INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM DAY 2020: HIGHLIGHTS

Musings Abroad | Chloé Houde

This past May 18th was International Museum Day (IMD), which has been organized by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) every year since 1977. It serves as a way for museums and cultural institutions to participate in the yearly theme, engage with their audiences in various capacities, and raise awareness in regards to museums’ important social and cultural roles. This year’s theme was “Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion,” which museums worldwide participated in with panels, discussions, events, and activities. Most organizations had the added challenge of participating in IMD while remaining closed, turning to various digital alternatives to celebrate the day and connect with the public. The ICOM website features an interactive world map with IMD initiatives that I spent quite some time exploring, noticing that the theme of “inclusion” was often interpreted as the inclusion of audiences and communities in museum activities. In this article, I wanted to share a few examples that I found noteworthy in the ways that organizations were able to interact with visitors at home and engage various communities in honour of International Museum Day.

ICOM's 2020 IMD poster (Source)

First up, ICOM partnered with Google Arts and Culture to create “Connected to Culture,” a digital toolkit to assist organizations with online programming. Moreover, in honour of IMD 2020, more than 80 museums from dozens of countries added stories and parts of their collections to Google Arts and Culture, including three new collections highlighting the history and culture of Uzbekistan. Not only does this platform allow cultural organizations to make their content accessible to worldwide audiences, joining over 2000 other organizations on the platform, the toolkit also allows smaller museums that lack resources to share their projects and collections. I think the greatest advantage for users is that it becomes easier to explore and discover different museums, all on one well-designed website.

Google Arts and Culture's IMD 2020 page (Source)

Other museums are taking the initiative to host digital content for the public. La Pedrera in Barcelona, Spain, is a house designed by Antoni Gaudí in the early 1900s that was turned into a museum. They feature a virtual tour of the building on their website. For IMD, they hosted a live tour on Instagram Live with one of their curators, allowing users to choose the part of the house that was to be toured in advance and answering questions live on May 18th. This live tour was a great way to involve the public in choosing what the curator would share and which part of the house would be explored, as well as allowing people from all over the world to participate (in Catalan, of course). The tour was posted on their Instagram and you don’t have to speak Catalan to see some beautiful architecture!

Sílvia Vilarroya, La Pedrera's curator of the permanent exhibition, giving a tour of one of the apartment's inside the house on Instagram on May 18, 2020 (Source)

The Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes Juan Sánchez (Juan Sánchez Municipal Museum of Fine Arts) in General Roca, Argentina, is a museum highlighting artists from the Patagonia region. For IMD, they hosted an activity on their Facebook page entitled “¿Crees que algo de tu casa podría estar en el Museo?”, which translates to “Do you think something in your house could be in the museum?” This virtual showcase encouraged local residents at home to interact by sharing their objects with the museum’s community. Through this activity, their Facebook page now features multiple works of art, old personal letters and correspondence, a 90-year old water pump, a crochet chicken, an ocarina, and old family photographs, among many other submissions from community members. These submissions show many historically-significant objects alongside objects with personal meanings of pride and love. Valuing personal and local history is an incredible way for museums to engage their public and have people participate in fostering ideas of local heritage, history, and culture.

IMD's interactive map, showing the initiative hosted by the Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes Juan Sánchez in General Roca, Argentina (Source)

In the United Arab Emirates, the Sharjah Museums Authority of the city of Sharjah invited young local artists, aged 16 to 25, to contribute their art to a digital exhibition entitled “Museums for Equality: Diversity in Times of Adversity.” The artworks were encouraged to correspond to IMD’s 2020 theme, “Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion.” This initiative aimed to connect with the artistic community in UAE and highlight the importance of the arts during the pandemic, as well as continue to provide access to the museum for the public. Seventeen works of art were chosen for the exhibition, including digital art, paintings, photography, and poetry surrounding themes of the pandemic.

20 Seconds by Aisha Ghubar al Shamsi. Part of the Sharjah Museums "Diversity in Times of Adversity" online exhibition, these drawings were made using continuous lines to show the importance of everyone continuing to follow guidelines to end the global pandemic. Photo courtesy of Aisha Ghubar Al Shamsi and Sharjah Museums (Source)

These initiatives are just a few of the many activities that various communities worldwide engaged in for International Museum Day, showing how many cultural organizations were able to bring people together from a distance. The digital component of this year's activities allowed for even more global participation and sharing, which is what ICOM strives for in fostering an international museum community.

