The Activist Museum?

At first glance, activism in museums sounds like just the agency we need to have an impact. But I wonder if this notion actually leads us down a rather exclusive path.

Agonistic Interpretation and Decolonising Museums

Decolonisation is so much more than provenance research and potential restitution. Lal Davies' powerful intervention makes me want to push the boundaries of agonistic spaces.

Museum Spaces and the Visitor Experience

I've spent the last month in conversation with the team about our spaces at the National Waterfront Museum. It's the first step in redeveloping them.

Tschüss Deutschland, Sutmae Cymru

Starting in February, I will take on a new role as Head of the National Waterfront Museum in Wales. That's a good time also to reflect on five years in adult education, in a small town in my Swabian Heimat.

Museum: Place and Story

Historic buildings can be a real asset in telling local history - something worth remembering when they are adapted for museum use, as I argue in this review of the Hällisch-Fränkisches Museum in Schwäbisch Hall, Germany.

Online Storytelling

A recent piece on The Guardian website is worth looking at for ideas on digital storytelling and exhibitions on museum websites.

But is it Learning?

New formats like PechaKucha or Third Space are often met with suspicion. In this post I explore why that may be so, and why I think differently.

Mise en scène of Exhibitions

Good interpretation is storytelling. And good storytelling through an exhibition requires mise en scène. The National Maritime Museum of Korea provides a good example.

Games and Interpretation

I have recently read the book Das Neue Lernen heißt Verstehen (New Learning means Understanding) by German neurobiologist Henning Beck. He develops the idea of understanding as the goal of learning from the study of how our brains work. Scholars like David Perkins [1] have developed a similar concept of understanding as performance from studying … Continue reading Games and Interpretation →