Museums Change Lives

A quick note to share the recently published case study reports on how the Museum Association strategy is being applied. There's a news item on the MA website, here, and there you'll find links to lots of interesting material. There's the Tank Museum in Dorset working with young offenders, and the Scottish Football museum dealing with memory and self confidence.
I'm thinking particularly of my Introduction to Museum Studies students who will be doing presentations soon exploring recent museum practice!

You'll find the news item here.

Digitisation in Museums

As a new book surveys landmark shows, museums are only just starting to catch up with the digital revolution of the photographic medium.

Around the turn of the century, books dealing with the relatively new art-historical subgenre of exhibition history were far a few between. Since the late 2000s however, as master's programmes in curatorial practice have proliferated, so too have publications on the subject of exhibition history. A recent addition to this category is Alessandra Mauro's book Photoshow; a historical survey of landmark photography exhibitions, ranging from the "International Exhibition of Artistic Photography" in Vienna in the 19th century, to Erik Kessel's 2011 show "24 hrs in Photos".

Aside from the book's descriptive analyses of the exhibitions and their significance, a number of critical and curatorial challenges presented by the medium are addressed. This included an interesting discussion between Quentin Bajac, chief curator of photography at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and Alessandra Mauro, editorial director of the Forma Foundation for Photography, Milan, on the topic of curating photography in the age of the internet. "I have no doubt that the future lies in the digital museum" Bajac tells Mauro, adding, "by that I don't just mean a website [...] museums have yet to embrace the paperless form of photography, unlike the "public at large" and many artists".

For Bajac, the digital museum of the future will commission work that is meant to be looked at only on screen. (Paradoxically, digitisation allows museums to present the materiality of historic images in a way that is impossible in an exhibition or book). MoMA has started exploring the possibilities presented by digitisation, launching "Object: Photo" in December: an online extension to Bajac's exhibition of the Thomas Walther collection of Modern photography (1909-49). Utilizing technology, "Object: Photo" enables it's visitors to explore - in greater detail - the images by avant-garde photographers Alfred Stieglitz, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, and Berenice Abbott among others. Looking behind the prints, exploring the results of X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, and gaining access to additional information based on new research.

However, this is by no means a marker for change within the museum sector. Rather, an indication of MoMA's progressive intent. Depending on the art institution - their institutional outlook, type of collection, budget, and limited by architecture (to put it very simply) - museums are embracing technology at different rates and on varying levels. For instance, while the Stedelijk museum in Amsterdam launched their interactive Augmented Reality app in 2009, and MoMA allowed an external hacking of their system to create an interactive curation platform, the 'no phone' / 'no photography' in the gallery ban prevailed in the majority of UK art institutions.

It will be interesting to see where Bajac takes digitisation next at MoMA.

Triennale Brugge 2015

Contemporary Art and Architecture Triennial of Bruges 2015
20 May 2015 - 18 October 2015Brugge, BelgiumCurators: Tim Holger-Borchert, Lies Coppens, Michel Dewilde

Since 2007 more than sixty percent of the world population has lived in an expanding network of very large, unfinished cities. Attitudes to this phenomenon of global urbanization differ. On the one hand, a number of experts like Benjamin Barberi regard the city as a solution to a range of global problems. Where the traditional sovereign nation state and large international organisations fail, Barber sees the liberating potential of the city. Eric Corijnii also believes that cities are increasingly junctions for social and political reconstruction. Ruth Eatoniii, on the other hand, refers to the detrimental consequences of global urbanization and to its damaging legacy.

The Triennial sets out to explore this in the unique setting of a historic city that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site: Brugge.

Central to the Triennial is the question of the future identity of the city and its possible role in the rapidly rising levels of urbanization: What can Bruges distil from the recent evolutions that typify the mega-cities? And conversely: can a small city that is protected by UNESCO contribute to the development of a new form of urbanization? In this connection the curators juxtapose two frictions: the representation of Bruges as a static medieval city versus the dynamic image of the unfinished global city. The curatorial team have linked the two frictions by means of a hypothetical question: "What would happen if the five million people who visit Bruges every year suddenly decided to settle here permanently?". (This reminds me of Ai Weiwei's '1001 Chinese Visitors' project, in which he invited 1001 Chinese citizens to visit Documenta 12 in Kassel, explore the town, the exhibition programme, and most crucially - to interact with other cultures. These interactions formed the content of the artwork, documented and preserved by filmmakers and an accompanying book of interviews. Corresponding to this, Ai Weiwei installed 1001 chairs from the Qing Dynasty throughout the exhibition spaces of Documenta 12, to be exposed to, sat on and studied by the German public and the many other cultures present at the exhibition).

