Comment
Inclusion with no labelling
Sandra Peaty is the head of learning and community at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester
T
he requirement to engage with historically “excluded” groups is clear in policy and through the conditions set out by major funding organisations. However, in the museum and gallery world, there remains a significant challenge in terms of the effective inclusion of all parts of the population. Turning a policy’s good intentions into practice requires that the values underpinning it be lived out first and foremost in the actions of the sector’s staff and volunteers. One difficulty is understanding how we, as individuals, unknowingly contribute to the processes of exclusion. Developing awareness of our own values and behaviours, and the effects that our day-to-day habits might have on fellow citizens, are preconditions for adjusting the sector’s culture towards greater inclusion and successful engagement. We must consciously undo excluding behaviours, to allow true inclusivity to flourish. One important consideration is the stigmatising nature of labelling a person or a group of people based on a single dominant feature or factor in their lives (for example disability, health condition or social circumstance). While labelling has its place in society – for example, for clarity around allocating appropriate public services – there are also negative consequences of labelling arising from day-to-day social interaction. Cultural organisations may be unwittingly reinforcing the negative aspects of “labelled” groups by working with them in a publicly naming way. Are we unthinkingly inviting patronising responses and “othering” judgments within our communities because our exclusive behaviours do not match our inclusive intentions? Worse, are our practices reinforcing stigma and exclusion? Those entering a public space to participate in activities advertised for a particular group (for example, “learning disabled” or “young offenders”) are likely to immediately have a sense
of separation and of being on an unequal footing with any other visitor. This can result in changed perceptions of self-identity which, in turn, affects confidence and self-esteem negatively. Museums and galleries are not day centres or medical centres, but places that can stimulate, inspire and spark imagination. They can provide an opportunity for people to step out of their labelled world and be welcomed and included as any other visitor. Keeping a clear definition of the purpose of our organisations is important. Are we inviting people into a world that, all too often, still has perceptions of being for a certain sector of society? It is clear that many museums and galleries have made great progress to include a more diverse audience. Unfortunately, the nature of funding can force organisations to work with labelled and targeted audiences, making the desire to be more inclusive difficult to achieve. All of this is challenging. So how have we tried to meet the challenge at Pallant House Gallery? Since 2002, our community programme has been underpinned by a set of core values, including “everyone is entitled to a creative life” and “to treat everyone fairly and equally”. One of the first questions posed in setting up the programme was: “How can we invite people with a range of support needs to step into the gallery and follow their art interests on an equal footing?” Avoiding labelling was an early decision. A recent social-impact study confirms that a model of inclusive practice has been established. We are broadening perceptions of “disability” and “creativity”. There is strong evidence that the ethos, values and approach to working with people as unique creative individuals (rather than as subjects of a stigmatising label) not only benefits all involved in the programme, but enriches the gallery. There is so much more to each of us than the labels attached to us. If we can work against the negative label and see the unique individual, then a world of possibilities opens up.
Digital
jean Jullien
Content provider
It is often said that technology doesn’t solve anything on its own, but can either enable great things to happen, or get in the way of great things happening. Rarely is this contrast seen as starkly as when considering how content management systems (CMS) help or hinder the flow of content from the organisations’ collective brain on to the web. CMS systems – in theory – allow people with editorial skills to easily change a website without needing any coding or technical knowledge. Many museums have a CMS,
from free or cheap systems, such as Wix or WordPress, to the so-called “enterprise” end of things, which can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to implement and maintain. Which CMS to choose is complicated, and depends almost entirely on the specifics of the organisation. Unless there are good reasons not to, go for something non-proprietary and preferably open source, with well-recognised open standards, so you don’t end up tied to one particular company or technology for years to come.
