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| Field Museum, Chicago (photographer unknown) |
Last December, there was an
intense debate among museum professionals in the US regarding the role of
museums in the aftermath of the death of black people in police hands in
Ferguson, Cleveland and New York. Our American colleagues felt strongly that museums
are part of the cultural and educational network that works towards greater
cultural and racial understanding. Did they refer specifically to museums with
African American collections? Or museums situated in the communities where the
events took place? No, they didn’t. “As mediators
of culture, all museums should commit to identifying
how they can connect to relevant contemporary issues irrespective of
collection, focus, or mission.” (read the full statement)
At the time, I agreed with
the most cautious position adopted by Rebecca Herz. I find it risky to
encourage museums (any institution, really) to act irrespective of their mission,
but, as Rebecca put it: “I personally believe that museums
should align all actions with their mission, which should relate to collection
or focus. And I think that a connection can be found between any collection and
contemporary life, but that these connections need to be carefully considered
and developed.” (read the post)
As I was following this very
interesting discussion taking place on the other side of the Atlantic, on 15
December, an Iranian refugee stormed a Sydney café taking hostages. Sixteen
hours later, the police intervened, killing the attacker as well as two of the
hostages. Fearing reprisals against members of the Muslim community wearing islamic
dress, the people of Sydney offered to ride on public transport with their
Muslim neighbours who felt unsafe. I found out about this early in the morning
of 16 December, through the Facebook page of the Immigration Museum. The museum
shared the article of the Guardian and joined the rest of the Australians,
taking a stand against prejudice and violence.
Taking a stand is not
something simple, especially for an institution (as opposed to an individual).
It’s not a decision that can or should be taken hastily, a response to the
moment. It must be a “natural” move, the result of a conscious, structured and
sustained policy of civic / political intervention, in accordance to the
institution’s mission. It is also a great responsibility.
Last month, three young
Muslims were murdered in their home in North Carolina, USA. At a time where
newspapers were reporting that the motives of the attacker were still not
known, the Arab American National Museum shared its heartbreak on its Facebook
page regarding the loss of the three young people, thus implying that this was
a racial crime. I thought it was too soon, I thought they were jumping into
assumptions and that this was neither responsible nor helpful. I asked the
museum if it made a statement for every murder in the US. Other people (not the
museum) answered that the victims were Arab Americans, so the museum was right
to react. I rephrased and asked if the museum made a statement for every Arab
American murdered, if it assumed that the murder of every Arab American was a
racial crime. I think that museums shouldn’t be jumping neither into
conclusions nor into statements.
More recently, in Portugal,
the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga published a statement regarding the
destruction of archaeological treasures of the Mosul Museum by ISIS militants.
It was a good surprise, as this museum, like most Portuguese museums, are not
used to taking a stand publicly. One might argue that this was not exactly a
political statement and that it was a rather “safe” matter for the museum; it
might be. It also came at a time when specialists were still trying to figure
out if the objects destroyed were the originals or copies; so it rather looked
like a hasty reaction. I am more interested, though, in understanding if this
was a one-time reaction or the first act in a concrete, long-term policy of
acknowledging and assuming the museum’s civil-political-cultural
responsibilities. It would be great if it was the latter, time will tell.
Still on this blog
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