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.
Tag: interpretive planning
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.
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.
Interpretation 101, Or: Show ‘Em Why We’re Here
Sometimes I walk through a museum or visitor centre and wonder, why are we here? This is the more frustrating at a site like Keltenwelt am Glauberg where, according to its own interpretation, they discovered a ‘scientific sensation’. So I’m feeling inspired to write another ‘Interpretation 101’ post, using Keltenwelt am Glauberg, and specifically its … Continue reading Interpretation 101, Or: Show ‘Em Why We’re Here
Storytelling History II: The Erwin Hymer Museum
It is a rare occasion that I walk through a museum and smile with joy about how the story is told. My recent visit to the Erwin Hymer Museum (of camper vans) was one such occasion. The very first contact with the exhibition is as informative as it is fun. A few words of welcome, … Continue reading Storytelling History II: The Erwin Hymer Museum
Approaching Interpretive Planning Agonistically
At work, we are getting ready for a major redevelopment of our local history museum. It is a good opportunity to think more about what an agonistic approach to interpretive planning might entail. Most of it is not revolutionary; in one way or another much of this has been or is being discussed if not … Continue reading Approaching Interpretive Planning Agonistically
Professional or not? Thoughts on an example.
I recently heard a short description about an interpretive encounter that made me think again about the construction of heritage, the use of interpretation to represent that particular view of heritage, and the social structures that are expressed and recreated in doing so. The anecdote concerned a guided tour with a school group [1]. … Continue reading Professional or not? Thoughts on an example.
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
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
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.
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