Europe's cultural face shows us how we areunited by a common tradition. Our continent isa treasure trove overflowing with millions ofobjects. But they are often locked away. Why,asked Dutch state secretary Medy van der Laan,don't we get them out of the vaults and takethem to the people?

C ULTURE CAN HAVE great significance for the European Union, declared the state

secretary for education, culture and science.The economic and political effect of Europe oncitizens' everyday lives is not enough to cementreally close ties between us. “The great thingabout the cultural face of Europe is that itspeaks to the imagination,” said Van der Laan.

“Culture shows us what we have in common.”But European culture is also hugely diverse.What travels across national borders, she said,is the recognition of our differences as much asour common humanity.Europe is packed with cultural treasures butthey are often stored out of view. “Opening upcollections across Europe and sharing thecultural heritage – these are the key tocollection mobility.”Some progress has been made since collectionmobility was put on the European agenda in1999, Van der Laan noted. State indemnityschemes and museum standardisation havebeen discussed; ministers this summer re-emphasised the importance of collection

mobility; the European Commission recentlyproposed a programme featuring thecirculation of artworks and transnationalmobility for people working in the culturalsector; and the European Council is soon toproduce a working plan in which collectionmobility is included.Practical arrangements needed at EU levelinclude making state indemnity schemes moretransparent, improving access to collections andexpanding and strengthening networks, she said.Van der Laan urged the conference to producea list of practical needs with regard to collectionmobility. “You will be helping to mouldEuropean policy on collection mobility in anextremely bottom-up way.”

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The Dutch parliament has been a pioneer incollection mobility, the chairman of the LowerHouse, Frans Weisglas, told the conference inhis opening speech.

“SINCE THE EARLY 1990s, the Lower House had been thinking of ways to

embellish old and new parts of the buildingwith objects from the collections held instorage by Dutch museums,” Weisglas noted.This idea coincided with a call by the statesecretary for education, culture and science tomake mobility of museum collections a majorpriority in Dutch cultural policies. As a result,the buildings of the Lower House became hostto a pilot project.“Public and semi-public parts of the House

have been set up with permanent andchangeable art presentations from Dutchmuseums, archives or other organizations,”Weisglas said. “We are really convinced that artshould be a part of the Lower House as areflection of the culture of the people itrepresents. It should serve as an example toother public buildings.” Weisglas said he believed that, because of itsbeing a facilitator of collection mobility, the oldDutch parliament buildings were an appropriatelocation for the gathering of culture andmuseum officials from all over the EuropeanUnion. He said he hoped the two-dayconference Museum Collections on the Movewould provide an opportunity forrepresentatives of museums and culturalofficials to strengthen contacts. “I hope thisconference will form a basis for internationalcooperation in the future.”

Museum Collections on the MoveConference Report, October, 28-29, 2004The Hague, The Netherlands

Plenary sessions

Frans Weisglas

Medy van der Laan

Henriëtte van der Linden

Harald Hartung

Discussion

Julian Spalding

Final round-table discussion

Presentations

Centre Pompidou

Prado Museum

Netherlands Institute for

Cultural Heritage

Film: Museum Collections on the Move

Slovak National Gallery

Tate Gallery

Swedish Museum of National History

Berlin State Museums

Museum Loan Network

Rijksmuseum

Debating sessions

The policies of collection mobility

Inspirations and best practices

Practical problems and their solutions

Art in parliament

FRANS WEISGLAS OPENED THE TWO-DAY CONFERENCE IN THE FORMER DUTCH PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS.

Taking Europe’s treasures out ofstorage and to the people

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Henriëtte van der Linden, director of theNetherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage, theinstitution that organized the conference, saidshe believed collection mobility is set to grow inEurope. “The possibilities are endless.”

T HE COLLECTION DEPARTMENT of theNetherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage

(ICN), Van der Linden explained, managesmore than one hundred thousand objects andmaintains loan relations with more than 1,500organisations at home and abroad. Theinstitute plays a key role in collection mobility. Ithelped, for instance, to assess the security riskswhen the Rijksmuseum of Amsterdam createda satellite at Schiphol Airport. “At present, weare designing a database to enable museums tooffer surplus objects to be placed in othermuseums via the Internet,” said the director ofICN, which is an external department of theDutch ministry for education, culture andscience. Van der Linden called ICN “the leading hands-on expert” in the field of collection mobility. “Ofcourse this does not mean that we have amonopoly on wisdom – which is why we haveorganised this congress.” She said she hopedthe conference would give answers to a seriesof questions. Is it possible to exhibit museumobjects outside the context of museums in aresponsible manner? How can you safeguardthe care for the objects in the long term? Wheredoes the responsibility of the lender end and

that of the borrower begin? And which locationsare suitable for exhibiting objects outsidemuseums – ministries, airports, parliaments,hotels, department stores?“Here in the Netherlands, we are only justbeginning to explore the possibilities. But wehave already learned two things: thepossibilities are endless and there is growingenthusiasm for projects of this kind.”

Sound vibrationsSecurity and insurance issues should be takeninto account and researched, the ICN director

said, and that is exactly what her organisation isdoing. Currently, ICN is engaged in assessingthe possible impact 'sound vibrations' couldhave on Van Gogh paintings in the Van Goghmuseum at Amsterdam's Museum Square,where many protest demonstrations andoutdoor music concerts are staged. ICN is afervent supporter of taking collections tounusual places to exhibit art, she said, and saidairports and railway stations could be amongthem.

MUSEUMS ARE AT THE HEART of urbanregeneration, Hartung said, and are a key

factor in cultural tourism, the fastestdeveloping tourism sector in Europe. Politicaldecision makers and those responsible for

funding museums need to be convinced thesector should get as large a slice as possible ofnational and European funds – though this isnot an end in itself.Hartung quoted Jacques Delors, who oncesaid: “You don't fall in love with an internalmarket.” With a growing gap between thepublic and political leaders, especially at the EU level, we must raise awareness of Europe'scultural riches and thus help build a feeling ofbelonging to Europe.A steadily increasing number of museums areshifting, Hartung declared, from preservers of

heritage into “lively laboratories which stimulatethe senses”, places of collective creation thatbuild bridges from past to present.But with the funds available for culturalcooperation at European level totalling just 0.04

percent of the EU budget, we must focus onspecific areas, as with the “Culture 2000”Programme. The new culture programme iscalled “Culture 2007” and one of its mainpriorities is the mobility of works of art.Some museums are very successful at organisingtemporary exhibitions on a European scale, butthe “critical mass” is lacking, Hartung said. Thereis a lack of information, know-how and moneyand we need to get together to share experiencesand exchange best practices. “This conference isan important step in building up a broad networkof expertise, know-how and best practices.”

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PLENARY SESSIONS

Expert in collection mobility

Cultural riches can help build a feeling of Europe

There is a lack of information, know-how and money

Europe boasts more than 30,000 museums which generate over 250,000 jobs and attractmore than 500 million visitors a year, said Harald Hartung, head of the culture unit at theEuropean Commission's Education and Culture General-Directorate. “That beats the biggestfootball game.”

THE FORMER DUTCH PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS PROVIDED AN

APPROPRIATE BACKGROUND FOR THE GATHERING OF CULTURE

AND MUSEUM OFFICIALS.

