upon what has been a fruitful period of research and attempt to map out future directions. The results of this study are founded on a comprehensive analysis of published works, primarily in English and Spanish, and take a thematic approach. Analysis of the academic debates reveals a core theme concerning the historical links of university museums with disciplinary knowledge and the crises these institutions have experienced because of changes that have occurred, especially within scientific disciplines. In addition to discussing how to best manage them, much attention has been given to the dichotomy between university museums and their parent institutions, epitomised by the challenge of reconciling differing roles in outreach, research, and teaching. It is argued here that there is a need for more intensive study of university museums, both in terms of their history and their current circumstances. Such an approach offers the possibility of gaining insights into their practices by combining transdisciplinary perspectives. It could also underpin the proposal that university museums have the potential to take a lead role in combatting denialism and the abandonment of humanistic thinking by articulating the importance of interdisciplinary knowledge to a wide range of audiences inside and outside the university.
{"title":"Museums in Universities: Predicaments and Potentialities","authors":"Camila Plaza","doi":"10.1080/13500775.2022.2157563","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13500775.2022.2157563","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This paper summarises an analysis of university museums, pinpointing the debates that have framed these institutions both as objects that can be studied and as a field of research that continues to evolve. Twenty years after the first conference held by UMAC in 2001, it is time to reflect upon what has been a fruitful period of research and attempt to map out future directions. The results of this study are founded on a comprehensive analysis of published works, primarily in English and Spanish, and take a thematic approach. Analysis of the academic debates reveals a core theme concerning the historical links of university museums with disciplinary knowledge and the crises these institutions have experienced because of changes that have occurred, especially within scientific disciplines. In addition to discussing how to best manage them, much attention has been given to the dichotomy between university museums and their parent institutions, epitomised by the challenge of reconciling differing roles in outreach, research, and teaching. It is argued here that there is a need for more intensive study of university museums, both in terms of their history and their current circumstances. Such an approach offers the possibility of gaining insights into their practices by combining transdisciplinary perspectives. It could also underpin the proposal that university museums have the potential to take a lead role in combatting denialism and the abandonment of humanistic thinking by articulating the importance of interdisciplinary knowledge to a wide range of audiences inside and outside the university.","PeriodicalId":45701,"journal":{"name":"MUSEUM INTERNATIONAL","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41434139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/13500775.2022.2157565
Foteini Salmouka, Andromache Gazi
Abstract Sound-producing objects, such as musical instruments and sound devices, are a distinct category of museum objects because their museification has deprived them of their primary characteristic: sound. This paper discusses the use of sound as an interpretive tool in exhibitions of sound-producing objects. After reviewing the use of sound as an interpretive medium in contemporary museum exhibitions, the discussion focuses on sound-producing objects and analyses the concerns about their functionality in the museum context. The last section of the paper introduces sonic references, a specific type of sonic practices integrated in contemporary museum exhibitions. The documentation of the interpretive approaches adopted towards sound-producing objects aims to explore the potential of sound in creating meaningful experiences for museum visitors. Finally, the paper seeks to encourage sound-led curatorial strategies that explore more experiential ways to engage visitors with museum exhibitions.
{"title":"Seeking the Sound: Sound-Based Interpretive Approaches in Exhibitions of Sound-Producing Objects","authors":"Foteini Salmouka, Andromache Gazi","doi":"10.1080/13500775.2022.2157565","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13500775.2022.2157565","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Sound-producing objects, such as musical instruments and sound devices, are a distinct category of museum objects because their museification has deprived them of their primary characteristic: sound. This paper discusses the use of sound as an interpretive tool in exhibitions of sound-producing objects. After reviewing the use of sound as an interpretive medium in contemporary museum exhibitions, the discussion focuses on sound-producing objects and analyses the concerns about their functionality in the museum context. The last section of the paper introduces sonic references, a specific type of sonic practices integrated in contemporary museum exhibitions. The documentation of the interpretive approaches adopted towards sound-producing objects aims to explore the potential of sound in creating meaningful experiences for museum visitors. Finally, the paper seeks to encourage sound-led curatorial strategies that explore more experiential ways to engage visitors with museum exhibitions.","PeriodicalId":45701,"journal":{"name":"MUSEUM INTERNATIONAL","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41785303","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/13500775.2022.2157575
Joseph Roche
Abstract When museum research is published, it is often written by researchers who observe or work with museum staff rather than by museum professionals themselves. By making academic writing and publishing more inclusive to museum professionals, their unique communication skills and experiences could be harnessed to better reflect the museum sector in the published literature. Encouraging professional development at workshops and conferences and developing resources and tools with and for museum professionals represent some of the positive developments in how museum professionals can develop their academic writing and publishing skills, and in turn gain control of how research is described in their fields.
