Participation in the present: The evolution of museums

TANG Shiyin FENG Nan

摘 要：回顧博物馆发展的整个历史过程，其定位一直在不断变化。如今，博物馆已经被国际博物馆协会正式认可为公共服务机构，它的社会角色变得越来越重要。通过对博物馆社会角色演变的分析，揭示了博物馆如何积极介入社会问题，从反映过去到反映现在，在价值观念、参与和包容等方面对自身产生了不同的认识。借助法国、美国、丹麦的三个案例分析，以显示当前博物馆社会服务的发展情况。

关键词：博物馆角色;社会服务;教育活动;跨文化交流

Abstract The role of museums has been changing constantly throughout the history of their existence. Nowadays， the museum's social role receives increased importance， as it is officially recognized as an institution of social service by the International Council of Museums. The essay is a theoretical analysis about the changing social role of museums and reveals the museum has come to perceive itself differently in relation to values， participation and inclusion， from reflecting the past to becoming more involved in social issues and reflecting the present. In addition， we also discuss the results of three examples to show how museums focus on the present in France， America and Denmark.

Keywords museum roles， social work， educational activities， cross-cultural communication

0 Introduction

Museums use their collections to tell us stories about human emotions and details of life in the past， which are preserved and displayed in museums because of their value in memory. The question is： since most collections come from the past， do museums reflect past attitudes and concerns rather than the present？ Obviously， this issue is concerned with the connection between the museum and the world today. In this era of technological development， the purpose and function of museums have changed a lot[1]. More and more museums try to go out， to build some new relationships with the world， and they begin to play an increasingly complex and important role in society.

This essay will discuss how museums have gradually broadened their role in society. Then， it takes the crossover cooperation between the Louvre and pop singers， the Dave mobile museum project， the Greve Museum and the Danish Immigration Museum as three examples， to show how museums use their functions of collection， exhibition and education to participate in social issues at a deeper level.

1 The development of museums from the past to the present

Museums focus on the present rather than the past， which is closely related to the development of museums' social role. It's a process that has been going on for centuries. Modern museology appearance benefits by the aristocracy from the 14th to 16th centuries， whose collections were displayed with cabinets in private showrooms， forming the embryonic form of exhibitions[2]. With the establishment of the British Museum and the Louvre in the 18th century， the private property of the aristocracy became the national collection[3]. The collection was opened to the public as mementos of new world adventures and symbols of wealth[2]. In this period， museums began to play their role in society and satisfy people's practical demands. In Britain， museums were supposed to help improve public taste; making tavern less attractive to workers， thereby increasing their sobriety and diligence， and it may help prevent riots and sedition[4]. Small local museums began to develop around the world in the 19th century. They are community-centered and locally collected， to provide services for the residents of communities so that people can learn about local life and things. Museums began to study their collections to reflect the present in order to serve the public and play their own social value. In the middle of the 20th century， new museology emerged. The Museum is not only a collection room but also a medium of knowledge[4]. The social role of museums continues to expand， collecting and preserving objects from the past in order to use history as a resource to shape the future. In this trend， the definition of the museum began to shift， and the community museum became an important research direction. The community is not only the user but also an important participant in the development of the museum. The International Council of Museums emphasizes the interaction between museums and people or communities， but reduces the attention on basic functions such as collection， protection and research[1]. Museums become more aware of the external world （outside the museum）. In recent years， the International Council of Museums has also suggested expanding the definition of museums to encompass their increasingly important and complex social roles.

2 Museums reflect the present

The world is changing and developing， and visitors have more new demands for museums. The museum has attempted to move forward. Randi Korn rewrites Jin Collins' business concept to illustrate how museums respond to challenges： "Enduring great museums preserve their core values and purpose， while their educational strategies and operating practices endlessly adapt to a changing world. This is the magical combination of preserving the core and stimulate progress."[5] This business principle is very applicable to the current situation faced by museums： new technologies and models are constantly updated， so traditional public communication and leisure space should compete with new digital platforms for new audiences.

The Louvre became the most visited museum in the world. The 10.2 million people who came to the Louvre in 2018 marked a 25% rise， beating the previous record of 9.7 million visitors in 2012. One reason is that BeyoncéGiselle Knowles and JAY-Z shot a music video "Apeshit" at the Louvre and uploaded it to the Internet， viewed more than 150 million times online， which has attracted a large number of young people to visit the museum. The Louvre allowed pop singers to perform in front of the paint about the Consecration of Emperor Napoleon and the Coronation of Empress Josephine. It looks like a show. And it also was seen as an important comment on the representation of the power in art， and on race and colonialism.

In particular， this show is part of the museum's reflection of the present， which not only covers the hot topics but also embraces the popular culture. Popular culture is considered to be our main source of information about other races or ethnic groups. We can take advantage of the popular culture， to challenge the stereotype， to improve people's attitude and behavior to immigrants and people of color. Museums accept and display of popular culture， help to enhance their influence in the young group， to attract new visitors， and to play their social role， like reducing inequity. Therefore， in order to have sustainable development， museums should make more efforts to participate in contemporary society while maintaining their core business， such as collection， research and display of collections， serving the public and providing education and entertainment for communities.

3 Museums communicate the past with the present

Museums have the primary responsibility to satisfy the needs of their community[1]. Thus museums should focus on the most pressing issues， and find new ways to connect and interact with them. In this process， they use collections to reflect the present， and explore the contemporary significance of objects[6].