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“IN MY VIEW WE ARE SERVING the public.That is the fundamental thing we are doing

with our museums.” That was the openinggambit from panel member Kristian Berg,director of the Museum of National Antiquitiesin Stockholm, in a lively discussion led by Frénkvan der Linden. Taxpayers must ask themselveswhether museums are worth their money, Bergsaid, and museums must show their collectionsare used “in a broad societal way”.His standpoint found support from a delegatefrom the Swedish natural history museum, whodeclared: “To us, all objects in our collection arethe free property of the scientific world.”But how free should works of art really be? Formany, there are limits.Works of art should not be treated as mereobjects of consumption, said panel member

Tuula Arkio, general director of the FinnishNational Gallery. We must, she said, ask howpeople experience art collections outside themuseum environment.Berg said Swedish museums were currentlydiscussing placing works in one of Stockholm'smain hospitals – a public space where lots ofpeople spend lots of time. “We are onlymeeting a small part of the population of oursocieties with our museums.”

There are public places aplenty where museumobjects could be placed, agreed a delegate. Butviewing museum objects requires time,concentration, contemplation. Are we sure arailway station, for instance, meets thesecriteria? Otherwise museum objects becomejust a background and a replica or reproductionmay be sufficient, he said.

Protected with too much glassAlfred Pacquement, director of the NationalMuseum of Modern Art Centre Pompidou inParis, expressed the concern that if collectionswere put in places like railway stations, theywould have to be protected with so much glass,so many barriers and security guards that theywould be seen totally differently than intended– or wrongly.

“What we as a community have to do,” saidPacquement's fellow panel member CristinaAcidini, “is rely on a body of common rulesbased on technical correctness or procedures.”Acidini, superintendent of the Opificio dellePietre Dure in Florence, said Italy had longexperience of lending art to places likeembassies, and this had worked well whenthere was a sensibility about the works. But insome instances, pieces had been damaged, puttoo close to heating or in too-humid conditions,

because people were unaware of theirvalue. Borrowers needed betterknowledge and sensitivity about whatthey had in their (temporary)

possession, she said.A Cypriot archaeologist and arthistorian noted that his small statelent a lot and said there was a groupof works that should be clarified asnational treasures and must nevertravel. “They are very rare and veryimportant for the cultural heritage ofthe state,” he said from the floor. ABritish archaeologist said someworks, such as Rembrandt's NightWatch, should not be exposed tomore than the most minimal risk.

Not everything should be lentEvery museum with national collections hastreasures that should not be lent, Tuula Arkioconcurred. But the EU could try to find thecommon storage every museum could use, shesaid, pointing out that many museums havesecond-rate collections while museums withvery good collections have treasures in storage.Finland was busy making an inventory of all thecountry's art collections, so that museums whodid not need parts of their collections couldlend them out.

A delegate from the National Museum ofEthnology in the Netherlands said his museumhad been keeping things in store “for futuregenerations” for 150 years, but they should bebrought out of storage and used. In the opinion of a Czech delegate, however, the first priority was to preserve works of art.The Pompidou Centre's Pacquement said hisinstitution received mail every day asking toborrow pieces; requests were sometimes based on good reasons and sometimes notsuch good ones. A good purpose, he said, was scholarship, or an educational programme.

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PLENARY SESSIONS

Art must not be just a background objectDiscussion addresses friction between preservation and public appeal

Museums face conflicting tasks. Exhibiting objects wherever and however possible will help them attract andappeal to a large audience. On the other hand, they must preserve their collections for future generations. “We are only meeting a small part of the population of our societies with our museums.”

Viewing art requires time, concentration, contemplation. Are we sure a railway station, for instance, meets these criteria?

“Some works should be clarified as national treasures and must never travel”

RONALD DE LEEUW, GENERAL DIRECTOR OF AMSTERDAM'SRIJKSMUSEUM (RIGHT), AND CRISTINA ACIDINI OF THE OPIFICIO

DELLE PIETRE DURE IN FLORENCE.

FRÉNK VAN DER LINDEN MODERATED THE DISCUSSION.

>>>

A bad reason was “the reverse”: the lack of a scholarly dimension or a weak topic, anartificial reason for gathering works together. Berg suggested thinking of collections as“metaphorically mobile”, projects combiningdifferent kinds of collections. “Collections on

the move could also be a very nice way ofpromoting interdisciplinary research,” he said.Ronald de Leeuw, general director ofAmsterdam's Rijksmuseum, pointed to theexample of the Rijksmuseum at Schiphol as asuccessful example of putting art in anunconventional public place. A moment ofcontemplation had been created, he said, wherethe busy atmosphere of the airport contrastedwith the tranquillity of the little museum. Thiswas a far cry from, for instance, putting aRembrandt painting over a ticket booth, saidDe Leeuw. “You have to do it in a responsibleway which does not devalue objects.”

Inflated valuesWhen it came to inter-museum loans, DeLeeuw bemoaned a growing tendency amongmuseums to impose large fees on theircolleagues. “We ourselves are to blame if wethrow up a threshold to art exchange. How canwe expect governments to support us if we aretrying to turn art into money?” he said. Why, heasked, do we consider arts as objects of valuein a monetary sense when that only works

against us? Lenders placed high insurancevalues on their works, to the detriment ofborrowers. In this respect, museums behavedlike Jekyll and Hyde, said De Leeuw.He pointed out that works in Europeanmuseums lost their monetary value when they

came into collections because they were nolonger on the market. “We keep feeding thepockets of insurance companies” but weshould say it is the artistic value that counts.“We have a value in our objects but we don'tput a monetary value on them, so we can freelyexchange them,” said the Swedish naturalhistory museum delegate. Finally, the conference discussed whether therewas a cultural imperialism in satellitemuseums. Finland's Arkio said museums suchas the Guggenheim Bilbao were more aboutpower and being seen abroad than aboutcultural heritage and art. “The Guggenheim is a

power game,” agreed De Leeuw.Satellite museums were an interesting idea,however, and did not always require largebuildings, said Arkio.A representative of the British Museum notedthat there were two different models for asatellite museum. You could either construct anew building, or work with an existing museumin a different area. The latter, he said, seemedthe more fruitful approach: museum staff

understood the local audience better andwelcomed the association with anothermuseum, which helped them attract visitors.The Hermitage Amsterdam was a complexissue, said De Leeuw. He said he did notbelieve Amsterdam needed another museum;Rotterdam's need was greater. But the Russianssee the Hermitage offshoot as a gateway toEurope, so it was important for them to locateit in the Dutch capital, he said.

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PLENARY SESSIONS

Borrowers need better knowledge and sensitivity about what they have in their (temporary) possession

“We ourselves are to blame if we throw up a threshold to art exchange, by turning art into money”

TEA BREAK IN THE ROYAL THEATRE.

TUULA ARKIO OF THE FINNISH NATIONAL GALLERY:“MUSEUMS SUCH AS THE GUGGENHEIM BILBAO ARE MORE

ABOUT BEING SEEN ABROAD THAN ABOUT CULTURAL HERITAGE

AND ART.”

