A Bright Future for Museums - Det relevante museum · 30 October 2015 . My Themes Relevance Impact Useful Collections Permanence and Change Skills and Professions Relationships. Royal

A Bright Future for

Museums

Maurice Davies

30 October 2015

www.museumconsultancy.co.uk

My Themes

Relevance

Impact

Useful Collections

Permanence and Change

Skills and Professions

Relationships

Royal Academy of Arts

Relationships

Audiences

Communities

Society

The Planet

Sources: Museums2020 Sustainability and Museums

AUDIENCES

LearningQuality time & Entertainment

Wellbeing and HealthConfidence and Identity

Participation

COMMUNITIES

Sense of identity and prideEconomic activity (tourism)

Hub of communityPartnerships

Social cohesion

SOCIETY

Memory and KnowledgeTrusted, neutral

Social Justice and Human RightsShaping the Future

Shape the Future

Traditionally, museums convey past, through present to future

Better to use past to understand the present and shape the future

(Relevance)

THE PLANET

Take from natureCare for nature

Transition

CARE FOR THE PLANET AS WELL AS COLLECTIONS

‘There’s no point in saving history for the world if it costs the earth’

Happy Museum Project www.happymuseumproject.org

IT’S ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS

‘Museums will have to change from being generally inward-looking organisations to outward-looking ones and they will need to learn what this means.’

Quality not Quantity

Depth of engagement

Strength of relationship

(Relevance)

More important than numbers

My Themes

Relationships

RelevanceImpact

Useful Collections

Permanence and Change

Skills and Professions

RELEVANCE

MATTER TO

PEOPLE

NOW !

Slow is good, sometimes

But museums could often move faster:

Respond quickly

Keep up to date

Experiment more

EVENTS

ACTIVITIES

FLEXIBILITY

CHANGE

My Themes

Relationships

Relevance

ImpactUseful Collections

Permanence and Change

Skills and Professions

WHY?WHO FOR?

WHAT IMPACT?

Input collection, staff

Output exhibition

IMPACT learning

good experience

wellbeing

Impact =DifferenceOutcomeChange

Thinking about your museum

Start with the impact you want to have

People’s needs, not collection’s needs

Wellbeing of communities and planet rather than the museum

My Themes

Relationships

Relevance

Impact

Useful CollectionsPermanence and Change

Skills and Professions

Useful Collections

My Themes

Relationships

Relevance

Impact

Useful Collections

Permanence and ChangeSkills and Professions

Permanent

Permanent Collections?

too big?

too careful?

Permanent Displays?

too boring!

(not relevant)

‘I couldn’t agree more that permanent displays are a thing of the past. Even I’m bored of them and I’m promoting them.’

‘Permanent displays are the heart and soul of the museum.’

My Themes

Relationships

Relevance

Impact

Useful Collections

Permanence and Change

Skills and Professions

Skills

Communication

Creative

Entrepreneurial

Partnership

Community development

Professions

Editor

Producer

Social activist

Social entrepreneur

YouCare about people and planet

Improve people’s lives (give them a good time)

Make places better

Be a good neighbour

Be inclusive

Listen as well as talk

Learn as well as teach

Be humble

Do it for others, not yourself

You

Be Relevant!

Want more?