Integration goes both ways: Current practice in Germany

I am really intrigued by how German cultural institutions, including museums, appear to be contributing to the efforts of integrating refugees into German civic society. This announcement of an upcoming exhibition about 14 projects in Berlin notes what seems to be a conscious shift away from narrowly focusing on refugees’ stories toward integrative projects that … Continue reading Integration goes both ways: Current practice in Germany →

Interpretation is Information

Professionally speaking, I, like many interpreters, was raised on Freeman Tilden’s second principle of interpretation. It reads: ‘Information, as such, is not Interpretation. Interpretation is revelation based upon information. But they are entirely different things. However, all interpretation includes information.’ [1] So when I started my field research, having conversations with visitors at sites in … Continue reading Interpretation is Information →

Interpretation and the Public Benefits of Heritage in Policy

When I started working in a local authority heritage context [1], I was struck by how much heritage was specifically expected to deliver rather concrete outcomes: pride, identity, creativity, social cohesion, mutual understanding, to name but a few (yes, a few of the many). This was set out in project plans, and we were also … Continue reading Interpretation and the Public Benefits of Heritage in Policy →

How can we properly honour individual and communal values?

Yesterday, John Jameson [1] and I hosted a roundtable discussion at the conference of the European Association of Archaeologists. We wanted to explore with participants what the challenges are of moving away from expert values and expert management, toward a recognition of individual and community values. Community engagement and community archaeology have been around for … Continue reading How can we properly honour individual and communal values? →

Interpreting Art: Musings on visiting Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum

A couple of weeks back I visited the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Historic Art) in Vienna. Interpretation of art is not my specialism, and I’m always intrigued by what art museums do. You get anything from, well, nothing, to rather tediously specific texts that try to explain every dot of paint on the canvas. Sometimes … Continue reading Interpreting Art: Musings on visiting Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum →

A Story of Exclusion, Or: Why I still think targeting audiences keeps museums on the wrong path

The ‘Extremism’ speech delivered this week by Britain’s Prime Minister made me ponder again that concept of ‘hard-to-reach’ audiences, especially what we call ‘BAME’ groups, and how the museums sector is using it to shape its practice. To me, what has been happening to Muslims in the UK over the last decade illustrates very eloquently … Continue reading A Story of Exclusion, Or: Why I still think targeting audiences keeps museums on the wrong path →

True immersion, over-engineering, or lack of empathy? The exhibition at Schindler’s Factory

I really took note of the design of many of the exhibitions I saw when I was recently in Poland [1]. There was change of pace, drama, art, and, from my German point of view, a startling lack of inhibition about using Nazi symbols to create experiences [2]. This was probably most evident at Schindler’s … Continue reading True immersion, over-engineering, or lack of empathy? The exhibition at Schindler’s Factory →

‘I’m so glad to see you here’: Why inclusion must be more than a policy.

Last week’s #museumsrespondtoferguson discussion was on inclusion policies and their implementation in recruitment practice (you can read the Storify story here). At one point, one of the hosts of the chat, Adrianne Russell, shared, ‘I can’t count how many times black visitors told me “I’m so glad to see you here”’, which just floored me. … Continue reading ‘I’m so glad to see you here’: Why inclusion must be more than a policy. →