CMS are about content. So ask your editors, creative people and curators how they work and what they need. Get them a working demo of any system you’re considering. Be wary of systems that do lots of things that you’re not sure you need. The users of your CMS on a daily basis will be content people, not geeky people. Involve the latter as you choose a CMS – but let them inform your decision rather than make it. Mike Ellis is a director of digital consultancy at Thirty8 Digital
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How to create a relationship with journalists
Ben Luke is the art critic at the Evening Standard
Ben Luke is among the speakers at On Message: Effective Strategies for Marketing and PR, a Museums Association seminar being held on 6 December at the Royal College of Surgeons, London www.museumsassociation.org
H
aving started my career as a press officer at Tate, before becoming a journalist, I have viewed the interface between cultural organisations and journalists from both sides. Over those 20 years, evenly divided between PR and writing, I can categorically say that our interactions are mostly positive. Museums and cultural institutions are, after all, generally viewed as being good things. They consistently provide the media with fascinating material, with that all-important quality – visual power. In my experience, too, most press officers in the arts are passionate, informed and clearly work hard for relatively little financial reward. But it is useful, still, to outline some dos and don’ts. The most important point is to understand the publication or media platform you are engaging with. Get to know its structure, how regularly it is published and how far ahead it plans. Be clear what particular journalists tend to cover: don’t offer stories that will work for an arts correspondent to an art critic. Even the briefest Google of a writer’s most recent articles should reflect the scope of their brief. Have an idea of which section you want your show or event to feature in. At the same time, don’t force an idea or an angle on to us or try to steer our coverage too precisely. We want to know where the exhibition or event is and when, what’s in it and, importantly, why it’s happening. What makes this newsworthy? But
don’t over-promise: few works of art, for instance, are genuinely “iconic”, yet that word appears on almost every press release. Draw our attention to the highlights, but don’t falsify their significance. We also need to know where we stand in terms of when we can publish. Embargos on reviews and reports are increasingly common, but some who impose them don’t know why they are there. If they are in place, tell us straight away, not after we have planned our coverage or seen exhibitions or events. In many ways, cultural organisations have a tougher job than ever to get our attention. In an article in the Art Newspaper in June on London’s changing commercial art scene, it reported that the number of commercial galleries in London has risen from about 50 to almost 150 in the past 25 years. Many of those galleries have exhibition spaces that match or surpass those of many museums, more money to throw at promoting their programmes, and leaner operations that allow them to act faster. As journalists, we are bombarded with paper and digital releases, invitations, and catalogues from an enormous number of institutions, public and private. Timing is crucial in this crowded field. If you can plan shows or hold events that don’t clash with those of the big-hitters such as Tate, the National Gallery and Royal Academy of Arts, you stand a better chance. But you can make yourself heard. Museums and cultural organisations provide great colour for our pages and screens: with creativity, you can make sure it reaches us.
Voxpop: How should the role of gallery assistants evolve? Katie Hinchliffe Gallery assistant, V&A, London
Nicola Moss Curator, St Andrews Preservation Trust
Kenn Taylor Head of participation, The Tetley, Leeds
Amy Mechowski Head of the learning academy, V&A
“I believe that the role of the gallery assistant is an important one. As the public face of the museum, we are the go-between for staff and visitors. I think that, in order for the position to evolve, we need to become more visible, and recognised for our individual skills and talents. A more hands-on approach would be beneficial in museum programming, to make use of the knowledge and individuality that gallery assistants possess, across all museum platforms. We need to be able to show what we can do.”
“With the sector increasingly under pressure to spend less yet engage more, it is imperative for every role within the museum to be developed to its full potential. The gallery assistant, in particular, has a lot to offer. Although assistants often make up most of a workforce, their wealth of experience and knowledge can too easily be forgotten about. We need to remember that gallery assistants are our eyes and ears – able to tell us when exhibits work with visitors and when they don’t, making them a worthwhile asset.”
“The gallery floor is the heart of the visitor experience in museums. It would be good to see more people given the chance to move from invigilator to senior leadership positions as the role gives you great perspective. This would also increase workplace diversity. The public should be able to expect good standards from invigilators and this is best achieved by paid and trained staff, although invigilators should be open to new ways of engaging the public. All senior managers should spend a day a month on the gallery floor, it would benefit everyone.”
“In spite of being front-facing members of staff, gallery assistants’ individual knowledge and skills tend not to be maximised and too often remain ‘hidden assets’ within museums. A reciprocal relationship in which they are encouraged to develop their skill set and contribute in new ways would enable institutions to benefit from their added value. Increased opportunities for public engagement and the sharing of their expertise would increase respect for these vital members of staff on the part of museum colleagues and visitors alike.”
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Durham Cathedral Authority
Surface area m2
Durham Cathedral
750 m2
Design
Opening
Studio MB
28-02-2016
Open Treasure is a new world-class exhibition experience now open at the heart of Durham Cathedral The exhibition is a journey through the most intact medieval monastic buildings in the UK and discover 2000 years of history through a series of interactive exhibits. It gives access to previously hidden spaces where the Cathedral’s collection is displayed and be enjoyed by many more people of all ages. Bruns was responsible for the complete fit-out and showcases. We are Bruns, specialized in the development, production and installation of interactive exhibits and exhibitions. Our contribution to project is driven by an ambitious goal: to offer visitors a complete experience and maximum educational value. More about the story behind the Open Treasure and other projects at www.bruns.nl Bruns B.V. • Stökskesweg 11 • 5571 TJ Bergeijk • The Netherlands
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Comment The conversation
Why don’t museums reflect the diversity of society?