{"title":"How to Support Academic Writing for Museum Professionals","authors":"Joseph Roche","doi":"10.1080/13500775.2022.2157575","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13500775.2022.2157575","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract When museum research is published, it is often written by researchers who observe or work with museum staff rather than by museum professionals themselves. By making academic writing and publishing more inclusive to museum professionals, their unique communication skills and experiences could be harnessed to better reflect the museum sector in the published literature. Encouraging professional development at workshops and conferences and developing resources and tools with and for museum professionals represent some of the positive developments in how museum professionals can develop their academic writing and publishing skills, and in turn gain control of how research is described in their fields.","PeriodicalId":45701,"journal":{"name":"MUSEUM INTERNATIONAL","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43573464","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/13500775.2022.2157570
Alejandra Linares Figueruelo
Abstract Museums franchises have been part of our lives for several decades, gathering momentum and taking the cultural world by storm. These museums ‘brands’ are a product of the changes museums have experienced in the past decades that shaped their role as a social agents, and the influence of globalisation, which altered the paradigm of the essence of what museums constitute, and ultimately their new role as diplomatic agents. This article aims to analyse the development, the characteristics and the controversies that have surrounded the Hermitage Barcelona project, which embodies the challenges and opportunities new globalised museums are facing on a museological, political, economic and social level. This project raises social debates around topics such as cultural policy, branding strategy, tourism and identity, issues that it has in common with other satellite museums all over the world, such as the Louvre Abu Dhabi or the Guggenheim Museums. This strong social component underlines the importance of approaching the analysis of new museum models from an interdisciplinary, participatory and culturally sensitive perspective.
{"title":"Cultural Franchises or Franchising Cultures?","authors":"Alejandra Linares Figueruelo","doi":"10.1080/13500775.2022.2157570","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13500775.2022.2157570","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Museums franchises have been part of our lives for several decades, gathering momentum and taking the cultural world by storm. These museums ‘brands’ are a product of the changes museums have experienced in the past decades that shaped their role as a social agents, and the influence of globalisation, which altered the paradigm of the essence of what museums constitute, and ultimately their new role as diplomatic agents. This article aims to analyse the development, the characteristics and the controversies that have surrounded the Hermitage Barcelona project, which embodies the challenges and opportunities new globalised museums are facing on a museological, political, economic and social level. This project raises social debates around topics such as cultural policy, branding strategy, tourism and identity, issues that it has in common with other satellite museums all over the world, such as the Louvre Abu Dhabi or the Guggenheim Museums. This strong social component underlines the importance of approaching the analysis of new museum models from an interdisciplinary, participatory and culturally sensitive perspective.","PeriodicalId":45701,"journal":{"name":"MUSEUM INTERNATIONAL","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45911605","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/13500775.2022.2157561
Inmaculada Real López
Abstract This article examines the Spanish museum scene in terms of the problem of establishing a network of exile museums that evoke democratic memory. The Spanish case is shaped by the Civil War (1936-1939), which has resulted in a diaspora of numerous artists whose legacy is preserved today in different museums across the country; but to date there has been no initiative to create an inter-territorial connection at a national level that would favour the creation of this much-needed network. In this article we propose to demonstrate the necessity of realising such a project, following the example of what has been carried out in other areas that were the scene of conflicts.
