Day 1: SPEAKERS
Thematic Papers Session 1 – Inclusivity
Thematic Papers Session 1 – Inclusivity
Session Time: 1.30pm
Venue: Ngee Ann Auditorium, B1
The New Museum Definition: Change of Paradigm but Timeless Challenge for Museum Educators
Mrs Marie-Clarté O’Neill
President, CECA
Abstract
The purpose of the communication is to consider the terms of the museum definition adopted in 2022 by ICOM and to analyse the changes it proposes in relation to the definition adopted previously in 2007. This comparison can help to understand how museum professionals currently view the missions of the institutions they serve and to describe the nature of the changes in these missions, which called for a renewed definition.
The comparison will be made quantitatively, comparing the number of terms referring to the relationship with audiences in the two definitions. It will also be done in a qualitative way, pointing out the appearance of new terms or semantic shifts in the description of professional practices related to the interpretation of collections.
The strongly renewed importance given to research as the breeding ground for any museum proposal is enriched and extended to the plasticity of reflection and knowledge sharing. Accessibility, interpretation, inclusiveness, communities, experience, enjoyment, all these terms are new in the ICOM definition. They are not, however, new to the practice of museum educators around the world, as demonstrated by the programmes submitted to the CECA Best Practice Award over the past 10 years. However, they question the current practice of museums which, beyond experimental or one-off programmes, are still too often places that are not really intellectually accessible, authoritarian in their presentations, naturally open to communities of regulars, and too rarely combining knowledge acquisition and pleasure despite the wishes expressed by their visitors.
National Museums’ Societal Roles and their Perspectives on the ‘National’ — A Case Study in Finland and Japan
Mr Shikoh Shiraiwa
Doctoral Student, University of Helsinki and University of Antwerp
Abstract
This presentation relates to my doctoral project, a case study of Finnish and Japanese national museums and their cultural and identity politics. Based on interviews conducted between 2020 and 2021 in both nations, I will discuss national museum workers’ thoughts about the roles of (national) museums today, how they perceive national identity (Finnishness and Japaneseness) and how museum narratives have been shifting. Then, I will further engage with the interviewees’ motivations for opening more diverse dialogues within the national museum framework and how they have worked to shift the museum’s role to meet the needs of current social, cultural and political narratives.
Understanding the Role of Mediators in the Relational Process Developed to Foster Interactions between Artworks and Visitors Participating in a Museum Programme Designed According to the Principle of Inclusion
Dr Anne-Marie Émond
Full Professor, Université de Montréal
Abstract
Participation in creative cultural activities has received increasing attention from researchers and policy makers. It is seen by some as an important new focus for public health programmes and research (Clift & Camic, 2015). The museum sector has responded to the global trend of increased awareness of health and wellness challenges by creating programmes for older adults, people with dementia, and mental health service users, to name a few (Chatterjee and Camic, 2015). Wellness as a concept is widely employed by the cultural sector but eludes a common definition (Thomson et al. 2012). Van Lith and Spooner (2018) report significant differences in practice and expertise in delineating art therapy from wellness activities. Their findings suggest that the programmes have in common: seeking to improve the lives of participants; with art making being an essential ingredient; but differ in terms of goals, facilitation, and qualifications (Legari, Lajeunesse, & Giroux, 2020). In Thomson et al.’s (2018) research to assess psychological well-being in a new social prescribing intervention for older adults, participants noted that it was important for mediators to “”listen to their ideas”” and that it was helpful to feel “”intellectually stimulated”” (Thomson, Lockyer, Camic, & Chatterjee, 2018). The role of the mediator as an expert on the museum and as a socially engaged and welcoming person was deemed essential. Relational processes occur in all groups, but groups that come together over time develop different dynamics and interactions that can both promote or hinder social interaction. Mediator training must take this into account if museums plan to offer programmes that address social and health issues that are considered important (Todd, Camic, Lockyer, Thomson, & Chatterjee, 2017).
The purpose of this thematic presentation is to explore how it is possible to support mediators in developing their skills as educator-facilitators in order to foster encounters with artworks in a museum context from an inclusive perspective.
Learning Difficult History and Human Rights in Art Exhibition: A Case Study of Worksheet Design
Prof Chia-Li Chen
Professor, Taipei National University of the Arts
Ms Yun-Ju Chen
Postgraduate student, Taipei National University of the Arts
Abstract
Worksheets are often used in museums for children and students to deepen their understanding of exhibits and enhance learning. What role can worksheets play in promoting human rights education through art exhibitions? This study focuses on the exhibition “” Back to the Days of Verdict: Chen Wu-Jen Art Exhibition “” as a case study, sharing how the curatorial team incorporated human rights education concepts into the design of worksheets.