Tehmina Goskar is a consultant curator and the Museums Association’s representative for southwest England
Sara Wajid is the head of interpretation at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
Tehmina Goskar and Sara Wajid are taking part in Arts Council England’s Change Makers programme, which is aiming to increase the diversity of senior managers in arts and cultural organisations
D
ear Sara: What society? Is there only one? Who’s deciding what a true reflection of a museum’s society is, anyway? We are talking about diversity in a two-dimensional way, which is probably why we feel museums are not reflections of their societies. As individuals, as collectives around particular interests and issues, and as local communities, we occupy so many different identities and aspirations that are constantly changing and adapting, depending on their environment. We’re human beings, not just a set of labels. Oll an gwella, Tehmina Dear Tehmina: I agree that humans are fluid, and the meanings and potential of collections are multiple. Through some recent campaigns work I’ve been doing, I’ve noticed young people seem to deftly and instinctively negotiate complex questions of equality, identity and cultural rights and representation in ways in which many museum directors are incapable. It feels like time to leapfrog the stale tried-and-tested approaches to diversifying our museums that many middle and senior managers have been trained in, and to put more power in the hands of ambitious younger staff, who embody more progressive views. Best wishes, Sara Dear Sara: I would like to see this, too. The prevalent structures museums work within, especially those entrenched in self-serving independent charitable boards or the whims of local authority members, need to be challenged, regularly and loudly, and with the support of industry bodies such as the Museums Association. Without this support, it’s too easy to be ignored, marginalised or called a troublemaker. The point I make about a fixation on labels, used in the name of embracing diversity, is that it lays bare the flaws in the structures we are so reluctant to change. Museum stakeholders need to be far more active in
challenging organisations they fund to change, before they give them a penny. Oll an gwella, Tehmina Dear Tehmina: The US election and Brexit results got me thinking slightly differently about museums’ failure on diversity. Like the Labour party, museums are used to super-serving a narrow slice of the population, so they “don’t know who they don’t know” – they can’t hear voices beyond their bubble. Most of London’s national museums overwhelmingly attract Remain voters. Cities such as London and Birmingham are fast becoming “minority-majority” places. The question underlying the diversity problem is why aren’t (most) museums more popular across the board? Many museums still don’t aim to create content with genuinely broad appeal. Best wishes, Sara Dear Sara: Museums are a good thing in civil society, as windows on to the world and providing a better understanding of that world. We need that now, more than ever. So if we put aside, for the moment, “what diversity looks like” and think instead of diversity as a socially minded attitude, we might start to get somewhere. All the keys are in our collections, and in the great knowledge and wisdom they hold – share it openly and shout it loudly. Let’s reinvent, or even return to the radical roots of the museum movement as a power for positive social good. Oll an gwella, Tehmina Dear Tehmina: I find Paul Gilroy’s concept of “convivial multiculturalism” useful. When I speak to cousins in Pakistan or friends in South Africa about my work, they are amazed that it’s all publicly funded, which is a useful reminder to me. When marching alongside librarians at a recent anti-cuts demo, I felt they were fighting to defend a core service valued by a more diverse spectrum of society than museums. More museums need to ask themselves: “When the time comes, who will march to keep us open?” Best wishes, Sara
Strategy must relate spending to public needs
David Fleming is the director of National Museums Liverpool and the president of the Museums Association
Some people in the sector have been pressing for a national strategy for museums for years – not a “ top down” imposition, but a strategy based on the idea that there is a purpose to public spending on museums that is related to public need. It has long seemed to me that the only argument that might impress Treasury officials when they ask “why do we spend these sums on museums?” and “how are they allocated?” is one that indicates that there is a thought-through policy. They don’t just want to be told: “This
is how we have always done it. There is no logic to the pattern of spending.” Imagine my excitement, then, when the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced that it would review museum provision in England. I hope that this will presage a national plan of action that will lead to a strategy for relating public spending on museums to public need. To aid the discussions, the Museums Association has helped to convene the Museums Taskforce, which has already
met twice. Its membership is diverse and its work will be research-based, covering a wide range of perspectives including, importantly, those of the audience. Sharing experience across the four nations of the UK will provide invaluable insight, especially in light of the funding problems that are engulfing some parts of the sector. We hope that the taskforce will present its findings in the spring, and provide some solutions to the challenges that we face.
ANT CLAUSEN
The policy column
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