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.
The Road to Hell
Ferguson [1] has reminded me of a saying I learnt in the US: ‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions’. I think this applies to interpretation, and heritage management more generally, also. Our literature and our conferences are full of suggestions of interpreters’ inherent good will, and the positive outcome this is supposed … Continue reading The Road to Hell
Migration and Museums: Or, The Past is Safe, but Irrelevant
In this month’s editorial of the UK Museums Journal, Simon Stephens writes about museums ‘Exploring the rich stories of migration’. It is the first official nod to a major issue of current public debate in the UK that I have read from a leading museums organisation. For this, I appreciate the editorial and I give … Continue reading Migration and Museums: Or, The Past is Safe, but Irrelevant
Visiting Rome, Or: The temptation of thinking in evolutionary stages of interpretation
Last week I came back from my first trip to Rome. What an amazing place! However, as someone working in heritage, I thought what probably thousands of heritage professionals before me have thought: this interpretation (if you can even call it that) is just terrible [1]. Signs were cluttered, randomly placed and half of the … Continue reading Visiting Rome, Or: The temptation of thinking in evolutionary stages of interpretation
The German MA’s Recommendations for Representing Migration
A couple of weeks ago, the German Museums Association (Deutscher Museumsbund) published recommendations for museums on how to include and represent migration and cultural diversity in their work. I was really impressed by two key concepts that frame the entire document: Migration is the Norm This is a fact that is evident when we burst … Continue reading The German MA’s Recommendations for Representing Migration
My issue with ‘provocation’
A few months ago on Twitter, the Stadtmuseum Stuttgart shared this article (titled, in German, ‘Local museums must provoke’) and asked ‘Do they?’ In the ensuing chat, they wrote that ‘Provocation is easy. Relevance is difficult.’ I first surprised myself by writing back that provocation also needs to be relevant, and that it is only … Continue reading My issue with ‘provocation’
Have museums already become irrelevant?
In her latest blog post ‘Following up on Ferguson’, Gretchen Jennings mentions that several museum people told her that they had been specifically forbidden from answering visitor questions or commenting on social media about Ferguson [1]. Having worked in local authority museums in the UK and knowing from my work here as a consultant the … Continue reading Have museums already become irrelevant?
One year as a consultant
This week saw my one year anniversary since becoming a consultant. I wrote this when I started, and what strikes me the most about that post is a fear of loss: losing touch with people’s heritage, missing out on that daily contact with the people for whom we work – our visitors – and no … Continue reading One year as a consultant
Lights Out! Or: How German Institutions Take A Stance
Just before Christmas I saw a picture of the Semperoper (Opera House) in Dresden taking a stance against the Anti-Islam ‘Pegida’ movement [1]. Now, the Semperoper pretty much carries the same cultural clout in Germany as the British Museum does in the UK (different sector, but same clout). So imagine this: in response to Pegida … Continue reading Lights Out! Or: How German Institutions Take A Stance
Re-visiting Stonehenge, Or: Visitor Management Vs Experience
A few years ago, I visited Stonehenge for the first time. Like many others, I was shocked at the (then) lack of interpretation and facilities, and after circling the stones once (also an oddly disappointing experience), I set off with the dog to go on a hike through the landscape, totally unplanned, merely drifting along … Continue reading Re-visiting Stonehenge, Or: Visitor Management Vs Experience
