Jenny Whitelaw, Consultant, Museum Strategies
& Development
Recently I participated in two sessions of
‘Making it Real’, a series of comprehensive planning
exercises currently being facilitated by the Arts Industry Council
throughout Victoria. The information provided states that these
‘brainstorming’ sessions are contributing to a report
that will be a blueprint for lobbying by the Arts Industry Council
and will be submitted to Arts Victoria who are partially funding
the exercise. I found both of the workshops useful and well facilitated,
particularly the one held in Regional Victoria.
During both workshops, it became evident to
me that the issue of where, if at all, museums ‘fit’
in the
Arts continues to be a matter of discussion
- but mostly neglect - within the arts community, and among those
who are directly involved in the planning, development and policy
of Arts programs.
During discussions with community arts groups
concerning programs, funding, management, elite artists, spaces,
facilities, community arts, cultural development and so on over
the last few years, museums have not been included or mentioned
- until I eventually felt it necessary to speak up. Although I
felt that constantly encouraging the inclusion of museums in the
debate was becoming tedious, participants at the recent Regional
Arts workshop, where the issue of the role of the museum in the
Regional Arts community was discussed briefly, welcomed my comments.
Where museums fit in the context of the Arts
community under the governance of Arts Victoria is an issue of
major importance to museum administrators. Not only is this the
dilemma museum personnel face when seeking support and assistance
from the government for the industry, it is also a dilemma within
our own institutions as curators, collection managers and education
officers dispute the role of museums. Unless we can present a
united front on this issue, it is impossible for us to expect
audiences to respond positively to our programs, or to fully understand
the role of individual and regional museums - and I’m sure
most in the industry would agree on the importance of this.
Discussions with Regional and Specialist Museums
Advisory Committee raised the idea of developing an awareness
campaign which would encourage understanding and demonstrate the
part that museums play in our communities and lives. While this
is valid, I believe that before we attempt this strategy we need
to address, as an industry, the issue of what museums do in the
many different roles that they play, acknowledging their value
and accepting their differences.
One of the greatest challenges facing museums
as we attempt to negotiate a place for ourselves within the structure
of Arts Victoria governance and funding is articulating to the
Arts Industry just what our ‘artistry’ is, as this is
the basis of the industry’s rationale. Who is the ‘artist’
in ‘museum land’? It was this issue that I put to the
group in Regional Victoria. We have focussed so far on the needs
of different groups or individual artists who produce music, dance,
photographs, paintings, sculptures etc., and who require facilities,
resources and activities for their support. If museums are to
be a part of the arts community, and if Arts Victoria is going
to insist that as a condition of funding we must develop programs
to support the ‘artist,’ then can we please consider
where the ‘artist’ is within the structure of a museum?
Responses to this query were variations on
two themes: either the person who provides the design for the
display, or the curator. Fortunately for those present in the
workshop, the question was posed for the other to consider, and
not for me to pontificate on. However, since the workshop I have
had time to consider the lack of understanding of the many areas
of ‘artistry’ within the museum. It is my belief that
there are many artists within the complexity of museum programs,
and that the work of these people is no less important than those
who play a part within, for example, the production of a performance
by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra of a Symphony by Sibelius
under the baton of Daniel Barenboim in the Melbourne Concert Hall,
or a performance of Swan Lake, choreographed by Graham Blundell
and performed by Chunky Move on a pontoon on Albert Park Lake.
The purpose of raising this issue is to suggest
that a group of museum people meet to discuss the museum in this
context and provide a view of the activities of the museum in
a similar language to that used in other areas of the arts. The
outcome of this may be to provide a clear understanding of the
museum in the Arts arena, to assist the debate on collections
versus interpretation within our industry and perhaps to provide
a small first step in defining our role in the broad community.