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MIM Session I - Building & Collection
- 1. Musical Instrument Museum Creating a Museum from the Ground Up
- 3. The 3 ‘News’ New Building and Exhibitions New Collection New Institution
- 4. Origins Minneapolis Planning and Design Brussels Origins Phoenix MIM Team Execution
- 5. Phoenix
- 10. Building Program 195,000 gross square feet 60,000 net square feet of core galleries 5000 changing exhibition space Special galleries: Artist, Mechanical Music and Experience Conservation Center Collection handling and storage 299 seat Music Theater
- 16. Opening Apr 10 80 fte 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 Exhibit install begins Oct 08 Topping off Feb 09 Construction begins Mar 08 Tempe office Sep 07 First acquisition Apr 07 First hire Oct 06
- 24. Isabelle de Borchgrave Mannequins Louis Halleaux Phoenix
- 26. The Mission and Vision MIM’s mandate is to be global, with instruments exhibited from every country of the world. MIM’s guest experience is primarily an experience of seeing and hearing music being played by people within their culture.
- 27. The Mission and Vision MIM’s core guest experience is to be compelling enough to drive repeat visitation MIM is to appeal to all - to a wide range of visitors, much wider than ‘specialty’ museums normally do. Live performances in in the Music Theater will give guests an opportunity to hear the music from every corner of the globe.
- 28. Speakers Christina Linsenmeyer Katie Anderson Irene Peters
- 30. Permanent Collection Vision Geo-galleries: every country in the world Exhibits: multiple exhibit components Instruments are single component of exhibits
- 32. Permanent Collections Scope: Rethinking the collection Traditional acquisition guidelines Adding new diversity & breadth
- 36. Acquisition Process Wish list for “virtual” exhibits Curators, consultants, and sub-consultants Travel and foreign colleagues Other resources Networking with embassies, museums, scholars Sources Large existing collections Collectors, dealers, auctions Makers, Musicians
- 37. The Unknown and the Known No provenance Selmer saxophone, Vichy auction (France, 1950s) Limited provenance GérardCopperé Collection, France, c. 1970-2000 Fiske Collection, Claremont College, 20th c. In the field Zampogna, Italy, 2009 Scissors dance, Peru, 2009
- 40. Challenges Global scope Access to remote, restricted, and unsafe areas Availability vs. wish list Cultural sensitivity and permissions Exhibit-minded acquisitions Ensembles Redundancy Relationship to narrative and other components Resources: facility, research tools, TMS, time
- 41. Lessons Learned Scope Change is good Procedure More research up front Manage consultants entirely Network early and often Large collections are a mixed blessing No replacement for field work Time
- 42. Next Steps Phase 2 wish list Filling gaps in the collections Replacing place-holders Research and record clean-up Devising classification system Reviewing relationship to exhibit narratives
- 43. Registration & Collections Mgmt Major Responsibilities Installation – currently top priority with about 25% left to install Acquisition and processing – getting the collection in the door Moving out of temporary facility in Tempe Setting up permanent storage (layout and storage mounts) Documenting the collection Staffing Information Currently 24 people 3 assistant registrars 1 collections manager 1 database administrator 1 photographer 1 documentation specialist 8 preparators 8 collections technicians
- 45. Around 5,000 on view in exhibitions
- 47. Most purchased, donations picking up since opening
- 49. Package Damaged in Memphis Flood
- 50. Challenges in Collections Care Moved into building while construction was being completed – had to work closely with contractors to provide safe access to installed exhibits Great visitor experience results in several major challenges for collections care Lighting in the galleries Access in the galleries Housekeeping – cleaning the exhibits is taking about 20 hrs/wk New building with great environmental system but still learning how to use it Playing the collection for demonstrations Storage space
- 52. Installation
- 53. Installation – Artist Gallery, John Lennon’s Piano
- 55. Finish move from temporary facility
- 56. Culling the large collections that were purchased as lots
- 57. Organize collections and create storage mounts
- 58. Organize, house and catalog archival materials
- 61. Ask a lot of questions
- 62. Don’t assume
- 64. Be Flexible and Innovative
- 65. Be ready to choose the lesser of two evils
- 68. “MIM will collect and display musical instruments from every country in the world, preserving, protecting, and sharing these gifts with future generations.”
