Progressive, socially purposeful museums

7th May 2012 Jocelyn Dodd Research Centre for Museums and Galleries (RCMG), University of Leicester

A great pleasure to be in Portugal, delighted to be in Porto (my first visit to the city) and to be involved in your very thoughtful fascinating programme Draw on experience as researcher and museum professional educator, community engagement and museum director Background RCMG within School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester Training master students to work in museums Campus based (85) and Distance learning ( 300) Big PhD programme (60) 50% students from UK, very international, students from all continents RCMG researches into the social role, impact and agency of museums and galleries, focusing on themes of disability, representation, education and learning. Not traditional academic research, team based funded research based directly on museum practice, RCMG founded in 1999 by Professor Eilean Hooper Greenhill, JD appointed director 2006 All my work has been about the transformation of museums to creating museums which are socially relevant-underpinned by issues of equality, human rights, social justice, where museums are active participants in contemporary society, in debates, in the construction of values and ideas The session will cover: 1. The reactionary museum The diehard traditional museum 2. Relevance of collections Madonna of the Pinks Public money public relevance? 3. Shaping values challenging views of disability 1

Rethinking Disability Representation re thinking collections giving a voice to disabled people challenging the way society views and constructs notions of disability 4. Contemporary art and social justice Shout Earlier programme 5. Organisational issues Forces for change and change inhibitors This session will draw on research undertaken by RCMG to illustrate issues, and raise questions to stimulate debate 1. The reactionary museum At worst some museums assume the role of passive store houses of collections, their historic context is used to assume a sense of neutrality and sometimes an aloof distance from contemporary life. Museum processes, working methods have become so entrenched in a stiffing mystique of tradition they inhibit critical thinking, consequently some museums are at risk of being stale, moribund and of little relevance to society today. Waddesdon Manor - in Buckinghamshire is a classic example of the stale, outdated museum Waddesdon Manor was a case study in a research project RCMG carried out for government Inspiration, identity learning the value of museums 2007 Built in the 1870s-80s to display his collections of French furniture, textiles and decorative arts from the eighteenth-century by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, part of the banking and financial dynasty The manor was bequeathed to the National Trust by the Rothschild family in 1957 Waddesdon Manor positioned its self as elitist, so elitist that it choose to exclude children, so removed from even the most general of audiences What are the barriers to being progressive? Historically Waddesdon regarded its self as a connoisseurs collection It was in effect positioned as an adultexperience with education programmes for interested adults pitched at an academic level children under 12 years were not allowed into the house until relatively recently The nature of the house and its rooms - many spaces are cordoned off from the public issue of keeping the public and school groups separate 2

the family continue to manage it for the National Trust as a charitable trust. quite isolated in terms of professional support as it does not fully belong to the regional structures of the National Trust staff attitudes staff involvement and staff skills

Interestingly by the time of our research Waddesdon Manor had slowly begun to realise quite how out of step it was even with its piers - other decorative art museums including the National Museum the Wallace Collection, who by then were conscious that they could have a much wider, dynamic role So very belatedly Waddesdon began incredibly tentatively to embark on change Museums make decisions about how progressive, how socially purposeful they are. 2. Relevance of collections So can traditional collections like fine and decorative arts be relevant? Can they be used in socially purposeful ways? I want to illustrate this with examples from the: Victoria and Albert Museum (decorative arts museum) the National Gall National Gallery ( fine art) Image and identity V & A worked in partnership with regional museums including the Manchester Museums fine and decorative art and a NCH a national childrens charity working specifically with young people at risk of being excluded Combining the skills of NCH working with young people and the museums knowledge and understanding of collections and how to work with them creatively The intended aims of Image and Identity are to engage young people in responding creatively to museum collections through the arts; to increase young peoples self-esteem, develop their creativity and deepen their understanding of diverse cultures, shared identities and varied attitudes to learning; and, in addition, to influence positively teacher and youth worker motivation, enjoyment and practice, helping them to use museums as resources for exploring issues of identity with the young people with whom they work. Manchester Art Gallery worked with was a group of looked after young people from Broome House residential home in Didsbury, a Manchester suburb. Lookedafter children have been identified as an at-risk group, which has led to 3

