Morgawr: an experimental Bronze Age‐type sewn‐plank craft based on the Ferriby boats

This paper reports on the construction of a full‐scale Bronze Age‐type sewn‐plank boat based on the Ferriby boats. The boat, which was named Morgawr, was constructed in the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth, England, during 2012 and the first months of 2013, as part of a larger exhibition in the museum. This paper provides the background and context of the project, describes the process of building the craft, and reflects in particular on differences between Morgawr and the ‘hypothetical reconstruction of a complete sewn‐plank boat’ published in 1990 by Ted Wright and John Coates which formed the basis for this project.     

Captain Cook upon Changing Seas: Indigenous Voices and Reimagining at the British Museum

ABSTRACT

This article reviews the British Museum exhibition, Reimagining Captain Cook: Pacific Perspectives, 29 November 2018–4 August 2019. It situates the exhibition within a global context of exhibitions held around the 250th anniversary of Cook’s first voyage, and critically considers its attempt to reframe dominant narratives surrounding Cook, his voyages and more broadly the colonization of the Pacific through a focus on Pacific Islander perspectives within a changing museum sector.     

El purgatorio de un dictador: Crisis,memoria y narrativas iconoclastas

ABSTRACT

In the autumn of 2005, the museum of Vilafranca del Penedès (Catalonia, Spain) programmed a cycle of cultural events in order to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of Francisco Franco's death. Among them, the performative one-piece exhibition Listen, Franco! The Purgatory for a Dictator showed a bronze sculpted bust of the dictator (belonging to the museum collection) and invited citizens to freely participate and “tell to him” all they would have liked to say if they had had the opportunity to. The unusual shape of the event and the high level of participation made the exhibition become a media success. However, a last-day surprising performance experience—as a result of which the bust was “vandalized” or, should I better say, “re-signified”—became a source of reflection about the boundaries between preservation and transmission of cultural heritage, as well as about museums as places for collective elaboration of public memory. This case appears as a catalyzer of a cultural crisis that exploded after 2008, and a prefiguration a new exhibition around another sculpture of the dictator, which took place in Barcelona in 2016.     

‘My voice counts because I’m handsome.’ Democratising the museum: the power of museum participation

Abstract

Participation – where visitors are invited to leave a comment, co-create, or contribute to exhibitions – has been hailed as an opportunity to democratise the museum experience. New qualitative data from on-site and follow up interviews with museum visitors and practitioners at the experimental exhibition Power of 1 at the Museum of Australian Democracy has been used as a case study to determine if the rhetoric of the highly interactive, audience-centred approach of the participatory museum is meeting its aims. This paper argues that participation has the potential to democratise the museum experience for visitors, particularly when a more expansive definition is applied which acknowledges the benefits of participation beyond simply leaving a comment. Participation can provoke conversations and forge connections with real and imagined communities within the museum and beyond; however this potential is hampered by the often unacknowledged undemocratic practices within institutions by professionals who devalue visitor participation and power-sharing in order to uphold traditional museum practices.     

'[...] But it's Not Like I Know Anything About Them!': Immigrants in the Museum in Finland

Abstract

Museum education has undergone a profound transformation from the ideals of the Enlightenment through modernism to those of postmodernism. Museum visitors are no longer perceived as passive receivers of information provided by experts but as active learners who freely construct their own meanings, driven by their personal motivation. Museum education is no longer about educating the masses but facilitating learners in their individual learning processes. Learning outcomes are no longer to be measured by the amount of new information absorbed in an exhibition but by more abstract things: improved quality of life, increased awareness of one's own identity, and better self-esteem or increased ability to cope in society. The question is: how can museums provide their visitors with such learning possibilities? This article presents three projects that have been carried out at the Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova Museum in Turku, Finland, to test methods and models for increased personal experience and involvement, especially in facilitating interaction and understanding between cultures. As a result of this it is proposed that exhibitions and their related activities should be planned in such a way that they facilitate the self-on — the individual's projection and associations through involvement of emotions — thus facilitating connections between the exhibition and contemporary life.     

Book reviews

G. Adrian Horridge. The design of planked boats of the Moluccas. [Greenwich]: The National, Martime Museum, 1978. [vi], iii, 54 pp. (Maritime Monographs and Reports, No. 38.).