- 69. “MIM will collect and display musical instruments from every country in the world, preserving, protecting, and sharing these gifts with future generations.”
- 70. Target Financial Services Tempe
- 71. ‘Geneva – Big Lab’
- 72. ‘Geneva – Conservation Corner’
- 73. ‘Geneva’ – Warehouse, outside
- 74. ‘Geneva’ – parking lot
- 75. MIM – Conservation Lab
- 76. MIM – Quarantine & Freezer
- 77. MIM – Galleries
Editor's Notes
- 2. 3. * Focusing on permanent collection musical instruments. Ideally we would acquire regalia, AV, and images in tandem with musical instruments and regalia. But other times separate.* Not discussing donations and loans.
- Multiple exhibit components- Musical instruments framed- Contextual- Regalia, masks, decorative arts, furniture- AV- Images- Text and object labels* Presentation focuses on permanent collection of musical instruments. Ideally we would acquire regalia, AV, and images in tandem with musical instruments and regalia. But other times separate.* Not discussing donations and loans.
- Traditional guidlelines: historical; technological; aesthetic; social; spiritual Objects more than 50 years oldAssociations with known makers and playersHere images of traditional acquisitions: musical instruments as art objects, collector items, and western classical music
- - MIM’s new ground: Global scope; everyday objects; folk traditions and living traditions
- Reproductions: other museum collections. Often rarity: octobasse
- Procedure: Rethinking the acquisition processChallenge: Managing the ambitious time frame- “virtual” exhibits were both place to start for acquisitions and design. For acquisitions., it was basically a shopping list to make initial inquiries.1. Acquisition process varies by region, need.2. Some existing, some new relationships3. Makers: both existing and commissioned objects
- Selmer Mark VI, tenor saxophone (pic next slide). Vichy Auction Dec. 2008. Reliance on research and as ex. Of a particular desired model. Certain collections, in a number of cases a) we might know who collected it where and when, but not much else (same with Grémaux/Balkans and Kilpatrick/Asia); in one exception b) Fiske: was well-researched (archives, though in disorder with both acquisition and research documents). Collections as well as the objects themselves have a history.Zampogna, Italy (pic next slide). Our consultant worked with musicians in the field.
- Challenges all resulting from positive aspects of the project 1. wish list: subject to market and traditionsPeru, 2 instruments and costume used in Scissor’s Dance: from Los Danzaq de Ayacucho,the most famous group performing this dance. Malena: “These are all initiated instruments, also the costume. A little bit like the Cuban story, the Peruvian instruments only can be used by their owners/performers. It was necessary to get permission from the shrine where they were initiated in order to acquire them. The musicians (harp and violin players) and the dancer, were convinced by my anthropologist friend whom they knew well because he has published about this dance and had worked with them, somebody they trusted, convinced them that, if they agreed to sell their own initiated instruments, their art would be shared by many people.”3. Time: availability; limited available resources: permissions, access/research; logistics
- 3. Time: we doubled our acquisition goal ½-way through. Raising the bar to make an ambitious goal led to the making of a great start – a collection with diversity and breadth that will attract other donations and loans.
- Possible questions: How did you determine what was a country?How did these acquisitions relate to the education collection?Are there opportunities for guests to play instruments? (Experience Gallery)3) Policy re: playing the collection (Some instruments acquired with this in mind)
- Story about object sitting in Egypt. Didn’t know why. The packer could not receive trucks and had to find an alternate way to get the objects to the shipper.
- One of the mount makers Mike, checks the fitting of a brass instrument on a mount.
- Nature of the collection unique challenge for conservation: constants: the collection – its diversity, acquired all over the world – from brand new (varnished yesterday) through beautifully used & cared for to centuries old & fragile
- Nature of the collection unique challenge for conservation: constants: the collection – its diversity, acquired all over the world – from brand new (varnished yesterday) through beautifully used & cared for to centuries old & fragile
- Office building, two rooms with restricted access, collection still very small ‘South storage’: oversized (mainly pianos)‘North Storage’: shelves, tables for unpacking, makeshift lab (water in bucket from janitors room) – pretty, but not functional, limited suppliesNot sealed; connected to HVAC system with the rest of the building – thereby temperature controlled, humidity control impossible Some very basic treatments, mainly cleaning