{"title":"The Need to Create a Network of Exile Museums","authors":"Inmaculada Real López","doi":"10.1080/13500775.2022.2157561","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13500775.2022.2157561","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article examines the Spanish museum scene in terms of the problem of establishing a network of exile museums that evoke democratic memory. The Spanish case is shaped by the Civil War (1936-1939), which has resulted in a diaspora of numerous artists whose legacy is preserved today in different museums across the country; but to date there has been no initiative to create an inter-territorial connection at a national level that would favour the creation of this much-needed network. In this article we propose to demonstrate the necessity of realising such a project, following the example of what has been carried out in other areas that were the scene of conflicts.","PeriodicalId":45701,"journal":{"name":"MUSEUM INTERNATIONAL","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49061277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/13500775.2022.2157553
Fernanda Cristina Cardoso Guedes, Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner
Abstract On the night of 2 September 2018, a globally reported fire destroyed the main headquarters of the Museu Nacional/UFRJ in Brazil. Located in the neighbourhood of São Cristóvão, north of Rio de Janeiro, this institution is not only Brazil’s first museum, but also its first scientific organisation. Recognised as one of the largest natural history and anthropology museums in Latin America, about 85 per cent of its 20 million items were consumed by flames. Rebuilding the palace, one of the main architectural monuments in Brazil, became a challenge for the institution and its collaborators. Actions related to management, museology, cultural heritage, restoration, and recovery of collections were, and remain, decisive in tracing the paths of an ambitious ongoing project called Museu Nacional Vive (The Museu Nacional Lives). In this article, we offer an insider’s perspective to provide an account of the main stages of the project and its implementation, presenting the strategies and key points of focus for what can be regarded as the most challenging cultural project presently being developed in Brazil. We primarily focus on the first two years after the fire, documenting the complex relationship between the management of a Brazilian public museum and communication strategies, and provide a historical record of an enduring initiative that has since proven influential in the field of museums, cultural heritage and science.
摘要2018年9月2日晚，一场全球报道的火灾摧毁了巴西国家博物馆/UFRJ的主要总部。该机构位于里约热内卢北部的São Cristóvão附近，不仅是巴西的第一家博物馆，也是巴西的第一个科学组织。作为拉丁美洲最大的自然历史和人类学博物馆之一，其2000万件藏品中约85%被大火烧毁。重建这座巴西主要建筑古迹之一的宫殿，成为该机构及其合作者面临的挑战。与管理、博物馆学、文化遗产、修复和回收藏品有关的行动过去是，现在仍然是，在追踪一个名为“国家生活博物馆”（Museu Nacional Lives）的雄心勃勃的正在进行的项目的路径方面具有决定性意义。在这篇文章中，我们从内部人士的角度介绍了该项目的主要阶段及其实施情况，并介绍了巴西目前正在开发的最具挑战性的文化项目的战略和重点。我们主要关注火灾发生后的头两年，记录巴西公共博物馆的管理与传播战略之间的复杂关系，并提供一份历史记录，记录了一项持久的举措，该举措已被证明在博物馆、文化遗产和科学领域具有影响力。
{"title":"After the Fire: Developing Reconstruction Strategies and Public Outreach at the Museu Nacional/UFRJ","authors":"Fernanda Cristina Cardoso Guedes, Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner","doi":"10.1080/13500775.2022.2157553","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13500775.2022.2157553","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract On the night of 2 September 2018, a globally reported fire destroyed the main headquarters of the Museu Nacional/UFRJ in Brazil. Located in the neighbourhood of São Cristóvão, north of Rio de Janeiro, this institution is not only Brazil’s first museum, but also its first scientific organisation. Recognised as one of the largest natural history and anthropology museums in Latin America, about 85 per cent of its 20 million items were consumed by flames. Rebuilding the palace, one of the main architectural monuments in Brazil, became a challenge for the institution and its collaborators. Actions related to management, museology, cultural heritage, restoration, and recovery of collections were, and remain, decisive in tracing the paths of an ambitious ongoing project called Museu Nacional Vive (The Museu Nacional Lives). In this article, we offer an insider’s perspective to provide an account of the main stages of the project and its implementation, presenting the strategies and key points of focus for what can be regarded as the most challenging cultural project presently being developed in Brazil. We primarily focus on the first two years after the fire, documenting the complex relationship between the management of a Brazilian public museum and communication strategies, and provide a historical record of an enduring initiative that has since proven influential in the field of museums, cultural heritage and science.","PeriodicalId":45701,"journal":{"name":"MUSEUM INTERNATIONAL","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44930232","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-03DOI: 10.1080/13500775.2021.2016277