G. Adrian Horridge. The lambo or prahu bot: a Western ship in an Eastern setting. [Greenwich]: National Maritime Museum, 1979. [ii], iv, 41 pp. (Maritime Monographs and Reports, No. 39.).

G. Adrian Horridge. The Konjo boatbuilders and the Bugis prahus of South Sulawesi. [Greenwich]: National Maritime Museum, 1979. [ii], vi, 56 pp. (Maritime Monographs and Reports, No. 40.).

Sri Owen. Indonesian food and cookery. London: Prospect Books, 1980. 255pp., map [on inside back cover]. £4.95.

James J. Fox (ed.). The flow of life: essays on eastern Indonesia. Cambridge, Mass., and London, Harvard University Press: 1980. xi, 372 pp. (Harvard Studies in Cultural Anthropology, 2.)     

Alternative Radio: exhibiting radio and music heritage after the Christchurch earthquakes

This article examines the representation of Christchurch, New Zealand, student radio station RDU in the exhibition Alternative Radio at the Canterbury Museum in 2016. With the intention of ‘making visible what is invisible’ about radio broadcasting, the exhibition articulated RDU as a point of interconnection between the technical elements of broadcasting, the social and musical culture of station staff and volunteers, and the broader local and national music scenes. This paper is grounded in observations of the exhibitions and associated public programmes, and interviews with the key participants in the exhibition including the museum’s exhibition manager and staff from RDU, who acted as independent practitioners in collaboration with the museum. Alternative Radio also addressed the aftermath of the major earthquake of 22 February 2011, when RDU moved into a customised horse truck after losing its broadcast studio. The exhibition came about because of the cultural resonance of the post-quake story, but also emphasised the long history of the station before that event, and located this small student radio station in the broader heritage discourse of the Canterbury museum, activating the historical, cultural, and personal memories of the station’s participants and audiences.     

Who were bennelong and Pemulwuy? Museums in Sydney and interpretation of eora aboriginal culture

Abstract

The Eora Aboriginal People are the original inhabitants of the Sydney region [in NSW, Australia]. There are an estimated 2, 000 Aboriginal rock engravings in Sydney. Some museums in Sydney now acknowledge the traditional Aboriginal owners and use Eora words to name their exhibitions. These include: Ngaramang bayumi – music & dance (Powerhouse Museum); Merana Eora Nora – first people (Australian National Maritime Museum); Yiribana (Art Gallery of New South Wales); and Cadi Eora Birrung: Under the Sydney Stars (Sydney Observatory). The Aboriginal history of Sydney, however, is only told at the Museum of Sydney with installations, videos and spoken exhibits about Eora, the indigenous peoples of Sydney. This paper reviews the Eora Aboriginal exhibits at the Museum of Sydney. It questions whether visitors to Sydney learn about Bennelong and Pemulwuy, two key Aboriginal figures in the the early European settlement around Sydney Harbour. Sydney Aboriginal Discoveries on their Dreamtime cruise of Sydney Harbour provide another interpretation of Eora history and culture. The paper suggests the Eora heritage of Sydney should be more widely interpreted in Museums, National Parks and other public venues to rightfully acknowledge this Aboriginal history.     

Science and Technology for Tommorrow's World Health

Abstract

This essay reviews an exhibition in the National Technical Museum, Prague, from 30 September to 23 October 1994 to mark the visit of Queen Margarethe II of Denmark to the Czech Republic on 11–13 October 1994     

Is cultural democracy possible in a museum? Critical reflections on Indigenous engagement in the development of the exhibition Encounters: Revealing Stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Objects from the British Museum

Recent museological scholarship emphasises visitor participation and democratic access to cultural heritage as key to securing the ongoing relevance and future sustainability of museums. But do legacies of colonialist collecting practices and hierarchical conventions of representation in museums afford the possibility of genuine cultural democracy? This paper explores this question via detailed analysis of the Encounters exhibition, developed by the National Museum of Australia in partnership with the British Museum and promoted as an unprecedented partnership between the institutions and Indigenous Australian communities. Drawing on an extensive and emerging literature on museums, community engagement, participation and democracy, in tandem with analysis of public critiques and Indigenous responses to the exhibition, the paper suggests that the extent of Indigenous agency within the collaboration fell short of the articulated goals of the project. It concludes that the concept of maximal participation and release of agency to communities of interest may be difficult to achieve within existing museum frameworks.     