NO PRESSURE. NO DIAMONDS!: ALUMNI CHECK-IN WITH GEORGE JACOB

Alumni Check-In | Elizabeth Cytko

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Margaret Trudeau and George Jacob.
Photo courtesy of George Jacob.

When George Jacob graduated in 1996 he had broken barriers as the first Commonwealth scholar admitted to the Museum Studies program at the University of Toronto. His extensive CV includes being trained at the Smithsonian, attending the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, attending the Getty Leadership Institute at Claremont Graduate University as well as the Yale School of Management. He mixes IT innovations with traditional museum approaches with a special focus on the idea of a living museum. He is the author of seven books focused on the future of Museum Design and Practice. He has worked at various institutions including the Philip J. Currie Museum in Northern Alberta, the Mauna Kea Astronomy Education center in Hawaii and is currently at the San Francisco Bay Ecotarium. 

Which Museum Studies program are you a graduate of and when did you graduate?

I graduated in 1996. I was the first Commonwealth Scholar admitted to the UofT Museum Studies Graduate Program.

What is your favourite memory from your time in the Museum Studies program?

While interaction with peers and professors was enlightening, the summer internship at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. was memorable and rewarding. It inspired me to return to the Smithsonian years later to contribute to various galleries and exhibits over the years.

How has your path after graduation lead to your current job?

I was the world’s youngest planetarium and science museum director for 7 years, prior to joining the Museum Studies Program for my second Masters. But despite excellent credentials, it was impossible to even get an interview call after graduation. For some time, I considered changing my area of interest and pursuing a career as an IT professional. I then decided to set up my own consulting practice to offer Master Planning and Design-Build services to new and established museums around the world. I offered my services to various other larger forms that were involved in projects in Singapore, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. Soon my work started getting noticed and gaining a reputation of precision, speed of implementation and cost savings. This has fortunately opened many doors through the years.

What exactly is ‘museum design build’?

Design-Build is a process of project implementation where the Designer also takes the lead in Production of the project. This applies to both Exhibit Services and Architectural Services. It saves time, enhances efficiencies and ensures better quality control, provided the person at the helm is astute, experienced and competent to lead such an effort with minimum margin of error.

What is a typical day like in your current job at the Bay Ecotarium?

There are three aspects to my current role as President & CEO of Bay Ecotarium. We have six branches with a staff of 200 united under one mission of ocean conservation and ecosynthesis from Sierra to the Seas. The first aspect is to oversee the operations of this complex institution, the second is to work on the vision to transform the existing aquarium into the first of its kind Living Museum focused on Climate literacy and Ocean Conservation. The third aspect, of course, is to work towards raising $200 million to make this vision a reality.

What exactly is a “living museum”? How is this different from traditional museums?

In physical terms a LIVING museum has live ecosystems, vivariums and animals. In our case we will increase the number of animals in our care from the current 23,000 to 30,000! In notional terms, a LIVING museum is an idea or a mission that continuously engages the public to join a movement to save our ecosystems, our environment and our planet. It is an idea that drives us all to come together for a cleaner planet with cleaner solutions, transcending generations and geo-political boundaries.

What do you find most fulfilling in your work?

Learning and Creativity. It also provides a wonderful opportunity to make a difference, shape minds and create a premise that is so vital to our collective memories as a society, as a civilization and as a species.

What are some of the greatest risks you have taken in your career?

Starting my own practice, carving out my own path and challenging existing paradigms. This has resulted in the birth of new museums, visitor centers and nature parks. When I took on the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum project, I had envisioned completing this design-build initiative in under 24 months- including building construction, landscape, interpretive planning, exhibit design, production, staffing, retail and programs, to name a few. This seemingly impossible target was ambitious and unheard of. I executed the project in 23 months winning 9 awards in 9 months, delivering the fastest museum project implemented in Canadian history- before time and under budget.

What have been some of the greatest challenges in your career?