The Dave workshop is a mobile museum project. It takes objects out of museums and into communities where it is difficult to use museum resources. The whole project revolves around the works of a black American potter named David Drake， who lived a life of slavery and made more than 130 pots， but in particular， he often left his signature and short poems on his works. Remember that as a slave， Dave was forbidden to read and write， so these short poems on pots represent his rebellion against the plantation system. Dave overcame a fear of punishment， lack of writing materials， and exhaustion at the end of the day to inscribe his words onto pots[6]. The mobile museum takes Dave's story to some poor African-American communities in Milwaukee for a showcase.

The greatest value of this project is that it communicates the past with the present， inspiring the African-American community with the story of African-American potter Dave's fight against injustice. At every workshop， the staff led participants to discuss Dave's works， to think about why he had inscribed his poem on a jar and what his rebellion was worth. There is a big difference between today and Dave's time： Slavery has long been abolished in the United States. But social issues such as wealth inequality and class disparity also exist in today's American society. The museum has the ability to care for and support the disadvantaged. In the project， the black people in today's impoverished community with the black craftsman in the era of slavery are connected through the museum as a medium. This example reminds us that any collection has its own story.

4 Museums participate in the present

According to some visitor surveys， we can find that the public expectations of museums are constantly changing[1]. End of the 20th century， it's believed that the museum can through exhibitions， activities and more positive behavior to geared to the needs of contemporary society. In 2017， the International Council of Museums launched new definition discussion. The museum should give full play to its role in social development， social participation， social inclusion and many other public problems.

For instance， the Greve Museum and the Danish Immigration Museum are directly involved in local community building. For the purpose of promoting communication between newcomers and indigenous people， and improving the immaterial environment of immigrant communities， the two museums have carried out a survey inmulti-ethnic residential areas of Denmark.

According to the survey， the problems in these areas are complicated： the residents from different ethnic groups， the poor living environment and the inactive internal labor market. In order to improve the region's image， the Greve Museum designed a permanent exhibition to introduce the local history and the history of immigration， and the target group was the nearly 48 000 citizens who participated in the area's history. At the same time， they carried out a five-year project， including a series of seminars and focus groups. This project provides a space for the whole community to have cross-cultural communication. And it demonstrates that the museum can play an effective role in the integration of diverse cultures， and has a unique potential to help multi-ethnic communities to build a united and inclusive environment[7].

In recent years， more and more people are concerned about how museums to remove prejudice and respect human rights. The International Council of Museums pointed out "Museums have unique potential for addressing and fostering cultural understanding in interdisciplinary ways". Indeed， the Greve Museum and the Danish Immigration Museum are so deeply involved in social activities to dig problems and even tried to solve them. It is really a bold attempt.

5 Challenge

Nowadays， museums can no longer be isolated from their social environment， solely relying on academic research to demonstrate their value[8]. However， there are some challenges for museums to participate in social work.

First of all， active participation in social work may be a heavy extra task for museum staffs， because they need to invest a lot of time and energy， which makes us realize that staffs' enthusiasm is necessary.

Secondly， we can't ignore some different views from academia. Some scholars argue that the museum's social work is detrimental to the core business of protection and research collections[9]. Sometimes collections get overlooked when museums move on to more exciting and socially responsible activities. Museums should stick to what they do best - collecting， preserving， exhibiting， research， and not be suited to anything else[10]. Therefore， the key to the problem is how to balance collection-oriented work and social work.

6 Conclusion

This essay has discussed the development process of museums' social role， and has taken three museum examples to show how museums focus on the present. It is clear that the museum has become a necessity due to the increasing visitors' demand. More and more museums are beginning to think about what they can do for society， and what role they can play in social work. In the future， museums may enter into a broader social field and take the advantage of a public exchange space， which will certainly bring more development opportunities. Although they have to face some challenges.

References

[1]Karen Brown， Fran?ois Mairesse. The Definition of the Museum through Its Social Role[J]. Curator： The Museum Journal， 2018（4）： 525-539.

[2]Robert R. Janes， Gerald T. Conaty. Looking Reality in the Eye： Museums and Social Responsibility[M]. Canada： University of Calgary Press， 2005.

[3]Constance Dedieu Grasset. Museum Fever in France[J]. Curator： The Museum Journal， 1996（3）： 188-207.

[4]Tony Bennett. The Birth of the Museum： History， Theory， Politics[M]. London， New York： Routledge， 1995.

[5]Randi Korn. Comment： An Unlikely Match： On the Curator's Role in the Social Work of the Museum[J]. Museum Management and Curatorship， 2012（3）： 217-218.

[6]Ethan W. Lasser. Reply： An Unlikely Match： On the Curator's Role in the Social Work of the Museum[J]. Museum Management and Curatorship， 2012（3）： 205-212.

[7]Kirsten Egholk， Susanne Krogh Jensen. The Inclusive Museum in a Multi-ethnic Age： The Role of the Museum in a Contemporary， Multi-ethnic， Social Housing Area in Denmark[J]. International Journal of the Inclusive Museum， 2016（3）： 21.

[8]American Association of Museums. Excellence and Equity： Education and the Public Dimension of Museums[R]. Washington D.C.： 1992.

[9]Randell Sandell. Museums， Prejudice and the Reframing of Difference[M]. London， New York： Routledge， 2007.

[10]Josie Appleton. Museums for "the People"[M]// Sheila Watson. Museums and Their Communities. London， New York： Routledge， 2007.

參与当下：博物馆社会角色的演变//唐诗吟，冯楠

作者单位：英国莱斯特大学博物馆学院，吉林大学考古学院，E-mail： tangsy301@foxmail.com