communicating through objects and collections belgrade
DESCRIPTION
A presentation to the Serbian museum community as part of their 'Reshaping the Museum' project - addressing questions of the social purpose of museums, and the implications of new models for Collections Management.TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
See the world in a grain of sand: Communicating through Objects and CollectionsNick Poole, CEO, Collections TrustChair, ICOM UK
![Page 2: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today. This is my first visit to Belgrade. It is a great honour to be here and I look forward to learning from you about your work.
I am sorry that I must present in English. Please do feel free to translate for your colleagues, and please do raise your hand if I use language that is not clear, or am speaking too quickly. I would much rather explain than waste your time!
Thank you for your attention
![Page 3: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
The Collections Trust
We work with museums, archives and libraries to help unlock the potential of their Collections.
We do this by:
• Providing know-how• Developing and promoting excellence• Challenging existing practices• Pioneering new ideas• Bringing experts together
Find out more at http://www.collectionslink.org.uk
![Page 4: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
To see a world in a grain of sand,And a heaven in a flower,Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,And eternity in an hour.
Museums are places of meaning and connection. We have an active role to play in a healthy and harmonious society, but what is that role and how can we make the most of it?
![Page 5: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
What kind of museum person are you?
What can museums do to change the world?
How is the world changing museums?
![Page 6: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
What kind of museum person are you?
What can museums do to change the world?
How is the world changing museums?
![Page 7: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
What kind of museum person are you?
Objects Experiences
Facts Narratives
![Page 8: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
What kind of museum person are you?
Objects Experiences
Facts Narratives
“The first duties of the museum are to collect, conserve and display material culture, to protect the nation’s treasures and to showcase the high points of human creativity”
![Page 9: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
What kind of museum person are you?
Objects Experiences
Facts Narratives
“The first duty of the museum is to create an open, welcoming environment in which people can come and enjoy the experience of beautiful, inspiring things”
![Page 10: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
What kind of museum person are you?
Objects Experiences
Facts Narratives
“It is not the objects themselves, but the connections between them and the stories they can tell. The duty of the museum is to weave narratives and objects together to help people understand the world around them”
![Page 11: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
What kind of museum person are you?
Objects Experiences
Facts Narratives
“The first duty of the museum is to provide an authoritative record of the development of the natural and man-made world. We must collect and preserve type specimens and objects based on our authoritative and scientific knowledge.”
![Page 12: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
All of these impulses (and many others) co-exist in museums. We are a tribe with many faiths and perspectives. The joyful thing about museums is that the idea of a ‘museum’ is broad enough to accommodate all of them.
Do you know what success looks like for your museum?
![Page 13: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
What constitutes success for you/your role/your museum?
A. More visitorsB. Happy visitorsC. Happy DirectorD. Happy politiciansE. More moneyF. More objectsG. Better objectsH. Don’t know/not sureI. Other…
![Page 14: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
What kind of museum person are you?
What can museums do to change the world?
How is the world changing museums?
![Page 15: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
Some current projects….
![Page 16: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
Me in 3D, Science Museum, London
![Page 17: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
Down the Back of the Sofa, Derby Museum
![Page 18: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
Skin, Wellcome Collection, London
![Page 19: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
London Riots, Museum of London
![Page 20: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
Meditation flashmob, British Museum
![Page 21: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
Rethinking Disability, Leicester Museum
![Page 22: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
All of these museums are working towards a social purpose – they are using the idea of the ‘museum’ in creative ways to provide experiences which help people examine current issues.
BUT this perspective is not universally welcome – all of these projects de-emphasise the object, the material culture.
![Page 23: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
“People come to museums because they want to see things that they couldn’t see anywhere else. They want them interpreted by expert Curators and presented for them to enjoy and learn from.
Collections Managers, Managers, Education specialists – these are all nice to have, but they’re not the heart of the museum. The Curator is the heart of the museum.”
![Page 24: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
History of the World in 100 Objects
![Page 25: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
A History of the World in 100 Objects
Beautiful things, selected by a world-leading expert, used to illustrate the defining social, creative, scientific and political moments in human history.
‘Seeing the world in a grain of sand’
Uniting the real world, the radio and the Internet
Interesting to explore the profile of the audience…
![Page 26: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
The pragmatic challenge…
“This is all well and good, and of course we want to make the world a better place. But you aren’t talking about the reality. The reality is not enough money, limited access to resources and fierce competition with other museums.”
When did your museum acquire the majority of its collections? In the UK, it’s likely to be between 1950 and 1980. With some significant exceptions, we stopped collecting 20-30 years ago.
If we are not confidently asserting our place in the future, very soon, we will be part of the past, a bubble of a particular historical moment. We will have failed.
![Page 27: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/27.jpg)
What kind of museum person are you?
What can museums do to change the world?
How is the world changing museums?
![Page 28: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/28.jpg)
How is the world changing museums?
The Activist Museum
The Democratic Museum
The Online Museum
The Economic Museum
The Sacred Museum
![Page 29: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/29.jpg)
The Activist Museum’
Over the past decade, we have started to rewrite the social contract between museums and their users. It is no longer enough to be a good museum, our museums need to do good things.