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IF THE IDEA OF DIGESTING museums madehis listeners feel constipated, said after-dinner

speaker Julian Spalding, he had “a little pill”that in just fifteen minutes would enable themboth to think about museums and to digesttheir food with perfect equanimity.Think about museums not as they are now, theindependent museum consultant urged, but aswhat they could become. What could be moreindigestible than a museum? Had they everseen visitors leaving museums with smiles ofcontentment? Visitors were more likely to lookexhausted and slightly bored. And their mentalconstipation is hardly surprising given that the“food” museums serve up is usuallyunprepared. “All most museums do for their

visitors is to open the door to the larder” sothey can make their own meals. That may be anegalitarian approach, but would you want to eatwhat they make?Experts like himself know exactly how to tacklemuseums, Spalding said. “I choose what tolook at, what will give me most mentalstimulation, and then I leave. I don't have tolook at everything. I am well-fed and well-bred.”But the vast majority of museum visitors startby trying to look at everything and so quickly get

indigestion. “They begin to drift, searching forsomething to alleviate the mental constipation,and usually fall back on a trip to the cafe.”(“There’s a thought,” Spalding reflected as anaside. “Could the degree of a museum's failurebe measured by the size of its cafe?”)

New attitude towards lendingSpalding asked whether museums actually hadany “food” to offer, insisting: “The objects inour museums can only be valued by the mentalstimulation they provide.” Museums had to realise, he said, that themeaning of their collections was changingfundamentally. Museums began as by-productsof the Enlightenment but most have now

virtually given up collecting and stoppedthinking about what their collections mean.Museums are no longer primarily institutionscollecting evidence for research. As far as thepublic is concerned, he said, museums' primaryfunction is to collect our meaningful past. At atime when younger generations are losingtouch with the past, it is the job of museums toprovide that link.“Meaning is the only category for collecting,”said Spalding. “Movability is everything.”

Museums are constipated with old things andold thoughts, he lamented.Spalding's promised “little pill,” he said, wasnot a restructuring – as implemented in the1980s and 1990s to little effect – but somethingmuch cheaper: a change in attitude, above all inattitudes towards lending. (Though lending isthe wrong word, he said, because collectionsare owned not by museums but by the public.)

Food for thoughtSpalding said museums had no right to refusea request to put on safe public display any itemcurrently out of public view in storage. Thesedays, the public need must take precedenceover the needs of scholars, he said. “It's nogood preserving something if no-one can eversee it.” Museums must not only makecollections safe but also make them safelyaccessible. “When a museum begins to thinkabout meaning, it begins to loosen up... Itbegins to see collections as food for thought.”Spalding suggested museums put works theyare not using into jointly-owned resourcecentres managed by a new breed of archivalcurators who will encourage loans to safepublic venues. “Europe has in storage theheritage of the whole world and hasresponsibility to the whole world.”Lending in future will be borrower-led, hepredicted. The ambition to increase publicunderstanding cannot be realised by museumsas they are organised now: too restrictive,specialised and boring, impeding the growth ofpublic interest. “The categories in whichmuseums are currently organised are barriersto the growth of public interest. These barrierswill be most quickly broken down by changingattitudes to lending.” Museums on the movewill be able to think creatively about meaningand to ask what the public really needs to begiven.“And with the bowels loosened up, museumsmight even begin to collect again.”

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PLENARY SESSIONS

Constipated museums must loosen upAfter-dinner speaker provides pill for digestion

The function of museums has changed from collecting evidence for research to 'collecting ourmeaningful past'. But most museums are still constipated with old things and old thoughts, saidindependent museum consultant Julian Spalding. “Movability is everything.”

“The objects in our museums can only be valued by the mental stimulation they provide”

DINNER IN THE FORMER DUTCH PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS, WHERE JULIAN SPALDING GAVE

HIS AFTER-DINNER SPEECH.

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MORE KNOWLEDGE and exchange ofinformation are required in order to

improve conditions in Europe for loaning andborrowing works of art. This was the majorconclusion five museum directors said theydrew from two days of debate andpresentations. “Information is the centralissue,” said Ronald de Leeuw, director of theRijksmuseum Amsterdam. “Knowing what ispossible and knowing what is being done in

terms of collection mobility is essential.”Dorota Folga Januszewska, director of theNational Museum in Warsaw, was morespecific, explaining that she was particularlyeager for access to knowledge about theapproach of individual museums and EUmember states to loaning art and heritageitems. “I dream of having access to for instancea database listing all loans of collections ofEuropean museums, or a website containinginformation on the indemnities of all EUmember states,” she said. “Also I would like toget practical information as to whether apotential partner has the proper level of publicrelations and meets other requirements. I needmore knowledge to support taking decisionswhether to loan or not to loan.”De Leeuw and Januszewska were in a five-member panel wrapping up the results of thetwo-day conference in The Hague, along withEliska Fucikova, director National Heritage inPrague, Rodolphe Rapetti, senior official ofMusées de France (Paris), and ChristinaHallman, director of the Swedish Museum ofNatural History.

Gain knowledge through lendingHallman indicated she interpreted theimportance of knowledge and informationslightly differently, saying it was her “absolutepriority to gain more knowledge about myobjects through lending”. Rapetti suggestedcreating a network of museum officials to shareknowledge and build relationships betweenprofessionals.Fucikova and Januszewska urged museum

officials in western Europe tolend an open ear to theexperiences of museums inEastern European countries.

“For us, an exhibition is necessary to expressthe pain of our country,” Fucikova said, addingthat in order to tell the story of the history ofthe Czech Republic, and the collection of hermuseum, she needs to collect pieces from allover the world, a sign of the deep impacthistory has had on the cultural heritage of hercountry.

Januszewska showed a picture of a bus that hadbeen rebuilt into a mobile museum in Poland in1947 to enable the population to see at leastsome of the country's national heritage.“During the Second World War, about 90percent of our collection was destroyed, andafter the war we had no building available toexhibit the remaining 10 per cent. To me, thisbus is a symbol of what took place in this partof Europe in that era – a legacy that is notalways taken into account by our fellow

institutions in Western Europe,” she explained.De Leeuw responded to Januszewska's remarksby saying he might reconsider certain ideas thatlegitimized the establishment of manymuseums in the 19th century, especially ideasrelating to the importance of national pride andidentity, which have been pushed aside over theyears in many Western European countries.They may deserve to be revitalized, De Leeuwsaid.

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PLENARY SESSIONS

Information can help collections move

Closing debate seeks ways to enhance collection mobility

In the final round-table discussion the debate became very practical: how can we enhancecollection mobility? The keyword was knowledge, and an exchange of information. “I dream ofhaving access to a database listing all loans of collections of European museums.”

“I need more knowledge to support taking decisions whether to loan or not to loan”

“It is my absolute priority to gain more knowledge about my objects through lending”

POLAND REBUILT A BUS INTO A MOBILE MUSEUM AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

FINAL ROUND-TABLE DISCUSSION.