increasing emphasis on the need to improve their life chances and educational opportunities. Being in public care is linked with social exclusion, homelessness, higher criminal conviction rates and poor general health. Young people may face a greater risk of teenage pregnancy, substance misuse and mental illness. On the whole, children and young people in public care are at a higher risk of social disadvantage, ill health and poor educational achievement. It is felt that projects such as Image and Identity can help in the process of reversing some of these trends. Broome House is known for its therapeutic and structured approach to helping young people to grow up in care. It is one of the biggest residential units for looked after children in Manchester city centre and currently looks after nine young people aged between 11-16 years Image and identity powerful theme It resonates with young people who are at a time in their lives when they are receptive to change, approaching adulthood, and when their own image and identity is emerging. Many of the participants are vulnerable young people whose experiences of life so far have left them with low self esteem. Through skilful facilitation the project has enabled them to analyse and reflect on their identity, their uniqueness, their individualism, and their distinctiveness. This process helps them consider their own value, and for some, better understand the circumstances that have shaped their image and identity. For example, some young people in care whose identity has been shaped by loss and abandonment have, through the programme, been able to come to terms with their situation. Rather than being trapped by sadness, anger and frustration at their circumstances, they have been able to acknowledge and express it. This expression becomes a process of moving on, looking to the future rather than being consumed by the past. Lisa was one of the young people involved in Image and Identity, how did working with the museum impact on her? Her social worker gives this remarkable account It has had a holistic effect. The project has impacted on her in every way - emotionally, on her mental health, physically and on her ability to manage situations, it has really impacted on her in every way. Lisa has looked and analysed, and learnt skills which have helped her to express who she is. This has built her confidence, as for example when she has confidently talked to large groups of adults. Her most recent representation of her identity illustrates a considerable move forward, and now she is thriving and achieving in every direction; in school, making friends, doing very well at swimming, cycling and dancing.

The impact of the museum programme, using collections and creative responses to them was profound for Lisa and can be categorised using the Generic Learning Outcomes to demonstrate the impact of the museum experience. Action, behaviour, progression Progression developing herself identity, self esteem, coming to terms with her past Thriving achieving in other areas of her life Skills Self Expression, confidence, Communication skills -talking to adults Attitudes and values Attitude towards herself self perception, self worth Enjoyment, inspiration, creativity Enjoying the art gallery Inspired by artists Being creative Knowledge and Understanding Of art Understanding herself, of her own identity Madonna of the Pinks 29 x23cm (11.4 x 9) - tiny Painted by Raphael on cherry wood in Florence in 1506-7 Virgin and child Raphael 1483- 1520 The Madonna pf the Pinks about 1506-7 The youthful Virgin delights in playing with her baby. Christs attention has been caught by the carnations ( or pinks) she offers him. In Renaissance devotional paintings, pinks symbolise divine love.

Raphael here combines a precise technique inspired by Netherlandish painting with Leonardos vision of the tender bond between mother and child. Raphaels skills in depicting light and shade is evident in the folds of the Virgins sleeves, the drapery around her hip, and the subtle transitions of the flesh. The delicate modelling of the translucent veil as it passes over her ear and braided hair is a mark of the pictures excellent condition.
Oil on fruitwood ( probably cherry)

Madonna of the Pinks belonged to 10th Duke of Northumberland, the painting had hung in a dark corridor at Alnwick Castle, on the Northumbrian (best know 5

as the location for the film Harry Potter and the Philosophers stone!). In 1991 the painting was uncovered by the National Galleries now director Nicolas Penny, it was loaned to National Gallery- making it available to a much bigger audience, seen by millions..that was until the Duke decided to sell it to the Getty Trust The National Gallery mounted a campaign to purchase the painting and prevent it leaving the UK 22 million was raised to save the painting, half 11.5 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund, it largest grant ever of a single work of art. A condition of the grant from Heritage Lottery Fund was that the painting should be seen not just by the 4.5 million visitors who visit to the National Gallery, but that it should be an acquisition on behalf of the nation as a whole, that it should be seen by more than traditional gallery goers Link to governments social inclusion agendas What do children and young people think of a tiny devotional renaissance painting? Does Madonna of the Pinks have : any relevance to them? any significance for them? any resonance in their lives? The painting toured the UK and an active community engagement programme was set up. National Museum Wales Worked with a group of teenage mothers in the Rhondda Valley, post industrial, ex coal mining, landscape and housing shaped by mining, poor communication, parallel valleys low income, low educational attainment, high crime levels, poor physical environments UK highest Teenage conception rates Young woman have low expectations of education and the job market What did these young mothers make of this painting? Several just thought it was boring Katy more engaged Really I never thought that art could be so interesting and how theres a story behind every painting kind of thing and how it tells a story and how it comes across like in how theres so much feeling in a painting .you look at the picture and all these emotions come to you kind of thing What sort of emotions? 6

 Like loving emotions, like what is is like to be a mother, and how the artist seemed to know what it was like, it was, I dont know, it was really touching.. Does Madonna of the Pinks have any relevance to children who live in isolated rural areas? I never knew it was going to be that small. Yeah Id think it was huge, but then it was just a tiny little picture it was quite interesting because if I could have had that in my room I would have had that one. And I like trying, I like when you have to try and draw the baby when its moving. Because you get to keep changing it. And it feels like youre drawing the Madonna of the Pinks. Close and intimate and memorable experience of the painting Skills accelerated their art skills Language and technical information Life experiences Challenged their teacher Visiting the National Gallery it is like seeing an old friend Young excluded people do connect with the Madonna of the Pinks intimately but this process needs to be facilitated and proactively managed it will not happen is the Gallery is passive, the gallery must create pathways, opportunities, targeted provisions, related to socio economic demographic data It is not that collections are not relevant to people, but interpretation and facilitation is required for people to make sense and relevance of them The impact collections and museums experiences can have on individuals and groups is profound Museums can do quite exceptional things Do we as professionals underestimate this, do we really understand the significance museums can have? Why do we always dismiss this as being one off examples? 3. Shaping values Rethinking Disability Representation in Museums and Galleries RCMG project It was shaped by a set of values - which the participating museums had to use to and refocus their use of collections it was actively trying to change museum practice and challenge visitors ideas. 7

