WHAT NOW?: MUSEUM TECHNOLOGY POST-PANDEMIC

Technology Tuesdays | Jaime Meier

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This winter, my roommates and I have been kept very warm, at times much TOO warm, by the radiators in our apartment. The design of this intense heating system was to combat a previous pandemic – the Spanish Influenza in 1918. Radiators were created to be so hot that occupants would open their windows to maintain a livable temperature, which would also allow fresh air to circulate through homes, schools, and workplaces. There is no doubt that CoVID-19 will have a similar impact on museum infrastructure which will affect interpretation and engagement technology.

3D-printed replicas of stone spear points. | Source

One of the greatest opportunities for new technology in museums is through ensuring there is not a backslide in sensory museology, primarily through touch and hands-on experiences, while implementing important health and safety measures. Tactile objects may still be utilized as 3D printed replicas because the plastic is easily sanitized, and the object can easily be replaced after significant wear. It is also important to keep in mind possible barriers for blind people who rely on touch for reading and interpreting information. One of the most simple and cost-efficient solutions is raised drawing boards that allow for an easily embossed and readable handout. 

With museums and their exhibitions moving online, ideally there would be a continuation in forms of remote museum learning. In addition to exhibitions and educational programming available online, a possible accompaniment would be travelling outreach kits that would be available to not only teachers, but also other organizations and groups that promote learning and play. While this form of engagement is on hold for now, as the pandemic retreats it will likely become a popular option to fulfill educational desires and maintain the health of users.

Example of a museum mobile app. | Source

A final key in maintaining engagement is museums taking advantage of their mobile apps. The level of usability for museum apps fluctuates from institution to institution, with some museums charging for their content and others offering little more than a few audio guides or a map. A mobile app provides the opportunity for personal engagement via built-in tours and programming within museums as well as opportunities for learning outside of the museum. However, there are still accessibility issues with this form of engagement, as not everyone is able to own a mobile device or a mobile device with the required operating system. 

One of the highlights for me when visiting museums is experiencing new or exciting interpretation strategies. I am looking forward to the day when I am able to return to museums and for the technological innovations that will be implemented. What form of museum engagement are you hoping to see when museums open again?

VICTORIAN AFTERNOON TEA: CATERING TO A GREATER AUDIENCE THROUGH MULTISENSORY PROGRAMMING

Program Reviews | Dominica Tang

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My sister's favorite thing to do in a museum is sleep. To be fair, some of the benches are rather comfy and the galleries can be awfully quiet. I, on the other hand, would join the museum equivalent of a Tuscan wine tour faster than you can say "you don't have enough money, Dominica!" I get it though. Museums just do not appeal to everyone. Some people are not interested in reading the text panels or studying the artefacts and specimen. However, their perspective is still valuable to the museum. It might not always be that they are not interested in the content, but that the way in which museums present that content is not interesting enough. Multisensory-rich programs can accommodate for these visitors, create entry points into the exhibits, and, potentially, change their relationship with museums.

Last summer, I was tasked with planning a week-long family trip to London, UK. In the effort to make our trip meaningful and worthwhile for the entire family, I strategically selected only a few museums that I thought best catered to both mine and my sister's interests. One such museum was the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) because it offered a unique opportunity to try Victorian Afternoon Tea. This program was created by Tasha Marks, an award-winning artist, food historian and founder of AVMCuriosities, in partnership with Benugo, a catering franchise that brings food to different public spaces in a creative and sustainable way. Marks is a wonderfully talented curator and artist,  who holds an interesting perceptive on museum programming and story telling. With exhibitions called 5318008 (Boobies spelled backwards) and The Edible Archive, it is no wonder that she has captured the attention of so many well-established museums and formed partnerships with them. Her immersive and multisensory programming captured my sister's interest in new food experiences and made her visit to the museum an ounce more memorable.

Photograph courtesy of Benugo.

The Victorian Afternoon Tea program costs £30 per person with the option of upgrading to the Prosecco Afternoon Tea for £35 or Champagne Afternoon Tea for £38. It takes place every Friday between 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm in the Morris Room and requires a reservation via email. It comes with every item on the menu and unlimited tea! The lemon and elderflower tea was my favourite by far and I drank a few pots worth of it. Yes, a few pots worth. Marks’s curation of this collection of bite-sized Victorian foods from the second half of Queen Victoria's reign balances sweet and savory dishes, and more familiar recipes and lesser-known ones. They range from Crayfish and Mayonnaise Sandwich (1890) to the spongey Victoria Sandwich (1901). 

Menu Courtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum. 

Gooseberry Tart (left) and Lemon and Seed Cake (right). Photograph courtesy of Benugo.

It is quite pricey and, certainly, not for everyone. However, it highlights how the sociability of food lends itself to developing dynamic museum programming that effectively engages with a wider variety of audiences. It especially caters to visitors, such as my sister, who are seeking novel experiences to share with their friends and family.

At the most superficial level it serves the experience economy. Food programming, however, is far more than a tourist attraction; it has the potential to be pedagogical, immersive, accessible, artistic, experimental and, overall, an asset for engagement in informal learning spaces. Mark's curates multisensory environment creates a quasi-simulacrum of Victorian aristocratic life that encourages full-bodied learning without the visitor being fully aware of it. This article is a testament to the fact that this program has truly stuck with me and that I still think about this absolutely scrumptious experience several months later.