>>>

Exhibitions of a human sizeMuseum officials discussed whether thevolume of museum collections was getting outof hand and whether collection mobility couldbe a good solution to deal with the inclinationof museum directors to forever seek to acquiremore art or other items – a phenomenondescribed as museum 'bulimia'. Januszewskasaid ever-growing collections may already havecontributed to giving audiences an overdose ofart. She urged her colleagues to make more

exhibitions of a “human size”.De Leeuw stated frankly that, as far as he isconcerned, there are already too manyexhibitions. He pointed to what he called theproblem of “a loan traffic jam”. “I think weneed to contain the number of exhibitions,” hesaid. However, Januszewska argued thatacquiring more art in itself is legitimate andnecessary, as it chimes with the task ofmuseums to preserve art and national heritagefor later generations.

Pushing politicians to actThe museum officials refrained from taking anactivist stance, but did send some messages tothe Dutch state secretary for education, cultureand science, Medy van der Laan, who can havean impact on European cultural policy underthe Dutch EU presidency.“She should put all her efforts into raising thecultural budget of the EU and encouragingpoliticians in the individual member states tofollow suit,” Christina Hallman said,responding to a question from moderator Frénkvan der Linden. Her colleagues, notsurprisingly, supported her call.Dorota Folga Januszewska said she hoped theEU presidency would also take steps towardsenabling museums to get wider access toknowledge and information about collectionmobility.Ronald de Leeuw focused on the Dutch context,urging the culture minister to raise the budget

for indemnities. The culture minister “is incharge of a stingy indemnity system. Sheshould raise indemnity in the Netherlands tothe level of the Anglo-Saxon countries.” Some of the directors said they hoped theconference would result in European museumsstopping competing for funds. Instead theyshould lobby in unison for EU resources forcommon projects, for instance initiativesenabling them to create an efficient network formutual exchange and loans.

Not a one-offThe Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage(ICN), which hosted the conference, promisedit would keep track of several working groupsthat participants agreed should be established.In her closing remarks, ICN director Henriëttevan der Linden also said the outcomes of theconference would be provided as 'input' for ameeting of the EU's cultural ministers, whichwas to take place on 16 November 2004.Van der Linden noted that collection mobilityhas already been embedded in an EU culturalprogramme for 2005-2006 and expressed

optimism, saying she saw good prospects forthe issue being followed up at the Europeanlevel. “This congress will not be a one-off.”

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PLENARY SESSIONS

“I think we need to contain the number of exhibitions, given the problem of a 'loan traffic jam' ”

CONSULTANT FRANK BERGEVOET OF THE NETHERLANDS

INSTITUTE FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE (ICN) AND ICN DIRECTOR

HENRIËTTE VAN DER LINDEN.

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AFTER EXPANDING AS MUCH as it couldwithin the Pompidou Centre's Paris walls,

the museum had to look outside them, saidPacquement. The museum often lends objectsand has four thousand works on permanentdeposit in other French museums, not tomention 'extra muros' exhibitions andexhibitions of its works in other countries. Butthis did not solve the problem of a permanentpresentation of the collection. Given thedifficulty of expanding elsewhere in Paris,premises were sought outside the city andMetz, east of the capital and near Luxembourg,Germany and Belgium, was selected. Metz is ina part of France where there are currently fewplaces to see modern and contemporary art,said Pacquement.A location behind Metz's striking railwaystation was found and an architecturalcompetition held which drew around 150candidates. The winner was Japan's ShigeruBan, who designed a pavilion covered with aspectacular undulating roof – made of wovensteel, plywood and a translucent membrane –inspired by a bamboo Chinese hat. Themuseum will have six thousand square metresof exhibition space and feature classical

exhibition rooms in raised boxes. Boxes willhouse an auditorium, a cinema, performingarts. Under them is space for largeinstallations.The Paris Pompidou, Pacquement explained,will not make permanent loans to Metz.Instead, parts of the collection will be shown in Metz before being returned to Paris andreplaced in Metz with a totally new group of

works.The Pompidou Centre's whole early-20th-to-21st-century period will be covered, as will allthe disciplines it features, from painting andsculpture to video, design and architecture.The Centre Pompidou-Metz will not be asatellite of its bigger Parisian brother but willhave autonomous directors with theirown programme.

INAUGURATED IN 1819, THE PRADO mergedwith Madrid's Trinity Museum in 1872 but did

not have the space to house the Trinity's morethan 1,700 paintings, let alone sculpture andother objects. The solution, Gutierrez said, was“to start an external deposits policy in severalplaces around the whole country”.There was little control over the deposits until1980, when it became clear that direct controlby the Prado was needed, and research on eachinstitution began. In the past two years,

following the proposal to set up a so-called“Dispersed Prado”, the foundations of an all-round deposit management have been laid.The Prado currently manages 3,420 works ondeposit. To control works in over four hundredinstitutions in more than a hundred differentplaces, a periodic in situ inspection isconducted. A report is compiled showing thelocation of the works, their state of preservation,condition of the facilities and the appropriate-ness of continuing the deposit or not.

The new Dispersed Prado Management Centre in Avila aims to streamline depositmanagement. It is also the hub of the“Travelling Prado”.Karina Marotta, head of the Prado's exhibitiondepartment, described how the Travelling Pradochimed with the museum's long-held wish tomake its deposit and dispersed collectionsknown throughout the Spanish provinces.Collections are to be shown in theme-basedexhibitions that will travel around Spain and tosome international museums. But Spain'smuseums are so diverse that the Prado needsdeeper knowledge of their situation, Marottasaid, before planning any long-term exhibitionschedule. It is therefore in the process ofsurveying all museums that could be suitablevenues.The Travelling Prado is currently running a pilotproject: an exhibition on Belgian-bornlandscape artist Carlos de Haes which istravelling around Spain. It plans to have twoannual exhibitions of its deposit and dispersedcollections touring the country at once. The Travelling Prado will be completed in 2006with the opening of the museum's extension inthe “Los Jeronimos” building in Madrid.

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PRESENTATIONS

Eastward expansionCentre Pompidou, Paris

The explosive growth of the Pompidou Centre's collection – from around 17,000 objects whenit opened in 1977 to 53,000 now – presented the museum with a major problem, said AlfredPacquement, director of the National Museum of Modern Art Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Dispersed and travellingPrado Museum, Madrid

DESIGN FOR THE NEW POMPIDOU CENTRE IN METZ.

The Prado has managed thousands of works of art in multiple locations since the 19thcentury, explained Andres Gutierrez, head of the Spanish museum's register department.

ANDRES GUTIERREZ. KARINA MAROTTA.

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VISSER AND RODRIGO discussed severalexamples of taking museum collections to

unorthodox locations, such as the Dutch LowerHouse and Schiphol Airport, and pointed to theadvantages and value of these operations. “Itgives collections new life, new perspectives,”they said. In the case of the Lower Houseproject, the speakers said this particularexample of collection mobility had the positive

side effect of making parliamentarians moreaware of the problem of collection preservation.This might lead to decisions being taken thatare favourable to museums.Exhibiting art at Schiphol Airport helpeddevelop new regimes of security, Visserexplained. It was obvious that security at such abusy place should be very tight. Experts foundways to create a safe environment for the

paintings that isindeed more securethan that in manymuseums and couldbe taken as anexample formuseums.The ICN officials saidtheir organization iscurrently exploringwhether 'extramural'exhibitions could beorganized in schools,nursing homes orother public buildings.