By the People,for the People. The Case of a Community Museum of Traumatic Greek Heritage

Abstract

This article will delineate the history and activities of the Museum of Political Exiles of Ai Stratis in Greece. The museum was founded in the 1980s by a group of former inmates who were banished in the North Aegean island of Ai Stratis, a site of political confinement between 1920s and 1960s. Since its inception, the museum has aspired to be a platform of communication, a place of healing that is by the people for the people. The aim here is to examine how this was achieved and what lessons have been learned from the endeavours of an organization that deals with a rather traumatic chapter of modern Greek history. Emphasis will be placed especially on what role the subjects of history have assumed in the design of the permanent exhibition and the educational and cultural activities.     

Building Pâris’ Beden Seyad: a replica of the Omani 19th‐century sewn fishing vessel

The beden seyad is a simple yet elegant Omani sewn fishing craft documented by the French naval officer François‐Edmond Pâris during his visit in Oman in 1838–1839. A 10m‐long scaled‐down replica of the vessel was built by a team of experts in a traditional boatyard in Qantab, the Sultanate of Oman, and is displayed in the Maritime History Gallery at the National Museum of Oman. This article describes different aspects of the building process of the vessel, from the material used to the method of construction. It compares the different versions of the beden drawing provided by Pâris and discusses the decision‐making and problem‐solving procedures carried out by the construction team.     

Museums as Societal Engines for Urban Renewal. The Event Strategy of the Museum of Natural History in Florence

Abstract

The paper aims to contribute to the debate on urban renewal, departing from the so-called Bilbao effect. Focusing on the resurgence of a societal function of cultural heritage, we discuss the idea of the museum as a societal engine through a case study. Although the literature has been mainly dedicated to assessing the economic impact of large art museums in former industrial regions, the paper focuses on a small scientific museum, the Museum of Natural History in Florence, and on its strategy of social enhancement through the organization of small- and medium-sized cultural events in the historical city centre. Through the application of social network analysis to 17 temporary exhibitions between 2000 and 2012 and the analysis of 790 events divided into three macro-areas (relations with territory, educational networks and scientific networks), the role played by the museum, the density and variety of events will be investigated. The resulting picture is that of a proactive museum located at the centre of a network of—mostly local—institutional actors that have effectively contributed to the re-vitalization of scientific knowledge and education as well as relations with the citizenship and the territory, therefore representing a valuable example of a societal enhancement of culture.     

‘Tangled up in Blue’: The Death,Dress and Identity of an Early Viking-Age Female Settler from Ketilsstaðir,Iceland

IN 1938, a woman’s burial was uncovered by road builders at Ketilsstaðir in north-eastern Iceland. Recently, her physical remains and associated funerary goods were re-examined by an international, interdisciplinary team and formed the basis for an exhibition at the National Museum of Iceland in 2015. This paper focuses on the items of dress that accompanied the woman — born in the British Isles, but who migrated to Iceland at a very young age — to gain insights into the ways her cultural identity was expressed at the time of her death. Here we explore the roles played by material culture in signaling her identity, and the technologies and trade networks through which she was connected, visually, to Scandinavia, the British Isles, and the Viking world at large.     

Death by a Thousand Cuts: an archaeological assessment of souveniring and salvage on the Australian cruiser HMAS Perth (I)

In 2014, the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) received reports from recreational divers that the shipwreck site of HMAS Perth (I) was being systematically salvaged by commercial divers. After extensive discussions with Indonesian Government departments and agencies the ANMM led the first Australian/Indonesian remote sensing survey of Perth in December 2016. This was followed by an in‐water survey in May 2017. These investigations revealed Perth has been devastated by systematic, large‐scale unauthorized salvage. Following the survey, ANMM and its Indonesian research partner Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi Nasional (ARKENAS), working in conjunction with the Royal Australian Navy and Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, successfully lobbied the Indonesian Government to have the site declared Indonesia's first Marine Protected Area.     