As the FIRST visible minority Canadian Museum President, I am concerned about the lack of diversity and inclusivity at the helm of Canada’s museums and amid the Museum Studies faculty and student enrollment- given that we are a multi-cultural country. This has often played a role in access and equal opportunity. It must be addressed through policy and structured dialog.

You have held many leadership roles, what is your advice for being a great leader?

Believe in yourself and believe in the power of the Universe.

What advice would you give to museum professionals entering the sector today?

It is a tough discipline to practice. But do keep in mind- No pressure. No Diamonds!

What is your advice to young museum professionals in creating a solid financial base for their future?

There are three paths ahead for museum professionals:

A. Choose to work in a museum with a salaried structure/ pension, job security etc.

B. Be a risk taker and launch your own practice, be it Museum Law, Curatorial or Master Planning Services or any number of other lucrative areas to make significant $$ for retirement and beyond.

C. Be an innovator and creator of new paradigms and opportunities in the gig-economy- become an out-sourcing guru; infuser of new means and methods of learning platforms; block-chain tailor made for various museum/ traveling exhibit realms; walk the line between education-entertainment / theme parks. The list is long…the world is your oyster! Have fun doing it- explore the unexplored.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. We conducted our interview over email.

POST COMMUNISM IN THE EASTERN BLOC: GERMANY, HUNGARY, AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC

MUSINGS ABROAD

BY: KRISTEN MCLAUGHLIN

A brief search through Google or a Europe travel guide will show what the majority of post-communist Eastern European museums focus on: World War II, Jewish heritage, and memorialization of atrocities, particularly during the communist era. Portrayals of communism in particular are fascinating, as the Cold War is fairly recent in the memory of the world, with many people who lived through it still around. It can tell us plenty about how a country views heritage preservation, history, storytelling, and what they deem important aspects of their country's identity.

There is a fascination in North America with the Cold War and all it entailed, and what it has meant for politics and society still today. However, I am interested in how some of the smaller museums in post-communist nations decide to tell certain parts of the larger story.

A map showing the Eastern Bloc, or Communist European countries, in red. Source.

To be sure, the aftereffects of communism--or any type of government regime--can last decades or even centuries. The Cold War ended only in 1989, when museological discourse was going through large shifts throughout Europe. Where and when different countries picked up and began working on institutions like museums again varies. I will be looking at three countries and three museums that tell us different ways countries memorialize communism (or not).

Germany -- Stasi Museum, East Berlin

Germany is well-known for recognizing and telling the stories of the atrocities that occurred both within and outside of their borders. Examples like Berlin's Jewish Museum and Holocaust Museum are well known, but there are other museums that hold fascinating stories about the recent past.

Last year I read a book titled Stasiland by Anna Funder, that covered the work of the female journalist as she went to East Berlin to find stories about the Stasi, the secret police (or Ministry of State Security) of East Berlin, created in 1950. It was an insightful look into a world I hadn't known about. The level of surveillance, espionage, and manipulation of everyday people by the Stasi is heart-breaking. There was virtually no part of life that was not monitored by the Stasi in East Berlin. So when the author went to a little museum in the original Stasi office buildings, I knew it was a place I'd want to visit someday (and still do). The museum is run by the Antistalinistische Aktion Berlin-Normannenstrasse (ASTAK), which was founded by civil rights activists in Berlin in 1990. The building was taken over by activists, who wanted all the information in the building kept secure and safe for the future. They wanted it to be kept a memorial and research centre on GDR Stalinism.

Since 1990, ASTAK has used these original Stasi offices as a museum to showcase different exhibitions and provide information, not only on the Stasi itself, but also for citizens, so they could know what and how the government had been keeping track of people or--in some instances--how they disposed of loved ones.

The story of the Stasi is a lesser known one in life behind the Iron Curtain. This museum uses a combination of artifacts and archival records from these very buildings to demonstrate the dangerous level of power and control the Stasi possessed. This museum is where 68 miles of shelved records were saved, as well as 41 million file cards, 1.7 million photos and negatives, and 15,000 bags of shredded remnants, which are now being slowly pieced back together.

Espionage technology on display at the Stasi Museum, which was used by the secret police everyday to monitor the citizens of East Berlin. 

