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MA2016 Welcome to the museum: Do we really mean it?
- 1. Welcome to the museum: Do we really mean it? MA2016 conference, Auckland Tuesday 17 May, 2016 @laura_miles www.slideshare.com/lauramiles
- 3. National Standards for Australian Museums & Galleries: www.mavic.asn.au/resources
- 4. National Standards for Australian Museums & Galleries: www.mavic.asn.au/resources
- 5. www.economist.com/topics/museums Elizabeth Merritt’s “unbundling of cultural experiences” “…visitors have more and more choices about how they spend their time and money.” AAM 2015 conference “…museums must work on broadening their appeal…traditional museums are white, Western and ‘womanless’.”
- 6. What do we mean by ‘welcoming’? • Physically • Intellectually • Socially
- 16. www.rijksmuseum.nl/ Detail of Ceiling Painting, Richard Wright (2012)
- 17. What do we mean by ‘welcoming’? • Physically (museum spaces) • Intellectually (language used) • Socially (interacting allowed)
- 18. Active and implied welcomes • Real people – at the front desk/within the galleries • Signage indicating access and/or clever architecture granting permission
- 37. “Mistrust… …a man who never has an occasional flash… …of silliness”
- 41. Power, roles and visitor expectations • Legitimate (seen as the authority) • Reward (exchanged for compliance) • Expert (has knowledge) • Referent (charms) • Coercive (threatens) (French & Raven, 1959) http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/the-5-types-of-power-revisited
- 42. Power, roles and visitor expectations • Legitimate (seen as the authority) • Reward (exchanged for compliance) • Expert (has knowledge) • Referent (charms) • Coercive (threatens) (French & Raven, 1959) http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/the-5-types-of-power-revisited
- 49. Ocean Blues temporary exhibition, Brighton Museum & Gallery http://brightonmuseums.org.uk/
- 50. Ocean Blues temporary exhibition, Brighton Museum & Gallery http://brightonmuseums.org.uk/
- 51. Ocean Blues temporary exhibition, Brighton Museum & Gallery http://brightonmuseums.org.uk/
- 52. Ocean Blues temporary exhibition, Brighton Museum & Gallery http://brightonmuseums.org.uk/
- 53. Kids labels on permanent collection objects http://brightonmuseums.org.uk
- 54. LGBTQ labels on permanent collection objects http://brightonmuseums.org.uks
- 55. LGBTQ labels on permanent collection objects http://brightonmuseums.org.uks
- 56. Victorian & Albert Museum – Museum of Childhood www.vam.ac.uk/moc
- 57. Victorian & Albert Museum – Museum of Childhood www.vam.ac.uk/moc
- 58. Victorian & Albert Museum – Museum of Childhood www.vam.ac.uk/moc
- 59. Victorian & Albert Museum – Museum of Childhood www.vam.ac.uk/moc
- 60. Victorian & Albert Museum – Museum of Childhood www.vam.ac.uk/moc
- 61. Victorian & Albert Museum – Museum of Childhood www.vam.ac.uk/moc
- 62. Victorian & Albert Museum – Museum of Childhood www.vam.ac.uk/moc
- 64. How to work on your welcome? • Decide on your focus • Use your resources wisely - lo-tech can be good • Keep an ‘ideas file’ • Maintain an ‘ideas network’
- 65. Takeaways: Download these slides at: www.slideshare.com/lauramiles More resources: www.mavic.asn.au www.youtube.com/MuseumsAustraliaVic
Editor's Notes
- Not your usual museum practice: more a collection of ideas to inspire.
