CAG on museums: The future of ethnographic museums

Wooden feeding funnel, or korere, elaborately carved with figures in relief on each side and at rear. The carvings are almost in the style of a Taranaki figure. Previously part of the Allan Museum collection. 18th century, and possibly one of the earliest korere in a European museum collection

Being excited for a conference is not my normal state of mind about extra-curricular academic work/networking, but when a conference is specifically about ethnography museums and their future I am heavily invested and deeply interested in all of the discussions and debates that might come up. I have very recently been told that ‘ethnographers are a dying breed’ and sometimes it does seem like this is true. On the other hand, with an increasing amount of students taking part in postgraduate courses in the UK related to Museum Studies, Museum Anthropology and Visual Culture Studies, there is certainly not a dying interest in ethnography and studying cultural anthropology in the museum in any way, but with government cuts to arts funding, there are certainly many fewer positions available in museums.

A fine and rare Cree moose-hide coat, the back with painted rectangular panel of dotted winged motifs in red and black. Originally part of the Darlington Museum collection. Hudson Bay, York Factory.  Maker- Sehwahtahow 1786

The upcoming conference on 'The Future of Ethnographic Museums' taking place 19-21 July 2013 at the Oxford University Pitt Rivers Museum intends to cover questions that have been raised about the modernity of ethnographic museums and whether new audiences can be attracted or not. Alongside the seeming decline in the promotion of ethnographic collections and their specialists, there is also the age old criticism of ethnography museums perpetuating a distinction between “us” and “them”, a fraught history of collecting, and the lack of 21^st century interpretation of cultural material.

The five year project being run by the Ethnography Museums and World Cultures (EMWC): A European Project is funded by the European Commission and has sought to answer questions that have been put to major ethnographic museums about their global role in contemporary society. Many museums have reacted to criticisms and have been self-reflective about their practice for many years. Museums in Australia have endeavoured to include Indigenous Australian interests in collections interpretation and displays. Many museums such as Manchester Museum have employed repatriation policies that enable indigenous groups to petition for the return of valuable ancestral objects.

A Hawaiian feather cape, or 'aha'ula, with winged motif. Triangles and border of yellow feathers on a scarlet ground of feathers, all on a vegetable fibre base. 1834

The Pitt Rivers 'Future of Ethnographic Museums' conference is the last in the series of EMWC workshops, conferences, and conversations that aim to “to stimulate debate about ethnographic museums in the post-colonial period and to envision new ways of thinking and working in those museums in the future.” I’m very interested to see the kinds of debates and discussions that are sparked by this conference, and hope that there will be a lot of examples of how these museum professionals are adapting their practice with ethnographic collections today.

CAG on museums: Putting up the 'Material Connections' display

Iberian female votive figure 5th century BC

The ‘Material Connections: Spanish and Portuguese decorative arts’ is officially up and running. Having such a short lead-in time, it has been an enormous task to get everything ready and up to standard. Some of the biggest hurdles for curatorial work I think happen to be whether or not the aspects of the exhibition which you need to outsource (printing, conservation, design, etc.) can be done with the same expediency that you have to get your exhibition out in. This is when I learned that doing as much as I could possibly do on my own like photography, interpretation, install, mount making, and (some of) the design would make the process move much faster than usual.

 

19th century pistol holders to go over the pommel of a horse

Making plastizote cut outs for the pistol holders

Packing objects for transport

Although it has been a whirlwind of a job, curating, researching, and installing an exhibition is one of the most fulfilling things about curatorial work. There are a lot of other aspects of the curator position that aren’t really my favourite things, but you’re always reminded that you do those slightly trivial  tasks so that when you get to do the exhibition work it gives you so much satisfaction.

Facón knife Spain 1869

Gaucho in the Argentinian Republic with facón in belt 1868,
Library of Congress Courret Hermanos Fotografos, Lima Peru

Attempted 'professional' lead image with photoshop,
6th century BC Iberian belt clasp

Plastic covered wire holders for suspended belt clasp 

Cutting out plastizote for bronze mounts

Bronzes mounted and labelled

18th century Portuguese Appliqué pinned on
fabric covered plastizote block 

Pinning 17th century Portuguese silk panel to textile mount with student

Arranging textiles once installed in the case

Title interpretation panel

Installing leatherwork and bronzes

Install completed with interpretation

CAG on museums: Museums and Heritage Show 2013

Olympia exhibition hall

For the last few days, I’ve been down in London at a conference on museums, heritage, and general museum practice. There were many topics covered such as funding for museums and the possible hardships coming up for UK arts institutions, marketing and knowing your audiences, the difficulty of exhibition designs, and the use of social media. Overall, there was a very wide focus on museum strategy, retail, and design, which are all things that can be constantly improved to aid the success of museums and visitor experience.

Football Museum presentation

 Of the more exciting talks, within the spectrum of conference nerd-timez, was a talk called ‘Social media through thick and thin’, which was given by the marketing team from the Football Museum in Manchester and focused on their ability to connect to new and old audiences by engaging through social media.

V&A 'The challenges of exhibiting costumes'

Another, really interesting insight was given by the curators and designers of the V&A’s ‘Hollywood Costume’ on the challenges of exhibiting costumes, the conservation issues for those specific textiles, how to preserve the feeling of action relevant to motion pictures, and how to convey a sense of being in a film set to create the Hollywood vibe of the exhibition.

Morris Hargreaves McIntyre on Grayson Perry

Although I work mainly with anthropology collections, I am very interested in the world of contemporary fashion and the inclusion of this into museum collections for world cultures (my previous post on this issue for Pacific fashion). I attended other interesting talks on audience engagement through exhibitions and collections research, but the V&A one really stuck with me.  Here are a few nicked photos of the costumes from the exhibition, because I have a whole new appreciation for the complexity of textile mounting now.

Credit: Chole Nelkin

Credit: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for The V&A