Hungary -- Memento Park, Budapest 

Memento Park, or Szoborpark, is an open-air museum in Budapest, dedicated to the monumental communist era statues of Hungary. There are statues of Lenin, Marx, Engels, and several well-known Hungarian communist leaders. A quote by the architect of the park, Akos Eleod:

"This park is about dictatorship. And at the same time, because it can be talked about, described, built, this park is about democracy. After all, only democracy is able to give the opportunity to let us think freely about dictatorship."

After the fall of the communist regime in Hungary in 1989, many of the communist statues were immediately removed. These form the basis of the current collection in the park. The park was not created as a symbol of heroism for the individuals on display, but rather, as a critique of the ideology that used these statues as symbols of authority. It walks a fine line of memorializing, critiquing, and showcasing, without giving too much power to these statued figures of history.

Welcome to Memento Park. Source.

Czech Republic -- Museum of Communism, Prague 

In the Czech Republic, reminders of communism outside of museums are hard to find, with nothing like Memento Park on display in the nation. Czech people were quick to get rid of anything that reminded them of communism. A memorial for Jan Palach, who set himself on fire to protest the Soviet invasion of the Prague Spring in 1968, sits outside of the National Museum in Prague. This is one of the few public reminders of this time. It lacks the concrete architecture of other communist cities; its grand cathedrals and spires are of a medieval era preceding that of the mid-1900s.

The one thing they do have is the Museum of Communism, which is dedicated to presenting an account of the post World War II communist regime in, what was at the time, Czechoslovakia. However, this is an example of a museum that does not tell an objective story: it tells an emotive one, one with a point of view, where labels are never simply "the regime" but "the oppressive regime".

Diorama set-ups in the Museum of Communism in Prague. Source.

Museums about a topic like this--so life-altering, so dangerous, so dark--can be difficult to keep unbiased, difficult to keep objective. The question becomes: do museums about this type of history need to be objective? Can they have emotion, points of view? Or must they do a better job to convey a neutral point of view on a painful topic so as to not bias visitors?

In fact, the Museum of Communism is a private collection created by US businessman Glenn Spicker in 2001. According to one disgruntled visitor, "As far as I'm concerned, Prague doesn't have a Museum of Communism as of yet . . . for now, at least its streets continue to serve that purpose."


These three museums/memorial are three different examples of how some post-communist countries are choosing to remember the roughly 50 year period of their history. If anyone has visited the old Eastern Bloc and can recommend good/interesting/difficult museums to visit, leave a comment with your suggestions!

MUSEUMS AS SITES OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

MUSINGS ABROAD

BY: KRISTEN MCLAUGHLIN

Over the last six months or so of me writing the Musings Abroad column, I often think about how the museums I write about work together on an international level. In an increasingly globalized world, what do museums do, both actively and passively, to change, develop, enhance or decrease relationships between different countries, their governments, and their heritage/art institutions?

A Japanese McDonald's sign from 1975 from the National Museum of American History. Source.

What do I mean by international relations between museums? 

Museums are not the neutral and objective spaces many people have liked to believe over the past half a century; museums are political and contribute to social change on a local and wider scale. Museums have the ability to become symbols of cities or nations. Museums contribute to international relations by exhibiting collections from different nations and loaning objects across borders. Museum professionals are working more and more abroad, training in one country and working in another, bringing different policies and methods to different countries. Some museums work directly with different governments to ensure artifacts or remains are repatriated or exhibited, such as museums around the globe working with the Haida in repatriating their ancestral remains with communities and the Canadian/BC government.

Should Museums Care About International Relations?

So far I have made it sound as if international relations are secondary to a museum's purpose as a heritage preservation institution. Rather, I believe international relations are integral to those museums that have international collections. In a world that is becoming more and more globalized, our museums can no longer isolate themselves from their sister institutions across the world. By being proactive in building relationships abroad, museums can be at the forefront of active engagement and participation in issues wider than themselves.

Examples

International Entities - ICOM and UNESCO

ICOM, or the International Council of Museums, is a network of over 37,000 members who are a part of the global museum community. They are a leading entity in museum ethics. There is a specific ICOM Canada website for Canadian entities or individuals interested.