Chen We-Jen is a survivor of the White Terror of Taiwan and his artworks are about the difficult history and experiences. From the front-end evaluation, some audiences are resistant to art exhibitions related to human rights issues. Thus, the curatorial team designed two worksheets with separated themes, Art and History. The art path focuses on the artist’s style and technique, while the historical path explores the history and strengthens the audience’s reflection on the causes of historical events from diverse perspectives of “perpetrators”, “victims”, or their families. Questions were set on the worksheets, guiding visitors to dialogue with the exhibits, hoping to resonate with the audiences acting in concert with the stories in the artwork.
Through visitor studies by guided visits and interviews, it was found that visitors would try to learn about unfamiliar areas through worksheets. They also appreciated how questioning deepened their interpretation and critical thinking. In terms of empathy from different perspectives, audiences expressed full empathy for the victims, but could not put themselves in the negative role of the perpetrators. The study suggests that worksheets questions may have to be altered to a third-person perspective to reduce discomfort in simulating the role of perpetrators. Furthermore, the practicality and intuitive operation of the worksheets should be enhanced through improving the design, thus fully realizing the educational function of exhibition.
Mobile Mini-Exhibits as a Co-Creation and Partnership Project of the Estonian Health Museum
Ms Jelena Tšekulajeva
Head of Exhibitions and Collections, Estonian Health Museum
Abstract
This year the Estonian Health Museum started with the “Mobile Mini-Exhibit” project in cooperation with the Estonian Association of Speech Therapists, Diabetic School and Tallinn Chamber of Disabled People. One of the aims is to learn more about medicine history, gather experience stories and broaden museum collections. Another aim is to build three prototypes of the compact travelling displays about
topics the organisation deals with daily, stories of the patients and their close ones, show how the life quality has changed for example during the last 100 years. These first mini-exhibits are created in
cooperation with three organisations named above and later on given to them to enlarge the awareness and empathy of the target groups chosen by each organisation.
This kind of collaboration is of interest to a number of health and professional associations and is suitable for a rather small museum with lack of exhibition space. We hope that in the future the museum will be able to flexibly and economically produce small exhibitions using the modular base we are prototyping now.
The thematic mini-exhibits help the museum bring knowledge to a wider audience, because the
exhibitions travel to different places (schools, libraries, polyclinics etc) in Estonia accompanied by the members of the specific health or professional community as mediators.
As a result, the museum’s visibility increases and regional accessibility improves, the museum collections become more complete, medical history research is deepened thanks to collaboration with specific communities and local health or professional organisations get an opportunity to use exhibits as a communication tool in their everyday informative work.
The project is brought to life thanks to the support of the Museum Accelerator of the Estonian Heritage Board.
Shaping Inclusive Heritage Education: Co-creating the Values of Heart of Neolithic Orkney through Digital Heritage Elicitation
Ms Hsiao-Chiang Wang (Hope)
PhD Candidates, UNESCO RILA, University of Glasgow
Abstract
World Heritage Sites (WHS) are widely considered valuable for all humankind, but the engagement of refugees with WHS is overlooked. The heterogeneous nature of refugees is sometimes seen as incompatible with the cultural coherence and national pride associated with these sites, resulting in their exclusion from community engagement. Furthermore, refugees experience numerous obstacles arising from the loss of social and cultural capital during conflicts and migration, hindering their involvement in the meaning-making processes of WHS. Nevertheless, refugees are multicultural individuals with cultural rights and creativity, and their participation can reveal multiple values of WHSs.
This study aims to shape inclusive heritage education and suggest effective pedagogical solutions. It conducts action research in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney, a prehistoric cultural landscape that spans 5,000 years and is one of the WHSs in the far north of Scotland. This site is a rich source of creative inspiration and provides accessible opportunities for immersive experiences with 3D scanning technology.
This study collaborates with Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and Migrant Voice to initiate co-creation workshops as interventions. The conceptual frameworks are constructed, including the Worldview transformative model and the hierarchy of values and knowledge creation (See Figures 1 & 2). The elicitation technique is used in digital heritage to overcome mobility, cultural, and language barriers.
This project has implications for inclusive heritage education, which benefits refugee integration and the engagement of other multicultural groups.
Although resource limitations restrict its scope, it lays the foundation for future research in this underexplored area.