The choice of location is, though in the most subtle way, a significant factor to the success of this program. The Morris Room, originally called the Green Dining Room, is located in the 19th century refreshments center. William Morris, an activist, interior decorator, a champion of artisanal methods of production over industrialization, and an artist who was commissioned by the museum to decorate the Green Dining Room with light green wall paper, teal wood paneling, and stained glass. The V&A also display Morris's work throughout the rest of the museum.  In this way, the room doubles as an exhibit that is not unlike the ones in the main halls. In addition to the continuity of Morris's art, the Victorian foods carries forth a pedagogical and historical significance aligned with other museum artefacts. This pocket within the museum creates an environment that is conducive to boisterous  discussion, infused with delicious smells, and wholeheartedly encourages hands-on learning, all the while respecting visitors who prefer silent meditation in the gallery spaces or have allergies.

Morris Room at the V&A. Photograph courtesy of Benugo.

Indian Ham Sandwich (left) and Nasturtium Open Sandwich (right). Photograph courtesy of Benugo.

Working in living history museums where the multisensory programming is embedded in the exhibition spaces and speaking with other food studies enthusiasts, I wanted to see larger institutions move away from the current model of separating food and exhibits and to adopt this type of environment.  The symbiotic relationship between Marks's artistic program and the Morris Room demonstrates that it can be done in a way that accommodates for all types of visitors.

The Tang family post-afternoon tea. Photograph courtesy of Dominica Tang.

My sister was engaged for the entirety of Victorian Afternoon Tea; a rare occurrence in her museum-going experience. Be sure to check out the rest of Marks's highly experimental and eye-opening work, and I will see you in the next one!

A SYMPHONY OF SENSES AT THE AGA KHAN MUSEUM

EXHIBITION REVIEWS

BY: JULIA ZUNGRI

I danced in a Mongolian yurt.

Come on in! Mongolian Yurt in the Aga Khan Museum's courtyard. Photo courtesy of Julia Zungri.

That’s how I began my afternoon at the Aga Khan Museum to explore the new Listening to Art, Seeing Music exhibition. The exhibition offers multi-sensory experiences through musical soundscapes and video installations placed throughout the museum’s permanent gallery, the Bellerive Room, and Diwan restaurant. The exhibition features Middle Eastern music, instruments, and related artifacts, and explores how this intangible art has changed over time.

Visitors first encounter an eye-opening and very well-written introductory panel in the lobby of the museum. As the introduction begins, it reminds us that this exhibition challenges the conventional thought of museums dealing with stationary, tangible objects, but that intangible arts are just as important and, even more so, are still alive and forming cultural identities and histories around the globe. It challenges us, as visitors, to form a physical relationship with an immaterial artistic expression.

Challenge accepted.

Listening to Art, Seeing Music reminded me that music is an expression that all humans can relate to, which I certainly got the sense of as I entered the highlight of this exhibition: the Mongolian Yurt. The Mongolian Yurt is placed in the museum’s courtyard, which is in the centre of the museum and immediately visible to visitors. A representative at the front desk informed me of programming that would take place in about five minutes, so we decided to check out the Yurt first (its size, beauty and centrality is also incredibly difficult to ignore). In my conventional understanding of museum programming, I expected to hear music, perhaps see live musicians or a museum employee discussing the development of the exhibition.

I was wrong.

As I entered the Yurt, a large circle of museum visitors – who I take it were all strangers at one point – were holding hands and dancing around the centre of the Yurt to traditional French/Welsh folk music. I automatically joined in and had one of the most incredible museum experiences! There were three live musicians; one was leading the circle with an accordion and later facilitated our singing to the music.

The smell, look, and sound that surrounded the Yurt made me realize that this was not going to be a typical museum visit. If this experience was an object, I lived inside of it.

The centre around which we danced; when stranger-visitors became dance partners. Photos courtesy of Julia Zungri.

The interactives were the second highlight of my exhibition experience, which were tied to the new artistic venture, A Hidden Order. This endeavour examines the relationship between art and music, and between traditional Islamic art and the Western contemporary musical composition.

Images from A Hidden Order. Photos courtesy of Julia Zungri.

In a collaborative effort by Musical Forms, a team consisting of composer Lee Westwood and geometer Sama Mara, this installation invites visitors to explore the relationship between artistic patterns and music. I had the pleasure of visiting with a fellow Museum Studies colleague, Sarah Rolko, who can be seen here enjoying making art through music.

Sarah interacting with the installation created by the Musical Forms artistic team. I guarantee this song will get stuck in your head, as it did in ours. Photo and video (below) courtesy of Julia Zungri.

The installations throughout the rest of the museum are a great accompaniment to the permanent galleries as they make the material objects come to life. It is incredibly interesting when we consider how something immaterial can bring something material to life.

Made my Anwar Kebbeh (oud maker, 1975-2000). Collection of Radwan Al Taleb, Damascus, Syria, 1991.

These artifacts and stories tell visitors of the importance, but also destruction of the oud industry in Syria. Photos courtesy of Julia Zungri.

This exhibition made me proud to know that our city is home to this museum and is producing such wonderful experiences. It has reaffirmed my passion for museums, and if this is where the field is heading, count me in.