UNESCO or United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, is perhaps one of the more well-known global heritage entities, focused on heritage protection on both a tangible and intangible scale and on world heritage sites. Recently they've been working with museums in war-torn areas to attempt to provide protection and planning for collections.

Individual Museums - The Art Gallery of Ontario

Last month I attended the Ontario Museum Association (OMA) conference, where I sat in on the talk "Ontario Museums and Cultural Diplomacy". An interesting case study was the exhibition Small Wonders, on the Boxwood Miniatures exhibited at the Art Gallery of Ontario. I had seen the exhibit myself and was completely blown away by some of the work they had done in breaking down the layers of these objects and comparing them to worldwide collections. At the conference, Dr. Alexandra Suda from the AGO talked about how it was truly an international collaboration between different museums, not only in researching different collections for their exhibition but in sending the exhibition to two other museums: The Met Cloisters in the USA and The Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands. This demonstrated all the work that goes on behind-the-scenes of an exhibition.

Sample object from the exhibit Small Wonders at the AGO. Source.

Individual Museums - The British Museum

One example stands out as to how cultural exchange can greatly affect political relationships, both negatively and positively. The exhibit in 2005-2006 Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia, was a global exhibition put on by the British Museum that was planned to travel worldwide as well. Some of the objects in the exhibit were loaned by two Iranian museums, the National Museum in Tehran and the Persepolis Museum. This exhibition occurred during a time of strained political relations with Iran because of its increased nuclear armament. The British Museum had agreed to loan the Cyrus Cylinder in return for their loans; however, with increased political tensions the British Museum released statements declaring they would wait to make sure they were loaning the object into a safe environment. This caused great strife with the Iranian government, which threatened to sever all cultural relations and accusing the Director of wasting time and making excuses.

When the cylinder was finally loaned in 2010, it provided a chance for other discussions to slowly start up again. This entire situation is demonstrative of the fact that museums and other cultural institution do in fact have great political power.

The Cyrus Cylinder. Source.

The Future

I am interested in seeing what the future of international relationships are through museums. We are well aware of presidents and prime ministers traveling the globe on trade missions, discussing topics such as job creation, trade deals, and resources. These talks frequently take place in a cultural context; being shown different dances, cultural practices, important locations, and more. Despite this, the topics of cultural exchange do not seem to make the headlines.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau write messages on traditional Ema wooden plaques at Tokyo's Meiji Jingsu Shrine, one example of many that incorporates a country's cultural values into political visits. Source.

Perhaps this is because the work is being done in the background by different cultural institutions within these nations: partnerships are made, exchanges happen, and citizens from different countries learn about others around the globe by visiting. Is it up to our individual museums and art galleries to create those transnational relationships? Are museums meant to be global or local? Can they be both? These are the questions I want to leave you with as you visit your next museum. Think about the exhibits. Who have they worked in partnership with? Are objects from the local area or from abroad? Where do their staff, visiting interns, and visitors come from? Should museums be doing more or less to contribute to international relations?

FINDING DIRECTION IN INDIA'S MUSEUMS

MUSINGS ABROAD

BY: KRISTEN MCLAUGHLIN

India is a nation bursting with rich history, archaeology, monuments, and intangible heritage like dance, song, costumes, and more. It is a country bustling with life and vibrancy and fast-paced change. However, many of India's museums do not match the quality of sites and collections. On the cusp of an economic shift, attention has turned to just how India is displaying this heritage and history and the possible benefits of creating more popular, engaging, and organized museums.

There is a need to identify opportunity through museum planning and management in India's museums. Currently there is much lamentation within the country regarding a lack of audience, disorganization, government control, and skilled labour. This article will look at some past discussions about India's museums and possible directions for the future. Despite current obstacles, there is growing movement within India, particularly with youth, to increase the strength and message of India's museums. It is an exciting time!

Brief History

Indian museology dates back to the late 18th and 19th centuries, when the Asiatic Society was formed in Kolkata (Calcutta) in 1784 by British colonizers creating documentation records on the cultural heritage that existed in India. Their first museum, the Imperial Museum, is now the Indian Museum and one of the largest in the country.

The Indian Museum in Kolkata. Source.