Each of the invited European and Asian artists will interpret this area of tension in their own way, linking the fields of contemp art and architecture against the background of the intact historic city centre. Each of the outdoor works will be specially conceived for the 2015 Triennial. The end result of this process will be on show in the public space from May 20th to October 18th 2015, to then disappear from the cityscape. In addition to the outdoor art trail, there will be indoor exhibitions in various locations: De Bond, Arentshuis, the Town Hall and the Spanish warehouses.

Period Room Conference, The Bowes Museum

The Period Room: Museum, Material, Experience

Thursday 18^th Friday 19^th & Saturday 20^th September 2014

The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham

Since the late 19^th century the Period Room has been a consistent presence in the public museum, and yet over the past 25 years the Period Room has become a contentious museum object, leading many museums to question the legitimacy of the Period Room as an effective and appropriate method of display and interpretation.

As dislocated fragments, often remodelled to fit the spaces in the museum, the Period Room is, for some: a signifier for the inauthentic, an outmoded method of display and an example of unfashionable museum interpretation. Many museums retain their Period Room displays, but the recent changes in the perspectives on Period Rooms have also led a number of museums in the UK, Europe and the USA to reconsider their continued relevance as museum objects. This may include dismantling or de-accessioning the displays, and in some cases, repatriating the Period Rooms to their places of origin (if they still exist).

  This conference, jointly organised by the University of Leeds and The Bowes Museum, and supported by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, considers the Period Room, and the historic interior, from a wide variety of perspectives in order to address some key questions about the history and practice of Period Room displays in Museums.

The conference has an interdisciplinary framework incorporating theoretical and practice-based perspectives. It brings together leading academics and museum professionals from a wide range of institutions in the UK, Europe and the USA, to discuss, debate and share perspectives on history and interpretation of Period Rooms and historic interiors in museums.

For conference delegates there is also a chance for wider participation in the debates through the mid-conference ‘Sandpit’. We hope that the conference will have wide appeal and that it will have a significant impact on future museum practice and museum theory.

Conference highlights include:

Keynote talks from Thomas Michie, (Senior Curator, Decorative Art and Sculpture at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) and Giles Waterfield, (Former Director, Dulwich Picture Gallery).

Closing conference address from Professor Helen Rees Leahy (Professor of Museology at the University of Manchester).

Conference speakers include museum professionals from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Minneapolis Institute of Art; New Orleans Museum of Art; National Museums, Scotland; Historic Royal Palaces; The Science Museum, London; The Jewish Museum, Vienna, and the Universalmuseum Joannneum, Graz. As well as academics from University of Cambridge; University of Ghent; KTH Royal Institute, Stockholm; De Montfort University; University of Durham; Open University; University of Potsdam; University of Southampton.

Included in the conference fees are:

Presentations on the innovative methods of display and interpretation of the English Interiors Galleries at The Bowes Museum, led by senior curators.

An organised field trip to Auckland Castle.

Evening wine receptions at both The Bowes Museum and Auckland Castle.

The full conference programme and costs are available via The Bowes Museum website: www.thebowesmuseum.org.uk

For further information, or to request a booking form please contact Rosie Bradford at The Bowes Museum by email: ThePeriodRoom@thebowesmuseum.org.uk or by telephone: 01833 694615.

We expect high demand for Conference Tickets so we advise booking early.

 

The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, at the University of Leeds, are hosting an event on 5th April, 2.00pm-4.00pm  So, you want to work in the art world? / A workshop with creative entrepreneur Dom Smith

leeds.ac.uk/art-gallery-events
Dom Smith, editor of Soundsphere Magazine, co-founder of the Disabled Entrepreneurs Network and director of creative agency, The Creative Condition, will be in the Gallery to provide some key tips on getting ahead in the arts world and promoting your arts business or idea. 

The key aim of this workshop is to inspire start-up creative business owners, artists and writers; and to address central aspects of business promotion - from creating press releases and news story building, to utilising social media and blogging platforms to their full potential.

This workshop is open to all aged 16+, particularly professional or budding artists, creative thinkers, idea generators, entrepreneurs and fledgling journalists...

Please bring your own laptop if possible!   

To find out more about Dom and his work visit his website: www.domsmithonline.co.uk

This is a free workshop but places are limited so please book in advance. A refundable booking fee of £5 will be taken upon booking. This will be returned to you on arrival at the workshop. Cancellations within 48 hours of the event will not be eligible for a refund.