“We would like to know what can be done andwhat cannot,” Visser said. Accountability andthe call for transparency have been importantdrivers of the institution's policy to movecollections to places other than museums. “Ifwe want to keep preservation affordable, thepublic needs to be willing to fund it. It will doso more easily if it has more opportunities tosee collections.”Visser and Rodrigo said the Netherlandsaspires to “lead in collection management”.They said barriers should be broken downwithin Europe in order to increase collectionmobility. “Let's create a pan-European approachand, for instance, develop a certain level ofstandardized training for museum staff, so thatexperts could work at museums all overEurope. Maybe we can move from 'CollectieNederland' to 'Collection Europe'.”

In a short film shown at the conference, theNetherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage

(ICN) showed examples of collection mobility inthe Netherlands. In The Hague, thegovernmental capital of the Netherland, the

ICN exhibits several parts ofits collection in the LowerHouse of Parliament and inthe new Ministry ofEducation, Culture andScience. The ICN was also involved in

a landmark Dutch example of taking art frommuseums to unusual places: the initiative ofthe Rijksmuseum, home to the Night Watchand other Rembrandt masterpieces, to showpart of its collection of 17th-century Dutchpaintings at Schiphol Airport. “This one roomof eighteen by eight metres has attracted an

audience of 130,000 travellers in the first year,bringing it into the top ten of Dutch museumsin one stroke,” a curator of the Rijksmuseumsaid. “It was challenging in terms of securityand climate control. But we are happy we did it,because it has turned out to be verysuccessful.”

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PRESENTATIONS

Managing mobility across EuropeNetherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage (ICN), Amsterdam

ICN is working for the benefit of the 'Collectie Nederland', the entire collection of all publiccollections taken together. Antoinette Visser and Evert Rodrigo, head of ICN's consultancy andcollection departments respectively, suggested its approach be taken as an inspiration to managethe mobility of the entire European art collection.

Film: Museum Collections on the Move

Rembrandt at Schiphol Airport

“One room of eighteen by eight metres hasattracted an audience of 130,000 travellersin the first year, bringing it into the top ten

of Dutch museums”

EXHIBITING ART AT SCHIPHOL AIRPORT HELPED DEVELOP NEW REGIMES OF SECURITY.

THE EXHIBITION ROOM AT SCHIPHOL AIRPORT.

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CO-PRESENTATION BY ANTOINETTE VISSER AND EVERT RODRIGO.

KOVAC, DIRECTOR GENERAL of the culturalheritage section at the Ministry of Culture,

outlined the crucial factors for successfulcollection-mobility projects. They involvedcooperation across borders and betweendifferent institutions such as churches,municipalities or the business sector, andcreated new partnerships, which would helpdevelop further cross-border cooperation. The

key asset for further developing such projects,Kovac said, was the value and total volume ofSlovakia's collections – its museums andgalleries contain some 8.9 million items.Alexandra Homolova, arts collections directorat the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava,described two major art projects undertaken bythat gallery in the last two years. Both involvedcooperation crossing all types of borders –

regional, national, political and historical.One exhibition was on the history of Slovak fineart. It saw cooperation with institutions incountries like Austria, Hungary and the CzechRepublic, and much communication withchurches, where many items were to be found.The second project Homolova described wasan exhibition on Ladislav Mednyanszky, anauthor who lived from 1852 to 1919. In 2000,the Hungarian and Slovak national galleriesdecided to cooperate and present the author'sentire work. That meant joining forces inresearch, restoration and conservation. Theexhibition was held in Budapest, Bratislava andVienna and an accompanying book waspublished in four languages. In order for Slovakia to build on the positiveexperience it has gained from these twoprojects, three priorities have been set, saidKovac. Firstly, the government wants to provideeffective support to improve the infrastructureof museums and galleries. Secondly, it plans tocreate the appropriate institutional structuresfor museums and galleries: detecting gaps,decentralising and reorganising incoherentstructures. And thirdly, it is to improve fundingsupport for collection mobility, research,restoration, mobility of experts, projectplanning and preparation.

Building a close relationship based on trust is acondition for success when loaning works of artto partner institutions, according to FredaMatassa, head of collections management atthe Tate Gallery in London.

T HE TATE HAS ESTABLISHED partnershipswith five regional museums. “This was the

maximum for us and they needed to be securityproof and provide good access,” Matassa said.

Other requirements, she added, were “exciting,innovative ways to present our collection”, and“we wanted them to be as far away in thecountry as possible”. Tate's partners aremuseums located in Sheffield, Norfolk and theLakelands but not in Scotland or Wales, whichhave their own exchange programmes andnational museums.A major reason for entering partnerships was toincrease the exposure of the huge Tate

collection, which consists of more than 65,000works of art. “Over the past four years, we had26 exhibitions, with more than five hundredworks of art in the partner museums,” Matassaexplained. “Thousands of people outside ofLondon who might otherwise never have seenour collection visited these exhibitions.”She said the partnerships have also increasedthe prestige of the regional institutions, andhelped Tate to look at its own collection from a

different perspective. “The benefits of thepartnerships worked two ways: the regionalinstitutions gained new knowledge and ourcurators also gained knowledge of newcollections elsewhere in the country. Everybodybenefits.”Matassa believes the way in which Tate hasstruck its partnerships could be taken as anexample for other partnerships, for instancewith partners outside the UK. “There are no

reasons why we couldn't do this with museumsin Europe,” she said. Provided, of course, there issufficient funding and good management inplace at the partner institution.Partnerships are considered the most importantpart of Tate's exchange and loan activities, butTate also toured exhibitions in Europe and overthe past few years lent about a thousand works ofart to 250 to 300 exhibitions all around the world.

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PRESENTATIONS

Cross-border cooperationSlovak National Gallery, Bratislava

Martin Kovac of Slovakia's Ministry of Culture and Alexandra Homolova of the Slovak NationalGallery discussed what had been learned from recent successful art projects in Bratislava wherecollection mobility was key.

Trust is crucial to exchange programmesTate Gallery, London

A major reason for entering partnerships was to increase the exposure of the huge collection

SEVERAL GALLERIES WORKED TOGETHER TO PRESENT THE WORK

OF LADISLAV MEDNYANSZKY.

FREDA MATASSA DURING HER PRESENTATION IN THE ROYAL THEATRE.

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CHRISTINA HALLMAN, in an entertainingpresentation, said that making the nine

million or so items in her Museum of NaturalHistory in Stockholm accessible to the public –a goal she said is central to the museum'sphilosophy – is being accomplished in severalways. “We've opened our storage rooms to thepublic and we use the Internet a great deal. Wehave joined an international effort, for instance,to put all our items on the Internet, where they

can be found, free of charge, with a descriptionand a photograph. This is a tremendousdemocratic project and practically all museumsof natural history in the world participate.”

Loaning items to other museums and scientificinstitutions is another way to increase the

accessibility of the Swedishmuseum's collection. The Museumof Natural History, which is “themost visited” museum of Sweden, isvery pragmatic and lenient aboutloaning items. Lending more than22,000 items a year carries the riskof not getting everything back,Hallman said, and she showedsome striking examples of theconditions of some of the items sentback to Stockholm.

