On visiting the Anne Frank House

For a long time now, I have been wanting to visit the Anne Frank House. This Monday past, I finally got the opportunity. My experience, however, was different to what I had expected. Let me explain. Like most, if not all of us, I had read Anne Frank’s diary as a child. I remember being … Continue reading On visiting the Anne Frank House →

Third Space in Culture, Heritage and Learning

Our current Erasmus + project on Negotiating Identities in the Third Space is about to conclude. As I am beginning to draw together the various outputs we’ve said we would produce, I’d like to share a few observations on my own learning about Third Space during the project to date. The physical in Third Space … Continue reading Third Space in Culture, Heritage and Learning →

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 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’ →

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 →

What is the purpose of museums?

Early in December last year, the British Museums Association issued an exciting research brief. They want to find out what the public think of the present and potential purposes of museums, and their roles in society.I am really looking forward to this research report, which is due at the end of March. Crucially, the research … Continue reading What is the purpose of museums? →

Visitor Experiences of Co-produced Exhibitions

Last week I attended an excellent workshop on ‘Visitor Experiences of Co-produced Exhibitions’. Co-production is a central theme in museums at the moment, and participants were encouraged to bring their own experiences of co-production to the workshop for discussion. I came away with a few good points to ponder, which you might find interesting as … Continue reading Visitor Experiences of Co-produced Exhibitions →