Best in Heritage 2014

COPYRIGHT THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ISSN 1849-5222

The City of Dubrovnik

The Best in Heritage

©

Dubrovnik, Croatia, 25 - 27 September 2014 13TH EDITION

The Best in Heritage > DUBROVNIK / CROATIA / 2014

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH EUROPA NOSTRA UNDER SPECIAL PATRONAGE OF ICOM

Korice TBH 2014.indd 1

14.9.2014. 22:15:13

The Best in Heritage

©

DUBROVNIK 25 - 27 SEPTEMBER 2014 13TH EDITION

in partnership with Europa Nostra under special patronage of ICOM DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF KENNETH HUDSON OBE, AND GEORGES HENRI RIVIERE

CONTENTS

Contents

THIS WORK HAS BEEN PUBLISHED WITH THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF ICOM

What Is “The Best In Heritage”?....................4 The Unique Annual Survey Of Museums, Heritage And Conservation Achievements....5 Conservation Today & Professional Excellence: Some Questions.........................6 1 > An

Urban History Museum Full Of Opinion, Politics & Debate......................12 MUSEUM OF LIVERPOOL (LIVERPOOL, UNITED KINGDOM)

2 > Devising The Programme.......................16 IRISH WALLED TOWNS NETWORK EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME (KILKENNY, IRELAND) 3 > A Museum For All...................................20 BATALHA’S MUNICIPAL COMMUNITY MUSEUM (DAMO E DIU – BATALHA, PORTUGAL) 4 > Seeking

To Encourage Creative, Open And Unbiased Discussions.....................24 MUSEUM OF MILITARY HISTORY OF BUNDESWEHR (DRESDEN, GERMANY)

5 > Keeping The Blues Alive.........................28 DELTA BLUES MUSEUM (CLARKSDALE, UNITED STATES) 6 > Committed

To Our Youngest Learners..................................................32 PLEASE TOUCH MUSEUM, (PHILADELPHIA, UNITED STATES)

7 > Transforming

The William Morris Gallery.....................................................36 WILLIAM MORRIS GALLERY (WALTHAMSTOW, UNITED KINGDOM)

8 > Restoring

ISSN 1849-5222 ZAGREB, 2014.

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An Iconic Monument Of Classical Antiquity: The Case Of The Propylaea Of The Acropolis In Athens.................................................40 PROPYLAEA CENTRAL BUILDING, ACROPOLIS (ATHENS, GREECE)

CONTENTS 9 > Videogames

And Heritage: A Look At The Game Masters Exhibition.......................44 AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR MOVING IMAGE (VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA)

10 > Great

Buildings Of Our Past Play An Important Part In Our Future................48 KING’S CROSS STATION (LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM)

11 > Europeana

Voiced. Collective Diary Of A Changing Project...........................52 EUROPEANA FOUNDATION (THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS)

12 > 10

Years Of Preservation Of The Memory Of Mexico...............................................56 SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES (MEXICO CITY, MEXICO)

13 > Creating

An Inclusive Family Friendly Culture...................................................60

HORNIMAN MUSEUM AND GARDENS (LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM) 14 > Imperial

Collections And The Public Museum: The Hermitage Yesterday And Today......................................................64 STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM AND WINTER PALACE (ST.PETERSBURG, RUSSIA)

15 > Building

Bridges With Communities.........................................68 MUSEUM AAN DE STROOM (ANTWERP, BELGIUM)

16 > Citoyens

– Hier, Aujourd’hui, Demain...................................................72 2013 ÉCOMUSÉE DU FIER MONDE (MONTREAL, CANADA)

17 > The

Museum Feasts Your Eyes, The Volunteer Touches Your Heart..............76 SUZHOU MUSEUM (SUZHOU, CHINA)

18 > Challenging

The Stereotypes Of Management..........................................80 SHANXI MUSEUM (TAIYUAN, CHINA)

19 > Interpreting

A Design Brief – The Fram Museum.................................................84 FRAM MUSEUM / SARNER INTERNATIONAL LTD (OSLO, NORWAY)

20 > Turning

A Social Problem Into A Cultural Opportunity: The “Sos Azulejo Project”..................................................88 SOS AZULEJO PROJECT, LOURES, PORTUGAL

21 > Spaces

For Experiencing Literature...............................................92 SETAGAYA LITERARY MUSEUM (TOKYO, JAPAN)

22 > Restoring

The San Francesco Woodland...............................................96 FOREST OF SAINT FRANCIS (ASSISI, ITALY)

23 > Changing Minds...................................100 YAROSLAVL ART MUSEUM (YAROSLAV, RUSSIA) 24 > Good

Art Really Matters: Christchurch Art Gallery’s "Outer Spaces"...............104 CHRISTCHURCH ART GALLERY: OUTER SPACES, CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND

Presenters..................................................108 Keynote speaker and Moderators.............115 The Excellence Club...................................118 Some Trends And Tendencies In The Public Memory Domain.........................................126 Join Europa Nostra....................................144 ICOM, Speaking The Language Of Museums................................................146 All Roads Lead To Exponatec Cologne......149

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INTRODUCTION

What Is “The Best In Heritage”?

The world is growing more and more competitive. Among the consequences, one is surely good: constant elaboration of criteria of quality. Fourteen years ago when we started the conference, the emerging concept was excellence. It was a good guess. We decided to set up the world’s annual scene to present a handpicked choice of ambitious projects, - those that gained a prestigious award in the preceding year, as new to the scene or reconceptualised and refurbished.