Stuart Frost
Abstract This article is a personal reflection that examines the impact of the pandemic on the British Museum’s (BM) onsite interpretation and audiences; however, it is informed by robust visitor insight and evaluation as well as by direct experience. Quotes from the public are incorporated throughout. Covid-19 led to the BM’s closure on 18 March 2020, the first of several national lockdowns in the United Kingdom. The museum eventually reopened some of its galleries on 27 August 2020 with a carefully curated one-way route, primarily on the ground-floor initially. George Floyd’s death was another pivotal moment in 2020. In response, the BM’s Director issued a statement in support of Black Lives Matter (BLM). This was welcomed by staff and volunteers, but it also attracted some critical comments on social media, including calls for the return of looted African objects within the BM’s collection. The museum made some modest but significant changes ahead of reopening, introducing a Collecting and Empire trail along the one-way route and redisplaying a bust of the Museum’s founder Sir Hans Sloane to acknowledge his links to slavery and empire. The museum’s income-generating exhibition programme was much impacted by the pandemic, with planned shows Tantra: enlightenment to revolution and Arctic: culture and climate opening much later than intended, with significantly reduced visitor capacity and major adaptations. Another lockdown in December meant that the runs of both exhibitions were curtailed, with that for Arctic being drastically shortened. A significant shift to online events and resources, however, enabled these exhibitions to reach new, global audiences. The BM again re-opened on 17 May 2021, with the government subsequently lifting Covid restrictions in England on 19 July 2021. However, the pandemic has radically changed the BM’s visitor numbers and typical audience profile by massively reducing the number of international visitors. The events of 2020-21 remind us of how interconnected our world is and how quickly what happens elsewhere affects us all. The challenges for museums have rarely been greater, but there are also opportunities for institutions to rethink their relationships with audiences and the wider public.
本文是一篇个人反思，探讨了疫情对大英博物馆(BM)现场解说和观众的影响;然而，它是由强大的游客洞察力和评估以及直接经验提供信息的。来自公众的引用贯穿始终。新冠肺炎疫情导致大英博物馆于2020年3月18日关闭，这是英国几次全国封锁中的第一次。博物馆最终于2020年8月27日重新开放了一些画廊，最初主要在一层，采用了精心策划的单向路线。乔治·弗洛伊德的死是2020年的另一个关键时刻。作为回应，博物馆馆长发表了一份声明，支持“黑人的命也是命”运动。这受到了工作人员和志愿者的欢迎，但也在社交媒体上引起了一些批评，包括呼吁归还大英博物馆藏品中被掠夺的非洲文物。在重新开放之前，博物馆做了一些适度但意义重大的改变，在单向路线上引入了一条收藏与帝国之路，并重新展示了博物馆创始人汉斯·斯隆爵士(Sir Hans Sloane)的半身像，以表彰他与奴隶制和帝国的联系。博物馆的创收展览项目受到疫情的严重影响，原计划的展览《密宗:启蒙到革命》和《北极:文化与气候》的开放时间比原计划晚得多，参观人数大幅减少，并进行了重大调整。12月的另一次封锁意味着这两个展览的时间都被缩短了，北极的时间大大缩短了。然而，向在线活动和资源的重大转变使这些展览能够接触到新的全球观众。大英博物馆于2021年5月17日再次重新开放，英国政府随后于2021年7月19日取消了对新冠肺炎的限制。然而，大流行通过大量减少国际游客数量，从根本上改变了大英博物馆的游客数量和典型的观众概况。2020-21年的事件提醒我们，我们的世界是多么相互关联，其他地方发生的事情是多么迅速地影响着我们所有人。博物馆面临的挑战很少比现在更大，但也有机会重新思考它们与观众和更广泛公众的关系。
{"title":"Pandemic, Protests and Building Back: 20 Months at the British Museum","authors":"Stuart Frost","doi":"10.1080/13500775.2021.2016277","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13500775.2021.2016277","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article is a personal reflection that examines the impact of the pandemic on the British Museum’s (BM) onsite interpretation and audiences; however, it is informed by robust visitor insight and evaluation as well as by direct experience. Quotes from the public are incorporated throughout. Covid-19 led to the BM’s closure on 18 March 2020, the first of several national lockdowns in the United Kingdom. The museum eventually reopened some of its galleries on 27 August 2020 with a carefully curated one-way route, primarily on the ground-floor initially. George Floyd’s death was another pivotal moment in 2020. In response, the BM’s Director issued a statement in support of Black Lives Matter (BLM). This was welcomed by staff and volunteers, but it also attracted some critical comments on social media, including calls for the return of looted African objects within the BM’s collection. The museum made some modest but significant changes ahead of reopening, introducing a Collecting and Empire trail along the one-way route and redisplaying a bust of the Museum’s founder Sir Hans Sloane to acknowledge his links to slavery and empire. The