- The National Standards for Australian Museums and Galleries underpins the best-practice in the sector. This includes Link: www.mavic.asn.au/resources
- …standard B3.5 which refers explicitly to the need to offer visitors a welcoming experience. You can download this from our website. The reason we work on maintaining welcoming museums is bigger than just the guidelines. Link: www.mavic.asn.au/resources
- In 2015, the Economist ran a number of features on the state of play in large international museums, quoting one of our keynotes, Elizabeth Merritt, as well as a speaker at last year’s American Alliance of Museums annual conference. Creating welcoming museums is not an optional ‘nice to have’ but critical. Link: www.economist.com/topics/museums
- I have split the types of welcome into three broad areas as per my abstract. By physical I mean the architecture, layout and feel of the museum building. By intellectual I mean the accessibility of the content, and how visitors feel engaging with it. By socially I mean the human interaction when you visit a museum, from the museum staff and volunteers to facilities people, and other visitors. I will talk about this more as we go.
- Here’s a recent trip to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Link: www.rijksmuseum.nl/
- After a good couple of hours absorbed in the special collections, looking at ceramics… Link: www.rijksmuseum.nl/
- …and significant paintings… Link: www.rijksmuseum.nl/
- …and a Nazi chessboard… Link: www.rijksmuseum.nl/
- …and a groundbreaking aircraft design… Link: www.rijksmuseum.nl/
- …and tin-glazed roulette boards… Link: www.rijksmuseum.nl/
- …and magic lantern slides… Link: www.rijksmuseum.nl/
- …and contemporary art… I diagnosed myself with museum fatigue, pushed open a door and flopped onto a nice comfy sofa in a lovely big white room. I stretched a bit, looked up and saw… Link: www.rijksmuseum.nl/
- …something unexpected and clever. Link: www.rijksmuseum.nl/
- This work was commissioned specially and was a very welcome, thoughtful touch. (From the label) “English artist Richard Wright made a new ceiling painting in each of the landings flanking the Night Watch Gallery. Using a pattern of stars, he created the optical illusion of vaulting on a flat surface. The star motif is derived from the old barrel vault in Gallery 1.3 (18th century).” Link: www.rijksmuseum.nl/
- So a recap.
- But you don’t have to have a greeter at the front…
- An extroverted person at the front desk or front door isn’t always what you want. However, a grumpy-looking staffer at the front is never what you want. Links: http://experience.durhamcollege.ca/excited-kitten & www.grumpycats.com/meet-grumpy-cat
- This Dutch museum – in Den Bosch - recently hosted a major exhibition on the work of Hieronymous Bosch. Link: www.hetnoordbrabantsmuseum.nl/english
- Their front of house team were superb. I attended a three day conference on Bosch’s work – here are some details from his work: Link: www.hetnoordbrabantsmuseum.nl/english
- Note that all of these photographs are taken of reproductions of the artist’s work, not the original paintings. Links: www.hetnoordbrabantsmuseum.nl/English & www.jheronimusbosch-artcenter.nl/en
- This work is thought to be from a member of Bosch’s workshop, not Bosch himself. All of these reproductions are displayed at the Bosch art centre which is a short walk from the museum hosting the special exhibition. Links: www.hetnoordbrabantsmuseum.nl/English & www.jheronimusbosch-artcenter.nl/en
- The relatively small town of Den Bosch committed to welcoming everyone who visited for the special Bosch exhibition, from hotel companies…
- …to construction companies…
- …to clothes shops displaying posters and decals in their windows.
- It was a fun and creative way to enjoy the culture of Bosch’s hometown beyond the museum conference and exhibition. Some Australasian organisations do similar projects with branded signage at train stations, or with outdoor art.
- Welcomes can be implied in other ways outside museums. Desire paths or desire lines are created by people rather than design. Link: www.flickr.com/groups/desire_paths
- A project by the UK’s National Trust exploited this by overtly inviting their visitors to walk where they liked, with an associated hashtag on Twitter called #NaturesPlayground. Link: https://twitter.com/hashtag/naturesplayground
- Bobby Burrage from the Click Design agency explains. Link: www.theclickdesign.com/project/national-trust-natures-playground/
- Bobby Burrage from the Click Design agency explains. Link: www.theclickdesign.com/project/national-trust-natures-playground/
- Another great example from Faringdon in the UK, a small town which proudly showcases its connection with eccentricity. Here’s one ‘unnecessary notice’.
