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Museums in the 21 st century

Museums in the 21 st century. Ways forward. Crowdsourcing. Era of participatory culture Technology -> more accessible engagement Changes role of curator British Museum, Smithsonian etc – Wikipedians in Residence National Library of Finland – Digitalkoot project. Outside the museum.

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Museums in the 21 st century

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  1. Museums in the 21st century Ways forward

  2. Crowdsourcing • Era of participatory culture • Technology -> more accessible engagement • Changes role of curator • British Museum, Smithsonian etc – Wikipedians in Residence • National Library of Finland – Digitalkoot project

  3. Outside the museum • Meet new audiences outside traditional physical locations e.g. travelling museum, van, photo booth, lift • Reasons • Weakened economy – harder to attract paying customers, easier to set up low-cost low-risk experiential sites • General loosening of cultural authority • Revival of localism • Reaction to global, virtual, digital experiences • Benefits • Less intimidating • New audiences • Opportunities for experimentation and innovation

  4. San Francisco Mobile Museum – participatory touring exhibit in back of car • Centre Pompidou – temporary exhibit in tents in Parisian suburb, ‘to attract an audience unfamiliar with museums’ • Guggenheim BMW Lab, NYC – ‘unlike a gallery where you go to a fixed space to view fixed works, the lab is a living museum in a state of constant curation, filled at any point with games, panels [and] group activities’ • Inside/Out from Detroit Institute of Art – 80 reproductions of paintings taken to 11 cities in Michigan

  5. The Science Museum and Enfield Museum • Street art and ‘yarnbombing’ museums • Time of dissolving boundaries and hierarchies • How can more of us enjoy art more of the time?

  6. Alternative funding • ‘Will museum collections stay ‘inside the walls’ while fundraising moves to mobile phones...?’ • Text messaging, crowdfunding, embedded giving, apps, QR codes, social networking • Boston’s Museum of Science – app to raise funds in exchange for VIP events and passes • Relationships – invested in success of project

  7. Augmented reality • Layering of digital elements over real world experiences via mobile devices • Enhance gallery exhibits, increase access to collections • Possible benefits: • Break from constraints of walls • Customisation of museum experience e.g. Self-guided tours, translation • Issues to consider: • Enhances or detracts from real-world experience? • Enhances or detracts from social experience of visiting museum? • Neglects those without devices? • ‘Technology for technology’s sake is never a good idea. It had better be worth it to the guest, and serve the narrative in a meaningful way’

  8. Natural History Museum – Attenborough Studio • Tablets provided by museum for theatre use • Museum of London – StreetmuseumLondinium • 200 sites across London • ‘hidden histories of the city dramatically appear’, • ‘have fun with history’

  9. Aging • Aging population • Need to make sure technology empowers everyone • Reliance on older volunteers – higher retirement age • Things to consider: • Seating • Font size • Accessibility • Tailored apps and programmes • Less background noise • Location of buildings • Connection to elder-friendly transportation networks • More volunteer opportunities and flexibility

  10. Current museum policies • British Museum • 5 year plan: manage and research collection more effectively, enhance access to collection, invest in staff, increase self-generated income • Sessions and outreach visits for over 55s • Youth panel, Bmuse • Talking Objects • Science Museum, Kensington • Plan for 2015: improve street image, improve access, new galleries etc • Illustrate, explain and interpret future for all users, whoever and wherever they are • Museum of London • ‘Modern museum’ • Embodies world’s greatest city and its people • Vision: engaging, learning, facilitating worldwide access, entire collection online, developing partnerships, particular attention to ethnic and social diversity, collecting a collaborative process => play an active role in life of capital today and in future

  11. Our Londinium 2012 • Questions not answers • How Roman London lives on today • Youth panel • Modern objects alongside ancient artefacts • Multimedia displays • Interactive map • Photo map • Poetry • Gladiator ‘documentary’

  12. 15 year old author of ‘Why Museums Suck’: ‘I used to ask my history teacher why art was important. She told me that it helps us understand how people expressed themselves in ancient times. I asked why we’d want to know that. She told me to stop asking stupid questions. So I’d be like, how is that a stupid question? Then I would get detention. But it’s not a stupid question, is it?’

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