Silence is not neutral, and objectivity does not exist

Last month, I presented [1] a paper at the Re-Imagining Challenging History conference in Cardiff, Wales. It combined and developed two of the key things I’ve written about a lot on this blog recently: that museums’ silence is never neutral, and that objectivity, as an expression of ‘truth’ (including a ‘material’ truth), does not exist. … Continue reading Silence is not neutral, and objectivity does not exist →

Heritage Interpretation for the Future of Europe

After last month’s Interpret Europe conference on the topic, I have been pondering what the role of heritage interpretation is for the Future of Europe. This is not a review of the conference [1]; however, I want to share some of the questions and thoughts I’ve had. What future? The joke that Prof Dr … Continue reading Heritage Interpretation for the Future of Europe →

Thinking about Refugees, Heritage and Integration

Next month, I will represent ICOMOS ICIP at the Voices of Culture Structured Dialogue on the Inclusion of Refugees and Migrants through Culture. In preparation, the organisers have posed three questions [1] for each participant network to respond to. As I collated the response from ICIP’s network, it’s been really interesting to revisit the … Continue reading Thinking about Refugees, Heritage and Integration →

Not Love, Not Passion: Interpretation as a job

There is a tradition within interpretation that identifies having ‘love’ [1] or ‘passion’ [2] for heritage and/or for people as a desirable, if not necessary quality in interpreters. This goes beyond just a lively, engaging delivery. It is to genuinely ‘love the thing you interpret’, as well as the people who visit it [3]. For … Continue reading Not Love, Not Passion: Interpretation as a job →

The Theatricality of Heritage: Thoughts on Visiting Titanic Belfast

A few days ago I had the chance to visit Titanic Belfast. It was a good opportunity to think about the theatricality in our presentations of heritage, or the production of an experience, especially after my last post and my post of a year ago about re-visiting Stonehenge. Titanic Belfast was definitely a site … Continue reading The Theatricality of Heritage: Thoughts on Visiting Titanic Belfast →

Let’s give heritage some space

A project that I’m working on at the moment had me think again about how we conceptualise ‘heritage’, and how our particular concepts and approaches are fermented by funding processes and dare I say the industry that has evolved around them. The project is what we in the sector in the UK call ‘a … Continue reading Let’s give heritage some space →

The Lampedusa Cross and the Question of Allowing Relevance

Recently, I heard Emma Jane Kirby’s piece on the British Museum’s acquisition of The Lampedusa Cross in October 2015. It highlighted some of the frustrations I have with current approaches to museums and their practice, certainly in the UK, and I’d like to ponder that a bit further in this post. Just a quick … Continue reading The Lampedusa Cross and the Question of Allowing Relevance →

Interpretation and Integration: Where ‘education’ may become an obstacle.

The main research question for my PhD was whether or not interpretation delivered the public benefits of heritage as asserted in relevant legislation and policy. A key benefit is mutual understanding/social integration and cohesion, and sometimes also more directly, peace [1]. I’ve been thinking a lot about this particular benefit over recent months. In … Continue reading Interpretation and Integration: Where ‘education’ may become an obstacle. →

Myths and Interpretation

Revising my PhD thesis over these past weeks got me thinking again about myth and interpretation. It actually started with re-reading the fact that at both my study sites, there was an element of ‘myth busting’ in the interpreters’ motivation – that is, busting the myths of the public. There are a few things about … Continue reading Myths and Interpretation →

The uses of audience research

A few weeks ago, I attended a conference on ‘Understanding Museums’ in Germany. It was about researching museums and researching audiences, with a particular focus on new and innovative methods [1]. In the final plenary session, the organiser for the museum research aspect of the conference expressed his hope that the focus on researching audiences … Continue reading The uses of audience research →