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Museums and Galleries Creating Civil Renewal

Museums and Galleries Creating Civil Renewal. Andrew Newman International Centre for Culture and Heritage Studies University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Contents. Research project Analysis Different models of society Results Benefits to communities/individuals

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Museums and Galleries Creating Civil Renewal

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  1. Museums and Galleries Creating Civil Renewal Andrew Newman International Centre for Culture and Heritage Studies University of Newcastle upon Tyne

  2. Contents • Research project • Analysis • Different models of society • Results • Benefits to communities/individuals • Impact of participation/visiting • Conclusion

  3. Research project • An analysis of policy that used museums and galleries as agents of social inclusion - funded by ESRC • Construction and Implementation of policy • Policymakers (27 interviews) • Newcastle Discovery Museum • Great City Exhibition (GC) 30 interviews • Making Histories (MK) 5 participants • Glasgow Museums • Museum of Transport (MT) 2 focus groups of 6 people • Greater Pollok Kist project (GPK) 11 people • Small numbers of people in considerable depth • Concluded that policy failed because there was little understanding of how museum/galleries functioned within society

  4. Analysis • Ability of these activities to encourage civil renewal • Focus upon socially excluded participants or visitors – how were these people using their experience? • Capital • Social, human • Active citizenship • People have citizenship rights • Social, Political, Economic, Cultural • Socio-psychological factors • Identity • Role of museum exhibitions and museum based community development projects in identity construction

  5. Results • Benefits to communities/individuals • Opportunities to make investments in capital • Community development projects provide a safe friendly environment to develop social capital (bonding) GPK • Exhibitions facilitate social capital (bonding) – links mainly to an imagined collective (expressed through an idea of place or group) GC & MT • Human capital – although not recognised by respondents was present GPK • Giving people the option to invest doesn't mean they will existing low levels of capital makes this problematic

  6. Results • Benefits to communities/individuals • Active Citizenship • Social - gave people the opportunity to take part in social life - social capital • Economic - gave skills – not translated into jobs • Cultural - cost was a problem - travel etc. • Political - gave people control • GPK participants constructed their own narrative about the history of their area • Representational strategies - MH respondents were determining how they would be viewed • Creating opportunities for involvement • Socio-psychological factors • confidence, recognition – without this little else was possible

  7. Results • Benefits to communities/individuals • Identity • Contribution of participation/visiting • Enabled participants to construct a sense of themselves in response to their experience of exclusion • GPK participants were constructing a narrative about the history of their area that ignored the current situation and focused upon an older pastoral Pollok • Participants or visitors were using identity construction to understand and manage their place in the world • Museums and galleries were providing a unique resource for this process • Similar to the ways that brands work • Define social exclusion as an inability deal with the social environment in identity terms

  8. Conclusion • Museums and Galleries contribute to civil renewal by: • Facilitating investment in forms of capital • Encouraging Active Citizenship • Providing the context for people to respond to their environment – in identity terms • Research points to underlying mechanisms • How do you ‘turn on’ the Citizen?

  9. Conclusion • Could relate these initiatives to the ladder of participation • The research looks at what underlies this Information Consultation Deciding together Acting together Supporting independent community interests

  10. Appendix References • Newman, A. and Mclean, F. (2004) 'Capital and the Evaluation of the Museum Experience', International Journal of Cultural Studies, Volume 7, (4): 480-498. • Newman, A. and Mclean, F. (2004) 'Presumption, Policy and Practice: The Use of Museums and Galleries as Agents of Social Inclusion in Great Britain', International Journal of Cultural Policy, 10 (2): 167-181. • Newman, A. Mclean, F. and Urquhart, G. (2005) 'Museums and the Active Citizen: Tackling the Problems of Social Exclusion', Citizenship Studies, Vol. 9, (1): 41-57

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