Exhibiting Cultures: Singapore’s Asian Civilisations Museum

Museums occupy many roles which are influenced by wider circumstances and changing conditions. This study deals with the case of Singapore’s Asian Civilisations Museum and the manner in which it is used to promote nation building in a multi‐ethnic and relatively newly independent state. In addition, it serves a political purpose and acts as an economic resource. The Asian Civilisations Museum illustrates some of the recent trends affecting the museum sector as a whole and also the particular challenges facing such institutions in a country like Singapore with its many distinctive qualities.     

What is a museum for? The Magüta Museum for the Ticuna people,Amazonas, Brazil

Abstract

After working for several years in the Ethnography Section of Brazil's National Museum, Maria JussaraGomes Gruber helped found the Magüta Museum in the town of Benjamin Constant, in Amazonas (close to Brazil's border with Peru and Colombia). Jussara Gruber believed that an ethnographic museum, with objects selected, displayed and explained in ways that made sense to the Ticuna Indians of the area, would help them to sustain social and cultural values in the face of continuing colonization by non-Indian society. The Ticuna are one of Brazil's most populous indigenous groups, with some 95 villages mainly scattered along the banks of the Upper Solimões River and its tributaries. Ticuna efforts to establish land boundaries and reclaim their own territory have met substantial opposition from non-Indian loggers, landowners and storekeepers. In this article (compiled from a letter and subsequent telephone interview translated by Maria Renata Franco Peters and edited by Bill Sillar) Constantino Ramos Lopes explains his role as director of the museum and its significance for the Ticuan people.     

中国博物馆大型原创性特展之展览策划——以南京博物院为例专访龚良院长

21世纪以来,中国博物馆的大型原创性特展工作呈现良好的发展态势。南京博物院龚良院长指出,大型原创性特展作为博物馆为公众提供更好的文化服务的文化产品,既能衡量博物馆的发展活力,也有利于博物馆的可持续发展。博物馆应根据自身的定位和特色完善藏品体系,从而确定展览主题,制订展览规划。高校应该围绕研究公众、服务公众调整博物馆学的课程设置。试行中的理事会制度将有助于推动博物馆为公众提供高品质的文化服务、满足公众更高的精神文化需求。南京博物院近年大力推行策展人制度,鼓励策划大型原创性特展,重视并强调展示文物之间的相互关系。2016年度举办的"法老·王"展是一次用低票价、非营利的方法,举办了一个不用财政资金、为公众提供优质服务的高品质展览,并将展览作为文化创意产品的有益尝试,将为中国博物馆界提供一个可复制的成功案例。     

The educational work of a National Museum: creating knowledgeable young citizens in Ottawa,Canada

ABSTRACT

This article explores the geographies of education at the National Museum of Canada in the first half of the twentieth century. Through an analysis of the spatialization of children’s museum education, we highlight how the museum sought to inculcate in young Canadians knowledges about their country, its people, and natural resources. We situate children’s museum education within the broader context of Canadian nationalism, other museum activities, and public education in the capital. Focusing on the design and material organization of the museum, we highlight how the space of the museum, from the objects on display to the imposing grandeur of the building, sought to impress upon students the importance of the knowledge it conveyed. Finally, we illustrate how the museum’s programming aimed to provide children with knowledge of their national heritage, building citizenship through claims of development as destiny.     

Mediating legacies of empire in the post-imperial museum

ABSTRACT

Throughout the Balkans, the history museum remains a crucial site where memories of an imperial past are molded, rationalized, and integrated into the wider arc of nationalist narratives about a country and its people. The legacy of the Ottoman Empire is particularly fraught in Greece, where this period is almost always classified as ‘post-Byzantine’ within the context of government institutions. In this paper, I set out to trace the legacy of the Ottoman Empire as it has been mediated in multiple museum sites throughout the country. I will primarily focus on two case studies: The National Historical Museum in Athens and the Museum of Ali Pasha and the Period of Revolution in Ioannina. Comparing these two sites and their practices of display bring into sharper focus the dynamics of how historical memory plays out in a central versus regional sphere of belonging and identity.