However, she stressed that loaning parts of itscollection adds tremendously to the museum'sassets. “Items come back with more knowledgeabout them, which gives more meaning to the

collection.” The museum loans a lot toscientists, who often make new discoveriesabout an item. “They may find, for instance,that a certain fossil thought to be originatingfrom a particular era should actually beclassified differently.”The Museum of Natural History does notcharge for loaning pieces of its collection, nordoes it bother about insurance. “Not everybodyknows how to deal with our items,” Hallmansaid when showing pictures of packages beingsent back with seemingly distorted museumitems. “But do we get everything back? Yes,eventually we do.”

THE SMB HAS AN agreement with Italianmuseums to fill gaps in each other's

collections, said Schauerte. So successful hasthis been that it forged a similar agreementwith Greece and is in discussions with Turkey.Private collectors are of great importance to themuseum. Much Impressionist andExpressionist art was lost during the Nazi era,

and the high cost of buying such art on themarket means the SMB is constantly indiscussions with collectors to plug this gap,said Schauerte.The art market is moreover so productive that itis impossible to buy everything, so the museumis depending more and more on privatecollectors to lend works. When it comes toasking other museums to lend pieces, theremust be some compensation involved for thelender - as in the case of a swap Germanmuseums did with a Taipei counterpart.

A MoMA exhibition was the most successfulmodern art exhibition ever held at the BerlinState Museums, said Schauerte. It brought inmillions of euros for the museum and in taxrevenues – not to mention for hotels andrestaurants. “This is a very important economic issue,” he commented.In some cases, the SMB lends works to third-

party institutions who then restore them andkeep them for a period of time. It has hadnumerous such cooperation projects with Japanand the USA.The Ethnological Museum sent an exhibitioncalled “Arte de Africa” to Rio de Janeiro, SaoPaolo and Brasilia, where it attracted more thanone million visitors. In 2005, the Museum of

Egyptian Art will send an exhibition to MexicoCity.The SMB operates the “federal programme” –exhibitions or bigger loan complexes, eitherproduced and complete or easy to realise, whichcan be shown by museums all over Germany.And it also offers complete collection complexesas branches of the national museums for theprice of the cost of production to selectedinstitutions.

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PRESENTATIONS

Borrower adds new knowledge to collection

Berlin State Museums

Busy borrowers and lenders

Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm

Accessibility is the keyword for the loan policy of the Swedish Natural History Museum, declaredits director Christina Hallman. Loaning out items is not only a good way to increase theiraccessibility, but also to generate new knowledge about them.

The Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (SMB) cooperates in a variety of ways with institutions both withinand beyond German borders. Deputy director general Günter Schauerte described some of them.

The museum loans a lot to scientists, who often make new discoveries about an item

The museum is depending more and more on private collectors to lend works

THE GERMAN ETHNOLOGICAL MUSEUM SENT

AN EXHIBITION ABOUT AFRICA TO BRAZIL.

CHRISTINA HALLMAN: “WE HAVE JOINED AN INTERNATIONAL EFFORT TO PUT ALL OUR ITEMS ON

THE INTERNET, WHERE THEY CAN BE FOUND WITH A DESCRIPTION AND A PHOTOGRAPH.”

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THE CONCEPT OF LONG-term loans tosupplement a museum's collection has

always been central to the MLN, Gross said. Afeasibility study in 1995 examined the reasonsand incentives needed for collection-sharing.What would make “richer” museums loan toless-rich institutions? Gross said she had littletruck with the suggestion by some that larger

museums had a duty to collaborate withsmaller peers. And smaller museums wereunlikely to contact their bigger colleaguesbecause they simply did not know them. “I really believe successful collaboration is asmuch about being selfish as it is about beinggenerous,” said Gross. “We needed to createthe climate that would encourage collaboration.

We needed incentives.”The MLN, which is funded by privatefoundations, created three kinds of grant –survey, travel and implementation grants – eachwith their own incentives. It has awarded 342

grants worth nearly six million dollars to 229institutions in 165 cities across the UnitedStates, in every state except North Dakota.Communication was essential. Museumconferences were visited, phone calls were madepromoting the idea of collection-sharing, andthe MLN worked with all parts of the museum:not just directors but curators and educators

too. “Curatorial ambassadors” were created.Also of great use were a website, publications inconjunction with exhibitions, a directorycontaining thousands of objects and anewsletter. “We are using all kinds ofcommunication to connect with a museumaudience,” said Gross.The change in attitudes attests to the MLN'ssuccess. Gross told of a curator of a large artmuseum who ten years ago dismissed the ideathat museums might lend their works as“ridiculous”. A year later that man had becomeone of the project's biggest supporters. And theMLN was recently described as the glue thatholds museums together.“It is important for museums to set a tone ofcollaboration and cooperation rather thancompetition and rivalry.”

THE RIJKSMUSEUM RAN a publicitycampaign informing the public that though

it was closed until 2008, it was still open. Its“hard core” of 17th-century highlights cancurrently be viewed in its south wing, which hasbeen cut off from the main building. The DutchGolden Age is presented in a number ofnotions or impressions, rather thanchronologically, De Lorm said.The Rijksmuseum has meanwhile teamed up

with a number of “guest museums” wheresome of its works are on long-term loan. Theboldest example is Schiphol, whose philosophyof being an “airport city” complete with churchand internet cafe has now been supplementedwith an art museum. “This is not a museumextra muros, it is a new museum,” said DeLorm. “It was for us the ultimate expression of

collection mobility daring.”At the same time, the Rijksmuseum wanted toaddress a broader Dutch public who would notusually visit it in Amsterdam. It has joinedforces with local museums to create satellitesin towns and cities from Assen to Maastricht –and even in Germany's Kleve and Belgium'sAntwerp – where it has placed groups ofobjects on long-term loan. Rijksmuseum workssuch as those now at Maastricht's

Bonnefantenmuseum are no second-rate orstorage collections, De Lorm said. And giventhe right to present the Rijksmuseum pieces inthe way they choose, guest museums havesometimes surprised the Amsterdam lender.This has enabled the Rijksmuseum to lookafresh at its collections, De Lorm said. “Ourimage of the collection was always attached to

the past. You see things being done to collectionsby the guest museums... which sometimesinspire us to look at the collections from adifferent angle.”

12

PRESENTATIONS

Museum Loan Network, Boston

A glue that bindsThe United States' Museum Loan Network(MLN), created in 1995, aims to make objects ofcultural heritage more accessible andcomprehensible to the public. It encouragescollecting institutions to share works overextended periods of time. Director Lori Grosstraced its history.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Renovation is a time for reinventionWith more than ninety percent of the Rijksmuseum closed for renovation for four years, theDutch museum set itself a goal of acquainting a wider public with its riches. “The Rijksmuseumhas the ambition to reinvent itself,” said head of exhibitions Jan Rudolph de Lorm.

“It is important for museums to set a tone of collaboration rather than competition”

“Guest museums do things to a collection which inspire us to look at it from a different angle”

THE MLN WEBSITE PROVIDES ACCESS TO MUSEUM

COLLECTIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY.

THE RIJKSMUSEUM IS OPEN DURING RENOVATION.