All tickets must be booked online: http://the-art-world.eventbrite.co.uk

For more information contact the Gallery on 0113 3432778 or by email: gallery@leeds.ac.uk.

Weekend Receptionist Vacancy at the Henry Moore Institute

Maternity Cover Part-time.
9 month fixed term appointment with the possibility of extension to one year.
To commence Saturday 22 March.

Salary £17,000 pro-rata (£6,800 p.a)
Holidays: 23 days pro-rata

We are seeking to appoint a Weekend Receptionist to work 2 days a week
(Saturdays and Sundays: 9.45am - 5.45pm) to work on our front desk reception/ bookshop area.

Duties include operation of cash till and credit card machine, maintaining stock levels of publications & leaflets at reception, telephone enquiries, staffing and supervision of weekend Information Assistants, and providing visitor information.

The successful candidate will be punctual, reliable, have excellent personal organisation and effective interpersonal skills. They will be able to remain calm under pressure, and be able to work as part of a team but also have initiative to make their own decisions when required. Previous experience in this type of role is advantageous. Any training required will be provided before the start date.

Please send a covering letter, a CV and the name of two referees to:
Catherine Aldred, Henry Moore Institute, The Headrow, Leeds LS1 3AH
catherine@henry-moore.org
Tel: 0113 246 7467

Closing date: Friday 28 February 2014

http://www.henry-moore.org/hmi/visiting/job-vacancy-weekend-receptionist

Call For Papers - The Period Room: Museum, Material, Experience at Bowes Museum

                                                                                 

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Period Room: Museum, Material, Experience

 Friday 19^th & Saturday 20^th September 2014

The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham

Since the late 19^th century the Period Room has been a consistent presence in the public museum, and yet over the past 25 years the Period Room has become a contentious museum object, leading many museums to question the legitimacy of the Period Room as an effective and appropriate method of display and interpretation. As dislocated fragments, often remodelled to fit the spaces of the museum, the Period Room is, for some, a signifier for the inauthentic, an outmoded method of display and a representation of unfashionable museum interpretation. The problems associated with Period Rooms are exacerbated by the fact that they are large and bulky objects, difficult and expensive to redisplay or reinterpret. Many museums retain their Period Room displays, but the recent changes in the perspectives on Period Rooms have also led a number of museums in the UK, Europe and the USA to reconsider their continued relevance as museum objects, to dismantle and deaccession the displays, and in some cases to repatriate the Period Rooms to their places of origin (if that still exists of course).

  This conference, held at the Bowes Museum, which redisplayed its own collection of Period Rooms in 2007-10, aims to consider the Period Room from a wide variety of perspectives in order to address some key questions about Period Rooms and the history of Period Rooms display in Museums: Should Period Rooms be considered objects in their own right, or merely ‘contexts’ for related material? How, and in what ways, did Period Rooms satisfy ideas of museum interpretation, and how and why did these attitudes change? What was the role of the evolving frameworks of national/local heritage in the appearance of Period Rooms in museums? What were/are the theoretical, technical and aesthetic frameworks for the display of Period Rooms in museums? How, and in what ways, is the Period Room different from, or similar to, the Historic Interior?

We invite papers to explore these themes and relationships from a wide range of perspectives and from a wide range of organisations, institutions and disciplines, from academics (historians, art historians, literary and film historians), museum curators and professionals, exhibition designers, technicians and craft-workers):

Themes for consideration may include:

The processes of the circulation, display and redisplay of Period Rooms – the dealers, merchants, decorators, collectors, and museum curators and their roles in the changing taste for the Period Room.

Case Studies of Period Rooms – the history of specific displays in museums and other public institutions; their provenance, removal and reconstruction; display and interpretation.

The philosophical history of the Period Room as a particular mode of engagement with the past - as an historical space, as a space of historical empathy, and as an immersive environment.

The material and technical aspects of Period Room display; the challenges of redisplay in museum contexts, what the objects reveal about the history of their making and the history of museum interpretation.

The ‘Period Room’ in literature, film and visual culture; how was/is the Period Room/Historic Interior imagined, and what can these perspectives tell us about how we engage with the Period Room in the museum?

Please send abstracts of no more than 400 words to the conference organisers:

Dr Mark Westgarth (School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, University of Leeds) m.w.westgarth@leeds.ac.uk

Dr Jane Whittaker (The Bowes Museum) jane.whittaker@thebowesmuseum.org.uk

Dr Howard Coutts (The Bowes Museum)howard.coutts@thebowesmuseum.org.uk

Closing Date for Abstracts: 31st March 2014.