Imagining Museums in 2030

A local project invited me to write an article on culture for an imaginary newspaper in 2030. It got me thinking about what I hope (German) museums will be like then [1]. Here are my thoughts. In 2030, as soon as I step through the doors of a museum, it is clear that this … Continue reading Imagining Museums in 2030 →

Agonistic (Third) Spaces: Now more important than ever

Last week I came out of my personal, Corona pandemic-induced paralysis by presenting a paper at the Interpret Europe web conference. My topic was agonistic (third) spaces, and in preparing the presentation, I felt that creating such spaces is now more important than perhaps ever before. I have already blogged about agonistic interpretation and … Continue reading Agonistic (Third) Spaces: Now more important than ever →

German Museums after Hanau

About 18 months ago, I wondered whether #MeTwo was going to be German museums’ Ferguson moment. It wasn’t. There was no initiative similar to #museumsrespondtoferguson, no MASS action project, no discussions at any of the museum conferences I have attended since. Just over a week ago, nine Germans with what we in the German … Continue reading German Museums after Hanau →

‘Working professionally’: Thoughts on new museum guidelines

The German Museum Association has recently published guidelines on ‘Working Professionally in a Museum’. The guidelines are intended as a snapshot of current roles in museums. What the guidelines also reveal, however, is a continued imbalance between the focus on collections and museums as institutions for the public. On one hand, the guidelines acknowledge … Continue reading ‘Working professionally’: Thoughts on new museum guidelines →

Back to Basics, Or: A few Do’s, and mostly Don’t’s, of Guiding Tours

Since my return to Germany, I have been on many guided tours that have truly made me want to weep with frustration. I’ve had guides who held lengthy monologues; guides who asked not a single question to get to know their audience; guides who talked about things that were nowhere in sight. I could … Continue reading Back to Basics, Or: A few Do’s, and mostly Don’t’s, of Guiding Tours →

Aesthetic Value is not an Excuse, Or: Why (Art) Museums Need Democracy

A couple of weeks ago, DIE ZEIT published an article on democracy in art museums. The article accepts that a museum is ‘a political space’ [1] and that there is validity in arguments calling for greater democracy and diversity therein [2]. However, the article asserts, these developments ‘almost inevitably endanger the freedom of art’ [3] … Continue reading Aesthetic Value is not an Excuse, Or: Why (Art) Museums Need Democracy →

Our Shared Heritage?

I have recently read ‘[Eure] Heimat ist [unser] Albtraum’, a book on the concept of Heimat, or heritage [1] with essays by writers with ‘a migrant background’, as the classification in German has it. It raises many points that we in the heritage and culture sectors must engage with even more than we have done … Continue reading Our Shared Heritage? →

Good-bye heritage? Reflections on changing sectors

Next week, I will take up a new post and in doing so, I will formally be leaving the heritage and museum sectors that I have worked in over the past years. From now on, I will be working in the further education and socio-cultural sector. I will admit that when I first read … Continue reading Good-bye heritage? Reflections on changing sectors →

A Culture War? Observations on the Situation in Oldenburg

I have never been in a situation before where my qualifications and experience as a museum and heritage professional were publicly denied, my work dismissed and my character vilified. I find myself in such a situation now. I have no interest in spending time on defending myself against newspaper articles that do not even pretend … Continue reading A Culture War? Observations on the Situation in Oldenburg →

A Manifesto Against Museums as ‘high culture’

The Promised Land project that I have been writing about on this blog on several occasions is nearing its conclusion. We are now finalising the ebook that captures our experiences, and for this, I have recently written a statement from the point of view of us as the German museum partner in the project. The … Continue reading A Manifesto Against Museums as ‘high culture’ →