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SAROLTA SCHREDL of the Austrian FederalOffice for the Care of Monuments said that

for political reasons major museums areobliged to take part in great internationalexhibitions. Cultural exchange has an importantsocial function and can give insights intoformer political and cultural relations.Taja Vovk Cepic of the City Museum inLjubljana said culture has no borders and the

goal is to find and appreciate similarities. Cepicdiscussed the 2003 project 'Ljubljana inEuropean eyes', which asked foreigninhabitants what they liked and disliked inLjubljana compared to their home towns.Collection mobility could not have given suchan insight.EU citizens share a collective memory, valuesand failures. The study of cultural heritage is

key to national curricula and collection mobilitycan help create feelings of belonging andidentity.In the United Kingdom, the scope of museumshas been extended to different types of artefactsand oral history. Ways of remembering the pastother than museums have been developed,increasing the participation of young schoolchildren.

Participants considered local and regionalidentity versus an idea of European citizenship.'New' museums tend to stress their nationalidentities, whereas established 'Western'museums often reject regionalism because ofpolitical correctness. Museums should beplaces of debate. Politicians can help greatly toincrease cultural awareness.Michael Houlihan, general director of National

Museums & Galleries of Wales, who chaired thediscussion, summarized by saying museumsmust have the confidence to utilise theircultural richness in order to create a broadersense of belonging to the EU. Developingsmaller museums can contribute significantlyto EU cultural citizenship. Europeanprogrammes can be built on areas of sharedcultural heritage.

MANY COLLECTIONS in Europe arealready European, declared European

Museum Forum chair Wim van der Weiden. If objects are not literally stolen from anothercountry, they bear the influences ofcraftsmanship, skills and taste from otherregions and countries. ICN museum consultant Frank Bergevoetexplained how the ‘Collectie Nederland’ (theNetherlands Collection) was developed as atheoretical instrument used by the Dutch

government to gain insight into thecomposition and value of the nationalcollection. It has made thinking on museumand collection policy more coherent, enhancedcooperation and knowledge of other museums’collections and improved coordination ofacquisition policies.

Vienna museum developer Dieter Bogner saidhis efforts to create a similar exhibition conceptfor the German town of Kassel encounteredstrong mental and emotional barriers from thecultural institutions involved. Finnish professor of museology Janne Vilkunatold how a concept of the Great FinnishMuseum eagerly embraced by Finland’seducation ministry was welcomed less warmlyby museums, which tend to look inwards.Vilkuna advised all 25 European countries tocreate their own great national collections,which together would form the “UnitedEuropean Collection”.To debate the issue, participants formed twogroups – the first of museum directors and

advisors, the second of governmental workersand political advisors. The outcomes contrastedhugely. Group two thought the EuropeanCollection concept desirable and feasible anddeveloped some practical ideas on itsimplementation; group one strongly opposedthe concept although nobody was against

cooperation between museums on a Europeanlevel or the development of politicalinstruments to assist such cooperation. Despite their differences, participants united toconclude that some member states havestrikingly similar nationwide approaches tomuseum collections policy; that Europeancollection management and cooperation is anoption to explore; that cooperation on aEuropean level has added value for museumprofessionals, citizens and communities; andthat there is a need to demolish mental barriersand build trust on a European level.

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DEBATING SESSIONS The policies of collection mobility

Debate 1 Museum collections and European citizenship

Museums bridge cultures across EuropeThe European Council and European Commission see collection mobility in terms of fosteringEuropean citizenship through cultural exchange and cooperation. Yet museums are primarilyinterested in staging attractive exhibitions to retain their existing public and lure new visitors. The debate found museums can contribute to EU citizenship by building a sense of belonging.“Museums are bridges to different cultures and help us define who we are.”

Debate 2 ‘Collectie Nederland’ – Collection Europe

European collection management isan option to exploreDebate 2 considered whether the “Collectie Nederland” concept was applicable Europe wideand concluded that European collection management and cooperation is feasible in the longterm, provided European diversity is taken into account.

New museums tend to stress their national identities

Many collections in Europe are already European

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PAUL HUVENNE welcomed theRijksmuseum collection of mannerist

paintings from the Utrecht and Haarlemschools into his Royal Museum for Fine Arts inAntwerp. The borrowed works enrich the storyhe wants to tell – Flemish painting in the 16thcentury – and illustrate how moving a museumcollection presents both collections in a newlight to a new audience.The Rijksmuseum calls the displays of its

collection in museums elsewhere in theNetherlands, Belgium and Germany 'guestpresentations'. The Amsterdam museumsought combinations that would work in thelocal situation while opening a new perspective

on the richness of its collection. Michael Tooby of the National Museums &

Galleries of Wales and formerproject manager of Tate St Ivesrecalled the upheaval in the localcommunity when London's TateMuseum created a branch museumin St Ives. Building a relationshipwith the community is of the utmostimportance for the successfuldevelopment of a satellite museum.Tate St Ives has played a significantrole in promoting the small town asan art centre and tourist attraction,but the arrival of the Londonmuseum culture inevitably changedthe local context.

Partnership with local authorities is essentialwhen a large national institution creates abranch venue elsewhere in response to publicappeal, noted Nils Jensen of the NationalMuseum of Denmark.

Partnership is the watchword. It puts museumson an equal footing and creates a better basisfor dialogue. But how much is a localcommunity willing to pay to attract animportant museum collection, and can thereceiving institution offer anything to balancethe deal? Personal contacts and networks are key, butkeeping a network alive and productive is hardwork and must be someone's job. Europe couldgive more support here, and needs to addressthe major practical obstacles, such as insurancecosts, copyrights and other regulations thatconflict with the ideal of a free exchange ofideas and universal access to culture in theEuropean community.

PARTICIPANTS DISCUSSED newdevelopments in showing museum objects

outside the protective walls of the museum.The museum extra muros is one of the moreadventurous ways of increasing collectionmobility. The debate centred on whether thisconcept should be further developed, and thebest conditions for doing so.Petra Timmer, freelance curator and member ofthe ICN conference team, introduced thedebate with some twelve projects showing thatthe methods and aims of extra murospresentations can vary widely. Examples rangedfrom 17th-century paintings in the shelteredCivic Guard Gallery of the AmsterdamHistorical Museum and the often-mentionedRijksmuseum presentation at Schiphol airport,to modern art in a social housing art project(the Strip in Vlaardingen in cooperation withMuseum Boijmans Van Beuningen,Rotterdam). Most participants had their ownexperiences of extra mural presentations.Commercial objectives for creating an extramuros presentation were generally rejected.

Cees van 't Veen (Fries Museum/Princessehof)said this was his main criticism of thepresentation at Schiphol, whose museum shopentrance he dislikes. Presentations with freeaccess for a large and broad public were

favoured, and financial conditions and security/preservation demands regarded as vital.

Everybody agreed with Lori Gross (MuseumLoan Network, USA) that the relevance of thiskind of presentation to both its new context andthe expected public were a primary conditionfor its success. Andrew Burnett (British

Museum) stressed that the expectations anddemands of both lender and host should beequally met.

The museum extra muros increasesthe visibility of museum collections,participants concluded. A wider anddifferent public can be reached, andthe objects will contribute to thecultural value of their surroundings.Meanwhile, a relevant context willenhance the meaning of an object orcollection. Participants were optimisticthat the museum extra muros couldhelp foster EU citizens' identity.