museum’s income-generating exhibition programme was much impacted by the pandemic, with planned shows Tantra: enlightenment to revolution and Arctic: culture and climate opening much later than intended, with significantly reduced visitor capacity and major adaptations. Another lockdown in December meant that the runs of both exhibitions were curtailed, with that for Arctic being drastically shortened. A significant shift to online events and resources, however, enabled these exhibitions to reach new, global audiences. The BM again re-opened on 17 May 2021, with the government subsequently lifting Covid restrictions in England on 19 July 2021. However, the pandemic has radically changed the BM’s visitor numbers and typical audience profile by massively reducing the number of international visitors. The events of 2020-21 remind us of how interconnected our world is and how quickly what happens elsewhere affects us all. The challenges for museums have rarely been greater, but there are also opportunities for institutions to rethink their relationships with audiences and the wider public.","PeriodicalId":45701,"journal":{"name":"MUSEUM INTERNATIONAL","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"59810628","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-03DOI: 10.1080/13500775.2021.2016287
Sandro Debono
Abstract The Covid-19 pandemic has underpinned the relevance and significance of the strategic use of digital tools for museums as they were unexpectedly obliged to function from behind physically closed doors. Indeed, it is fair to state that museums have come to recognise the relevance and significance of the digital to a far greater degree than they did prior to the pandemic, and museums have also acknowledged an opportunity to experiment and engage with audiences through the strategic use of digital tools. With the return of physical museum audiences (albeit in fits and starts), museums might consider this to mean that digital tools are now less relevant, rather than identifying opportunities to strike a measure of equilibrium between the digital and physical going forward. Acknowledging what has been achieved so far is certainly one point of departure, although it provides only a limited view of the broad range of possibilities that museums might have to choose from in the future. This paper explores the possible spectrum of museum experiences within the remit of the ‘phygital’, and how the physical and the digital can potentially interact to define a museum experience through the lens of museum theory. The possible ‘phygital’ scenarios, ranging from what we will term ‘sustained physical’ to ‘autonomous digital’ shall be identified through the lens of a futures literacy methodology. Such a methodology allows us to rigorously anticipate possible future scenarios and is accompanied by a series of case studies that are also representative of such scenarios. Finally, the paper anticipates possible scenarios for the phygital in terms of museums’ goals, objectives and available resources.
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Pub Date : 2021-07-03DOI: 10.1080/13500775.2021.2016275
R. Mackay
Abstract In March 2020, museums and heritage sites faced indefinite closure as the United Kingdom government sought to curb the spread of a new virus. Covid-19 brought a new kind of crisis to the heritage sector, but it also brought a learning opportunity. This article outlines a research project, conducted at the height of the pandemic, which sought to assess the museum and heritage sector crisis management response to Covid-19. In the summer of 2020, ten interviews were conducted with managers working in UK museum and heritage sites. In addition, contemporary literature relating to the impact of Covid-19 on the sector was reviewed. Three key themes were identified and explored: Experience and planning; Impact on staff; Coordination and collaboration The study highlighted a range of lessons learned. Firstly, it showed that in the main, the sector was not prepared to deal with a pandemic of this nature. Secondly, it showed that the emotional impact on staff was profound; but also that there were increased efforts to support wellbeing. Thirdly, the research showed that there was a lack of clear information from official channels, and that this impacted decisionmaking at a site level. However, it has also revealed evidence that in the absence of official guidance, sector collaboration was significant and viewed by participants as a key positive outcome of the crisis. The article concludes with recommendations to improve crisis management in the future and offers practical resources as a starting point for greater sector preparedness.
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