Even before this, though, the rulers of India and lesser nobles often collected stone and bronze sculpture, textiles, paintings, and other artifacts, similar to neighboring countries and ancient Southeast Asia.

Because of this history, one may expect India to have some of the most advanced museums in the world. This is not the case. There are many contributing factors to the lack of strong museum presences in the country, but it frequently comes down to a lack of physical and economic resources; museums are not the priority of most countries, particularly when there are larger, more life and death issues to deal with. There is also a perception among citizens that museums are mainly for tourists, so improving museums has not been on the social and economic development calendar. According to Barry Lord of Lord Cultural Resources, most museums in India lack basic requirements for professional operation.

The Numbers

India's government-run museums recorded less than 100,000 visitors for tickets priced at 30 cents, as compared to the Louvre's 8.6 million visitors with full-priced tickets. However, this is not a new occurrence. In 2009 India's Ministry of Culture released an impressive 14-point agenda promising reform for museums, such as more interactive displays, outreach and educational programs, and more. In 2011 however, a UNESCO report revealed that the country's major museums still suffered from a lack of maintenance and sometimes basic lighting and signage. 

"But at the core are deep-rooted issues of archaic policies, lack of autonomy, and no skilled manpower. Our excellent collections are proof of a rich socio-cultural history, but when museums act as mere closed-door guardians of treasures instead of disseminating them, attractively and intelligently, to a wide audience, they lose their purpose."  -- Madhumitha Srinivasan, The Hindu

Much of this is the result of art and culture being consistently marginalized in the country's budgeting, as all museums rely on the government for staffing, day-to-day operations, and basic supplies. However, the government is not willing to pay the fees necessary for training, staff, and preservation that would entice the experienced people needed. In India's 2017-2018 budget, less than 1% (about 0.13%) has been given to the Ministry of Culture, which manages libraries, cultural institutions, archives, as well as museums.

The Big Concerns

According to Vinod Daniel from the Australian conservation network AusHeritage, there are six major problems facing Indian museums today.

1. Director: appointing a permanent director to allow for time to transform a vision into reality.
2. Autonomy: All museums in India report to the government, which can be challenging. Implementing a system such as a board would allow for more freedom.
3. Staffing: Most staff in museums in India do not have any form of training, whether that be collections, curation, interpretation, programming, etc. A proper selection process should become the norm. Organization is a serious problem.
4. Audience Engagement: Currently, citizens of India are not particularly attached to their museums. Last year, a fire burned up 70% of the collection in a national museum in New Delhi, and most people did not know it had happened. A problem is a way to make audiences want to come and to make them feel connected, citizens as well as tourists.
5. Collections: Museums need to rethink how they manage their collections. There are no collection development strategies in Indian museums, which would help with organization, streamlining accessioning processes, and more.
6. Intangible Heritage: India is particularly unique because of its strong intangible culture in song, dance, art, textiles, etc. A way to bring these aspects into the museum fold may help with development strategies, tourism, and more.

Source.

Solutions?

• -Allow for more museum autonomy; implementing boards, trusts, and other operating structures rather than government
• Create a museum that is important and topical to gain attention from civilians: as suggested by Indian MP Shashi Tharoor, a museum on British colonialism in India and the detrimential aftershocks would be a strong starting point in gaining the attention of citizens and the importance of museums in preserving relevant history
• -Consult with museums around the world and create global ties: for example, this year the ICOM (International Council of Museums) International Committee on Museum Management conference is taking place in the Vishakhapatnam and Araku Valley in Andhra Pradesh!
• -Bring in employees and interns from across the globe for different perspectives and experiences
• -Look for unique strategies that use little money and resources (such as looking to small museums in other countries)
• -Pick the strategies that work best for your specific institution. Start small, such as writing policies.
• -Fight to get the community interested and invested in your museum in order to create social capital.

India is a country with a large and diverse history and endless possibilities for the future when it comes to promoting these aspects. When it comes to museums, though, it seems the country is stuck in a rut. India may have to break away from the traditional government-run only museum model and find the policies, practices, and goals that work for their museum's specific needs. However, at present there seems to be no positive shift in museum management in the country. With a growing interest from India's youth in working in museums and the importance of audience engagement, perhaps they will be the ones to create new solutions to old problems.