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DEBATING SESSIONS Inspirations and best practices

Debate 3 Museum satellites/decentralization

Partnership puts museums on an equal footingPartnership, personal contacts and vibrant networks are crucial to stimulate the exchange ofmuseum collections, Debate 3 found. European authorities must support such networks and tacklethe practical obstacles to the ideal of cultural exchange.

Debate 4 The museum extra muros

Extra mural presentations increase visibilityMuseums are like fortresses: collections are either exhibited or stored in specially-designed environments. Preservation, safetyand presentation are key. But most museums are visited by just a small part of the population. Perhaps we should bring themountain to Mohammed instead of Mohammed to the mountain.

A relationship with the community is of importance for the development of a satellite museum

A relevant context will enhance the meaning of an object or collection

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PARTICIPANTS ACCEPTED all therecommendations of a report produced at

the European Commission's request by theReunion des Musées Nationaux in France andthe State Museums of Berlin. They agreed thatstate indemnity should apply not only whenworks of art are on loan for special exhibitions,but also to long-term loans.The group recommended a common method ofassessing the insurance value of objects andthe monitoring of movements of objects andinsurance values. It agreed the transparency ofinsurance systems and practices is essential, asis the standardization of lending requestprocedures. On these issues, a permanentworking group recognised by the Commissionwould be welcome. Participants hopedEuropean states and the EU budget could funda European insurance system. Insuring loaned cultural artefacts is a powerfulencouragement to their circulation. This couldbe combined with agreements not to insuresome or all risks, as Rijksmuseum managingdirector Jan Willem Sieburgh suggested (seebox). These agreements could be madebetween museums if the facilities and securitymeasures offered by the borrower inspiredsufficient confidence in the lending institution.A unilateral renunciation of insurance by thelending institution is always possible.Long-term exchange policies between two ormore museums are useful, the debate found.Depending on cultural, scientific and practicalcircumstances, long-term loans can usefullyfocus on isolated objects or parts of thecollections. In this respect, museums ofethnology and natural sciences present clearopportunities for cooperation and collectionmobility that have not yet been sufficientlyinvestigated. The group identified the particularcase of building work on museums which mayoccasion the exceptional moving of major partsof the collections. Loans for exhibitions or long-term loans must abide by a common codeof ethics, Debate 5 emphasised.

“One of the first lessons of economics I learnedwas about the difference between objectivevalue and subjective value,” beganRijksmuseum managing director Jan WillemSieburgh. A glass of water offered to a personin a brook is worth far less than one in thedesert. “Subjective value is clearly defined byneed and scarcity. The penultimate form ofscarcity is uniqueness. And that is where worksof art are different from any other valuablegood. So why do we act as if an object can bereplaced if there is no replacement? Why do weinsure? The more unique a piece of art is themore irreplaceable it is.”As soon as an important work of art becomesthe property of the state, city, or province, we

should stop thinking in terms of market value,Sieburgh suggested. The state and museumsretain great works because of their culturalheritage value, their symbolic, historical,monumental, artistic, tourist or emotional value– not because of market or financial value.The alternative to insurance is simple, saidSieburgh: “Non-insurance of course is the bestalternative, not the only alternative.”

The Netherlands has a non-insuranceagreement (known as the frameworkagreement) on loan traffic between the stateand municipalities which aims to encourageand remove obstacles to loan traffic. Theborrower is not liable for the complete loss ofan object and is not required to take outinsurance for a loaned item.Sieburgh noted that the costs of exhibitions arerising, largely due to insurance costs based onthe increasing market value of works of art. Thebest way of lowering insurance costs is toeliminate them, he ventured. Sieburghrecommended that reciprocal non-insuranceagreements between all member states beimplemented where possible, and full state

indemnity provided when non-insurance is notpossible. The focus should be not on marketvalue but “on the values we really care about”and the money currently spent on insuranceshould be redirected toward better security andbudgets for acquisitions.“We should dare to challenge our ownconventions,” Sieburgh concluded. “Let'schange the rules.”

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DEBATING SESSIONS Practical problems and their solutions

Debate 5 State indemnity and non-insurance agreements

Towards a European insurance systemA pragmatic combination of three systems – private insurance, state guarantees andnon-insurance – facilitates the circulation of artefacts, Debate 5 found. Participants calledfor a European scheme of insurance and expressed the wish that European stateswithout systems of state guarantees might be able to establish these in the short term.

“The best way to reduce insurancecosts is to eliminate them”

“Why do we act as if an object can be replaced if there is no replacement? Why do we insure?”

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DAVID MCNEFF (loans manager at theNational Portrait Gallery in London)

pleaded strongly for further development ofcommonly-agreed guidelines that can be usedas a framework for drawing up standard forms.As an example of such practical documents, hementioned the UKRG Standard FacilitiesReport.Loans are always built on a relationship of trustbetween lender and borrower, but forinternational long-term loans, practicalproblems must be overcome and common

guidelines or standards developed, said IsabelCordeiro (vice-director of the PortugeseInstitute of Museums). Margriet de Jong (staff member InternationalAffairs, Netherlands Museum Association)explained the loan agreements for a fixed termand for the long term as developed by her

organisation. Several Dutch museums havealready used these as a source for the renewalof their own loan agreements. Participants agreed loan documents must bestandardised – saving time and so boostingefficiency – and generally acknowledged theBizot general principles on the administrationof loans and exchange of work of art betweeninstitutions as the common guideline. Aresearch group should be set up to inventarisethe procedures and forms already available, inorder to establish European guidelines.

Some documents used in lending are moresuited to standardisation than others. The LoanContract Form, for instance, is tricky because oflegal differences between countries. Moreconducive to standardisation are documentslike the Facility Report (which includes disasterplanning), the Condition Report (containing

handling advice) or the Conservation Report(which includes risk assessment). The research group could operate under theumbrella of the Network of European MuseumOrganizations (NEMO) and led by TheNetherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage(ICN). A call for voluntary members can bemade through national museum associations,but the Bizot group must be represented. EUfunding should be sought for the researchgroup, and if it is granted, results will bereported back to the European Commission.

This conference report is a publication of the

Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage

(ICN):

P.O. Box 76.709

1070 KA Amsterdam

T +31 20 3054 618

F +31 20 3054 633

move@icn.nl

Conference organisation

Frank Bergevoet

Maite García Lechner

Petra Timmer

Simone Vermaat

Chris Buijs

Astrid Weij

Conference report

Text and layout: Congreskrant.nl

Photography: Ad Hupkes, Scheveningen

DEBATING SESSIONS Practical problems and their solutions

Debate 6 Collection mobility – The back office

Standardised loan documents can boost efficiencyA European conference held in Naples in 2003 found a clear need for standardisation ofpractical documents on the lending of objects or collections between European museums.Debate 6 focused on how high aspirations regarding loans and mobility can be realised. “We have to establish a new framework to simplify practice.”

Some documents used in lending are more suited to standardisation than others

Colophon

RECEPTION AT THE MUSEUM BEELDEN AAN ZEE IN SCHEVENINGEN.

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