Christina Kreps, “Curatorship as Social Practice”

Christina Kreps begins by providing a brief overview of the expansion of roles that curators must assume. This change is described to be part of a larger set of transformations occurring in museums. Kreps describes the shift to a socially-oriented approach to curation, arguing that curation itself is a social practice and cultural artifact that exists as part of a larger sociocultural context. She details the new museology movement, which approaches museums and curating practices with goals of social change, democratization of museums, and serving people. In terms of active archives, it intends to involve community members as participants in museum work. These approaches also take into account people’s varied positioning with respect to objects.

Kreps does a cross-cultural examination of curatorship and museum practices, comparing indigenous methods of curatorship with Western museum culture. Objects are decontextualized in Western museum practices. This decontextualization and recontextualization within museum culture has created barriers between objects and people, as well as a disregard for the social dimensions of museums and curatorship. This discussion called to mind my own experience learning about the brick lions lining the Processional Way from the Ishtar Gate in Babylon. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston owns one of the lions on display in their Ancient Near East Gallery. The benefit of exhibiting brick lions in a museum context is that a wider audience is able to experience the aesthetic qualities and three-dimensional nature of the lions in person. Additionally, placing them in a museum protects these sculptural remnants from being destroyed. However, displaying them in a museum context erases the significance of their location on the Processional Way, as well as their symbolic power as protectors of people going into Babylon. Curators and other people in the museum can work to create experiences where visitors can be provided with more historical context and be engaged to learn about the historical significance of these objects.

“The Future of Museums and Libraries: A Discussion Guide”

This discussion guide explores questions regarding different ways museum and libraries are changing and can adapt to best serve the general public. It examines several ideas, including the best ways for museums and libraries to collaborate, adapt to new ways of learning, and plan for relevancy and sustainability. It also calls into question the metrics in which we evaluate these institutions’ community value and impact.

Discussion theme 5 is about the abilities of libraries and museums to adapt to contemporary learning and information use. I visited a sound museum in Vienna called the Haus der Musik. One of the exhibits allows visitors to conduct a virtual Vienna Philharmonic on the screen, encouraging users to engage with the museum’s materials with body movements and gestures. The entrance to the main exhibit is a staircase with piano keys, which emits piano notes when stepped on. The museum places more of a focus on interactivity rather than objects, which connects with the new museology movement of allowing for more varied opportunities for learning. Multimedia modes of interaction show an adaptation to modern ways of learning. The museum has also made efforts to allow people more access to museum resources by collaborating with austrian schools.