- NOTES
- Here it is again in close-up:
- Mistrust…
- Mistrust…a man who never has an occasional flash…
- Mistrust…a man who never has an occasional flash…of silliness
- Does it really matter if someone feels welcome or not? Well, yes. If you work at a museum you have a role, and power that goes with it. From French & Raven (1959) cited in http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/the-5-types-of-power-revisited
- Generally but not always, museum people have expert power and referent power, in essence, they are seen as having the authoritative voice, and are welcoming in their approach. If we understand this, we can test out ideas about being more welcoming, through our people and our signage/tone of voice used in museums. From French & Raven (1959) cited in http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/the-5-types-of-power-revisited
- The Wellcome Trust galleries offer visitors a range of ideas about how to explore according to themes (Braver, Deeper, Spicier, Bloodier). Importantly this includes an open and repeated invitation to contact them to say what you think. Link: http://wellcomecollection.org/visit-us/trails
- There are more some terrific sources of research on this topic including the UK’s museum practice, its quarterly online journal… Link: www.museumsassociation.org/museum-practice
- …and the excellent New Zealand publications, Audience Atlas and Culture Segments. Link: www.creativenz.govt.nz/development-and-resources/research-and-reports
- The Culture Professionals Network can be a valuable source of ideas, research, and case studies. Link: www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/oct/19/science-art-exploring-mind-museum-goe
- And some nuts and bolts examples, both lo-tech and the more expensive. Here’s some from the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery and the Ditchling Museum of Art and Craft. Links: http://brightonmuseums.org.uk & www.ditchlingmuseumartcraft.org.uk
- At Ditching, a local arts and crafts museum, a lot of thought has gone into making an imposing space welcoming to children. Link: www.ditchlingmuseumartcraft.org.uk
- In Brighton, a temporary exhibition here invites visitors to understand their impact on ocean life, from pollution to overfishing. Link: http://brightonmuseums.org.uk
- This lifesize display is an inexpensive way to make sense of how human activity affects ocean life, and literally how big some animals and fish are compared to us.
- In the permanent galleries, children are invited to play a find-the-object game with special paw mark labels and a guiding leaflet.
- And all audiences can discover objects relevant to LGBTQ culture identified with pink labels and an orange leaflet. Link: http://brightonmuseums.org.uk
- Link: http://brightonmuseums.org.uk
- In the V&A’s Museum of Childhood… Link: www.vam.ac.uk/moc
- …some simple strategies have been used for a temporary exhibition. Link: www.vam.ac.uk/moc
- The use of coloured characters on the walls at an appropriate height, adds to the interest. Link: www.vam.ac.uk/moc
- Link: www.vam.ac.uk/moc
- Upstairs in the top galleries, a temporary touring exhibition from Australia is displayed… Link: www.vam.ac.uk/moc
- …with clear signage to warn parents and caregivers about the nature of the exhibition at each end, and a very thoughtful quiet space to reflect as well. Link: www.vam.ac.uk/moc
- During my visit, the director explained that they are piloting a children’s forum which invites local kids to be consultants to the museum, to shape exhibition development, the collections policy and more. Link: www.vam.ac.uk/moc
- With this initiative, both the process itself and the outcomes are fine examples of the museum actively welcoming its primary audience. Link: www.vam.ac.uk/moc
- In summary: this talk is part of a series of presentations from MA (Vic) to promote creativity. In Australia and New Zealand we are highly skilled at welcoming visitors. But there is always more to do. Decide on your focus (developing people, signage, or both). Use resources wisely. Keep an ideas file of things others are doing to inspire and shape your thinking. Maintain an ideas network, by which I mean gathering useful people around to help.
- This presentation will shortly by available on Slideshare so you can access the references.