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| Christian Lachel, BRC Imagination Arts (Photo: Maria Vlachou) |
It seems to me that the three
words that were mostly heard at the 2015 MuseumNext conference were: emotion,
stories, engagement. Words that clearly mark the change that has been taking
place in museum attitude, aiming to establish, with the help of their
collections, a better, more relevant and meaningful relationship with people -
more people, different people, common people.
A presentation that was wholly dedicated to this subject was “Emotionalizing the Museum”, by Christian Lachel of BRC Imagination Arts. “Does the experience transform your guests and compel them to share it with others?”, Christian asked. And this is probably the right question to ask. Although the transformation we all so much desire to make happen might take time to be consciously acknowledged by individuals (if it is acknowledged at all), the compelling wish to share with others is a more immediate indicator of the occurance of a meaningful encounter. And the starting point is people’s heart, acoording to Christian. The process of creating an engaging experience is one from the inside to the outside and not vice-versa. One that aims to involve people through a meaningful story, looking then for the right tools and creating the appropriate physical environment for the encounter.
A presentation that was wholly dedicated to this subject was “Emotionalizing the Museum”, by Christian Lachel of BRC Imagination Arts. “Does the experience transform your guests and compel them to share it with others?”, Christian asked. And this is probably the right question to ask. Although the transformation we all so much desire to make happen might take time to be consciously acknowledged by individuals (if it is acknowledged at all), the compelling wish to share with others is a more immediate indicator of the occurance of a meaningful encounter. And the starting point is people’s heart, acoording to Christian. The process of creating an engaging experience is one from the inside to the outside and not vice-versa. One that aims to involve people through a meaningful story, looking then for the right tools and creating the appropriate physical environment for the encounter.
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| Christian Lachel, BRC Imagination Arts (Photo: Maria Vlachou) |
Another issue that repeatedly
came up was that of digital vs physical. At the same time that museums are
racing to embrace the new digital tools and platforms in order to create more
engaging and meaningful experiences, they often seem to take a step back,
re-evaluating the advantages and strengths of the physical encounter.
An inspiring project of the
Brooklyn Museum, the Ask Mobile App, has gone through these stages of thinking
and evaluating (which are openly shared on the museum’s blog – a great example of professionalism, generosity, transparency and
accountability that more museums should have the courage to implement). As
Shelley Bernstein explained to us, at a time when the Brooklyn Museum is
re-evaluating a number of points of contact with its visitors (its austere
foyer, its confusing reception area, the lack of seating), it also wishes to
improve their experience allowing them to ask on-site and in real time any
question they might have regarding the objects or the exhibitions in general.
The project is still being tested in its details and will be launched in June.
At an earlier stage, the museum had members of its staff on floor and
discovered that visitors loved engaging in conversation with them. Such a large
museum would need a lot of people, though, to be able to cover all areas. In
order to optimize the idea of the direct and in-real-time contact with a member
of staff, they decided to turn to technology. A team of six people will be
available to answer visitor questions sent through their mobiles using the Ask
Mobile App. Evaluation so far has shown that people still consider this contact
to be personal and the museum is confident that this will be one more way of
fulfilling their mission of being “a dynamic and responsive museum that fosters
dialogue and sparks conversations”. For one thing, the museum has discovered
that people seem to take more time looking at the objects... looking for
questions to ask!
Is there anything more
personal and physical, though (and funny and inspiring), than being taken to a
museum tour tailored to your needs and interests by Museum Hack? “I hate museums!”,
this is how Nick Gray started his presentation. And he did hate them... once.
Now all he wants is to share his passion for them with people who still hate
them, people who feel that museums are not for them. A colleague from the
Museum of Architecture and Design in Oslo called Museum Hack “our natural allies”.
And aren’t they indeed! Nick’s favourite object at the Metropolitan Museum is
the fragment of an Egyptian queen’s face. This is what he had to say about it
(quoting from memory): “If these are the lips, can you imagine the rest? How
beautiful she must have been? And although we don’t know who she is and which
tools were used to make her, we know she’s made of yellow jasper. Yellow jasper
was so-so expensive, that the only other object at the Met made of it is this
tiny. In a scale of hardness from 1 to 10, where diamond is 10 and marble is 3,
jasper is a solid 6. It makes marble feel like rubber...”. Aren’t museums
f***ing awesome?!
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| Shelley Bernstein, Brooklyn Museum (Photo: Maria Vlachou) |
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| Nick Grey, Museum Hack (Photos: Maria Vlachou) |
My visit to the recently
renovated International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum somehow put all these thoughts and ideas to the test. It’s a museum that
greatly combines the physical and the digital, using technology in order to
enhance the meaning of the objects, to share powerful stories and to engage the
visitor – both emotionally and intellectually – in the discussion of quite
sensitive universal questions. The three main chapters of the story are
“Defending Human Dignity”, “Restoring Family Links” and “Reducing Natural
Risks” and each space/chapter was created by a different architect, proposing
quite distinct environments. One of the most touching moments for me was in the
room that exhibits the gifts offered by prisoners of different conflicts to the
Red Cross delegate in charge of their case. It made me think of the beauty,
sensitivity, creativity and humanity that can still emanate after the horror of
barbarity, brief glimpses of a renewed hope. I must say, though, that the most
powerful moment was touching the extended hand of a witness on a screen, a
gesture that would trigger their testimony. A brilliant conception, linking the
physical to the digital and creating a profoundly emotional and memorable
experience.
I must say that in almost
every museum visit, presentation and discussion during the conference, there
was an underlying issue for me: can museums fulfill their social and
educational role, can they be relevant and engaging, if they don’t also clearly
assume their political role? Right on the first day, Gail Dexter Lord
introduced the concept of soft power as “the ability to influence behaviour
through persuasion, attraction or agenda setting”. How can museums exercise
this power? "We cannot take sides", colleagues often exclaim. Oh, but we do... Sometimes with our silence or by pretending to be neutral; more often with the objects we choose to show or not to show, the stories we choose to tell or not to tell.
More than taking sides, though, assuming our political role is to assume that there is actually more than one side to every story and to allow for space for these views to become known, to be discussed, so that citizens may get better informed, see their own views being challenged, meet and listen to the ‘other’, develop empathy and understanding, take a stand. Museums are not islands and, as Tony Butler (Derby Museums / The Happy Museum Project) said, “What’s happening out there is as important as what’s happening inside”. Isn’t it urgent, and doesn’t it make sense, that museums in the 21st assume their role in promoting democracy?
More than taking sides, though, assuming our political role is to assume that there is actually more than one side to every story and to allow for space for these views to become known, to be discussed, so that citizens may get better informed, see their own views being challenged, meet and listen to the ‘other’, develop empathy and understanding, take a stand. Museums are not islands and, as Tony Butler (Derby Museums / The Happy Museum Project) said, “What’s happening out there is as important as what’s happening inside”. Isn’t it urgent, and doesn’t it make sense, that museums in the 21st assume their role in promoting democracy?
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| Gail Dexter Lord (Photo: Maria Vlachou) |
What have we got to do with this?
What have we got to do with this? (ii)
'Just' a museum, 'just' an artist?
The long distance between California and Jerusalem
The educational dimension
Silent and apolitical?
Links that might be of interest:
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