It actively set out to reassess museums collections and how they are interpreted Disabled people throughout the world are engaged with a long and complicated struggle with the way we are portrayed and the meanings attached to these portrayals that include disability as stigma, as a sign of a damaged soul, as being less than human, as dependent, weak, sexless, valueless. (Gay with Fraser 2008) In our view it is society which disables physically impaired people. Disability is something imposed on top of our impairments, by the way we are unnecessarily isolated and excluded from full participation in society (Union of Physically Impaired Against Segregation 1976 Rethinking Disability Representation Led by RCMG 9 partner museums selected across a range of museums very small to very large think tank disability activists, artists etc collections research -based on collections research informing contemporary debates - Museums actively engaging in contemporary debates of how disabled people are perceived in society, what voice they have to present themselves- setting out to shape views To find and show their place in history which has rarely been shown To show they are people, with emotions, who have value Rethinking Disability Representation - Museum Experiments experimental work Unchartered territory Museums/collections identified Development of ideas residential events challenging process Think Tank/RCMG museum visits Development of Displays/ exhibitions / education Visitor responses Museums included: Imperial War Museum, London Conflict and Disability example of soldiers from World war One Collections had not been used Used to tell stories of war underpinned by social model of disability showed diversity and complexity of disabled peoples voices and experiences Colchester Museum Life beyond the label - before you make up your mind open your mind 8

Collections and creative processes Royal London Hospital Museum Behind the Shadow of Merrick Joseph Merrick also known as the Elephant man 1980 film by David Lynch Firm centres around 3 disabled people experiences Tina, Rowen and Tim All share the experiences of Merrick, their deep shared experience of being the other Public property being stared at Their shared past Changing attitudes to disability? Visitor responses How does this display change the way you think about disability same question across 9 museums A noble exhibit but perhaps not for a museum I came to learn about the Normans The film made me more aware of people's reactions to disabled people and how those with disabilities can be affected. Even in 2008, disabled people are looked down upon, judged etc similar to Merrick was in the19th century. Visitor, Royal London Hospital Museum This exhibition was excellent, it reminds you how far society has come but also still to go, and that it is society that causes disability in not adapting to individuals At last I am not here, but here The exhibition did not change everyones views, but it did make people think and begin to negotiate new ways of thinking about disability and the way disabled people are represented 4. Contemporary Art and Social Justice Gallery of Modern Art Glasgow Contemporary arts and human rights Partnership with Amnesty International 9

Biennial programme Started in 2001 Exhibition City-wide community engagement strategy

Exhibitions and programmes on themes of: Refuge refugees and asylum seekers Violence against women Sectarianism Shout Glasgow context Civic values, City Council Long-standing commitment to social justice and equality Grounded in human rights History of discrimination of Irish Catholics Shout lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex culture Pattie Cronin Grave stone protest piece protesting that she and her partner were not able to marry in New York state Art to raise issues about lack of equality Community programme giving voice and public credibility to for example young gay men not accepted by parents, families, communities Safe place Public place Celebratory But also backlash Unique contribution to human rights Place for debate Progressive and respectful understandings of difference Need for interpretive materials Human rights framework Balancing act strong stance avoid sensationalism Understanding the social context latent social conservatism

On the one hand Glasgow has a radical left wing politics, on the other hand the influence of Catholicism can lead to social conservatism Yet progressive museums have been through an active process of transformation, rethinking the very essence of their role and work, revisiting their mission, their working practices to enable them to be active, vital, engaging, socially purposeful public spaces which use collections to enable visitors to 10

explore the world we live in today, conscious of, and responding to contemporary society. These museums engage a wider cross section of society, not just those who are traditionally drawn to visit museums. These museums are aware that all museums are constructed with a set of values, which means implicitly they are not neutral spaces, but shaped by a set of principles, they are deeply politically institutions, some traditional museums choose to deny this, while progressive museums make this explicit to their visitors, shaping all they do and strive to achieve. 5. Organisational issues Change inhibitors Lack of skills Limited workforce diversity Historical context Collections focused Management hierarchy Distance from priorities of governing bodies Limited motivation No evidence of impact Remote from policy context Climate change ( or issues e.g. social justice) Forces for change Social Justice and rights Climate change( and other issues) as a social issue Public funding accountability Policy context Involvement in wider networks Professional passion Some museums have transformed into cultural organisations that have contemporary relevance, creating spaces for dialogue, debate, exploration of social issues, of equity and diversity. Places that resonate with relevance in contemporary society, examples of museum practice which are concerned with issues of equality, human rights, democracy and citizenship Museums are not neutral spaces They are political Visitors as active meaning makers Being conscious of the social and political context Inclusive

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