Can a museum be an activist and a neutral bystander?
If we become activists, how do we avoid becoming propagandists?
![Page 30: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/30.jpg)
Mission Statement, World Museums Liverpool
We change lives…We believe that museums are places for ideas and dialogue that use collections to inspire people.
We are a democratic museum service and we believe in the concept of social justice: we are funded by the whole of the public and in return we strive to provide an excellent service to the whole of the public.
We believe in the power of museums to help promote good and active citizenship, and to act as agents of social change.
![Page 31: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/31.jpg)
Holocaust Exhibition, Imperial War Museum
![Page 32: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/32.jpg)
The Democratic Museum
‘Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of their community’ – Art. 27 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Many museums were built to serve elites. If we accept that participatory culture is a right, then how can our organisations evolve to enable open, democratic participation?
If the foundations of our museums are built on trust and authority, then does a right of participation undermine the very essence of the museum?
![Page 33: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/33.jpg)
![Page 34: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/34.jpg)
Embodies special significance pertaining to the social, historical and cultural development of peoples in the nation's history and development of the nation's natural environment;
Testifies to crucial historical events and personalities and their activities in the nation's history;
Is a unique or rare representation of the human creativity of a certain time period or a unique example from natural history;
Exhibits exceptional artistic or aesthetic value.
Monuments of Great Cultural Importance
![Page 35: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/35.jpg)
Embodies special significance pertaining to the social, historical and cultural development of peoples in the nation's history and development of the nation's natural environment;
Testifies to crucial historical events and personalities and their activities in the nation's history;
Is a unique or rare representation of the human creativity of a certain time period or a unique example from natural history;
Exhibits exceptional artistic or aesthetic value.
Who decides?
Monuments of Great Cultural Importance
![Page 36: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/36.jpg)
Revisiting Collections
![Page 37: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/37.jpg)
The Online Museum
The web solves the problems it is good at solving – distance, time, flexibility. But in itself, the web cannot solve the problems of meaning, value and relevance.
As the web evolves away from publishing and towards conversation, we can adapt some of the new rules of engagement (crowdsourcing, mass-participation) .
We can re-code our audiences’ understanding of the depth of interaction we can offer.
![Page 38: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/38.jpg)
‘Your Paintings’ tagger – Public Catalogue Foundation
![Page 39: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/39.jpg)
The Economic Museum
Analysed as a business, a museum makes very little sense.
Why do we duplicate functions such as conservation, documentation and interpretation in many places?
If a museum’s primary motivation is economic, then the basis of prioritisation will change – conservation, acquisition, presentation will all be driven by ‘what will sell’
Can we keep the economic and cultural instinct in balance?
![Page 40: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/40.jpg)
The Sacred Museum
Museums contain objects of great cultural, social, aesthetic and religious significance, including physical remains
If we approach collections primarily from an art-historical idea, do we risk missing other perspectives?
If someone asked to pray to an object in your collection, would you let them?
![Page 41: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/41.jpg)
Sand Painting, Horniman Museum, London
![Page 42: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/42.jpg)
The New Collections Management
These roles must be powered by a new Collections Management
Systems that were built to publish facts now need to support conversations across multiple platforms
Knowledge previously held in silos must flow across the organisation
Policies for acquisition & disposal, as well as priorities for conservation & digitisation must reflect the democratic principle
Representation & relevance must become the business of all employees, from documentation to directorate
![Page 43: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/43.jpg)
Organisation’s Mission Statement
Collections Management Policy
Care Use Learn Develop
Users Politics Funding Culture
People Processes Systems Info
Evaluation & improvement
Rich, meaningful experiences for users
External factors
Strategy
Policy
Activity
Resources
Evaluation
Outcome
Towards Strategic Collections Management
![Page 44: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/44.jpg)
The museum is an endlessly adaptable canvas on which you can explore the full range of human, social, personal and emotional perspectives.
A museum is not neutral – collecting, interpretation, display are all political and directed acts.
The principle of free cultural expression is like freedom of speech. The curator must be like a journalist – pursuing objectivity and balance.
Our custodianship and management of the Collections must be open and fluid, able to adapt to the ever-changing role of our museums.
![Page 45: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/45.jpg)
“A museum must serve a public purpose”
![Page 46: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/46.jpg)
“A museum must be relevant”
![Page 47: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/47.jpg)
“A museum must be unafraid”
![Page 48: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/48.jpg)
Nick PooleChief Executive, Collections TrustChair, ICOM UK
Blog: http://openculture.collectionstrustblogs.org.uk
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @NickPoole1
![Page 49: Communicating through objects and collections belgrade](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062511/54c66ba04a795944538b4599/html5/thumbnails/49.jpg)
1. What is your museum’s Mission Statement?
2. What is the most important indicator of success for you/your museum? Are they the same?
3. How can you make your collections work harder across the whole organisation?
4. How would you improve your museum’s relationship with its audience?
Workshop Question