In 2013 some fifty competent juries, national, international or, indeed, coming from five continents, sifted several thousands of applications for recognition of their quality. To almost 400 of them they have granted some kind of recognition (see our website for the list). We have chosen twenty-four of them, bearing the most prestigious awards and/or being the most convincing, to represent this vast achievement. Our role is to capitalize on this effort further by spreading the good news about genuine creativity and professional excellence that was valued so highly.

Is competition legitimate in culture? Culture is about criteria, about evaluation, - not competition. Correct, and, indeed, - award schemes are helping this to happen as selecting “the best”, means employing certain criteria of quality evaluation. Perfecting of the professional standards in servicing public needs and the increased public and media visibility is the aim of all awards. Our world is increasingly one of numbers, quantities and 4 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

frenzy of a superficial change. Therefore, to counteract and correct, we are after quality, excellence, inspiration and ideals of a perfect profession of public memory, with all its prestigious, important occupations and increasingly accomplished civil sector.

This year’s team with Ida Marija, Koraljka, Morana, Elvis, Cheng, Ivan, Sen, Siniša, Domagoj and Klaudio is led by Luka Cipek, our project manager. We keep on as a low profile NGO with best possible performance a devoted team can achieve, maintaining the unique atmosphere our participants create.

Professor Tomislav S. Šola DIRECTOR, EUROPEAN HERITAGE ASSOCIATION

This conference connects the dismembered ranks of this increasingly important but often fragmented sector concerned with the same general objectives. It also connects the public and private, the trained professionals and activists and believers in the cause of heritage. The partnership with Europa Nostra, supported by the European Commission, is a strategic link to the civil sector while ICOM, our main and foremost patron, ICOMOS and ICCROM, connect us to the professional world. The City of Dubrovnik and Dubrovnik Museums are a true guarantee of our success. Luckily the Croatian Ministry of Culture is with us too.

We all need an orientation and help when trying to find quality. Internet is an epitome of impenetrable masses of knowledge where one needs guidance to profit from it.

The Best in Heritage is such a search engine.

With all the information offered, we intend to grow into unavoidable tool for professional training. The Advisory Board is very much supporting the constant innovations to the programme in spite of often scarce resources.

Dialogue Day” programme has been organised in Visia 5D Multimedia Museum. Many actors from ICT domain concerned with cultural heritage have been brought together, to explore innovative solutions for new experiences and better access to Europe’s Cultural Heritage Our overall aim is to create inspiration, and to forge creative links - a tasks in which the magic of Dubrovnik will undoubtedly help us again.

Advisory Board THE BEST IN HERITAGE

This year we introduced a half an hour SPOTLIGHT, as a try to present what we think should be assisted and supported among the new initiatives and concepts.

In cooperation with eCultValue project and European Museum Forum the “ 2nd eCult THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 5

INTRODUCTION

The Unique Annual Survey Of Museums, Heritage And Conservation Achievements

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Conservation Today & Professional Excellence: Some Questions Gaël de Guichen Our cultural heritage is perishable. And while damage can be slow, as shown by the state of the Lascaux cave paintings after 18 000 years, it is usually more rapid. Many examples illustrate the point, but I shall only mention one: the fire at the Queen’s Palace in Madagascar where, during the night of 6 November 1995, eight wooden buildings went up in flames together with the Kings’ tombs and a collection of 8 000 artefacts.

>>

It is wrong to say: “This item, this monument, this library, this town has kept well.”

Don’t worry: to me, conservation is only a means, not a goal.

Whenever some part of our heritage, whatever its size, comes down to us in good shape and can transmit to present generations the message that was entrusted to it, the reason lies not in some miracle of nature but in the sustained efforts of people who, for various reasons, did all they could to prevent the natural disappearance of that treasure.

Let me explain. I see conservation as a means of ensuring that any and all parts of our heritage remain in the best conditions to be seen and approached so that their message is revealed to the public.

So if we are to conserve our cultural heritage what we need are people, both on the professional side and from among the public. We need people who: >> know what should be conserved; 6 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

>> >> >> >>

are aware of how fragile our cultural heritage is; are motivated to conserve it; have the means to do so; have the technical knowhow required; and have the support of the beneficiary community concerned.

Unless all six conditions are met, excellence will never be attained

In short, I am no conservation fundamentalist who believes that ideally, conserving things means locking them away in the dark.

Don’t worry!

When I use the word “Conservation” I refer to the definition voted on and approved at

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

ICOM’s 22nd General Assembly in Shanghai in 2010: Conservation: all measures and actions aimed at safeguarding tangible cultural heritage while ensuring its accessibility to present and future generations. Conservation embraces preventive conservation, remedial conservation and restoration. All measures and actions should respect the significance and the physical properties of the cultural heritage item.

To sum up, by ensuring that things remains in good condition we make it possible for the message they hold to become known and to be passed on to present and future generations.

- KNOWING WHAT NEEDS TO BE CONSERVED

Cultural heritage should be recognized by the public as a resource in the same way as natural heritage is recognized as a resource.

But without knowing exactly what it is that we should be conserving we cannot hope to plan properly, either at local, regional national or international levels.

With natural heritage, how to quantify the resources to be managed is obvious as there are plenty of studies available to tell us what we have available, where and in what quantity (e.g., reserves of water, of timber, of minerals, of fish or of food. Part of the public is aware of such matters and is well informed.

There are maps and charts available that show exactly where we stand at present and how we can plan for the proper use of resources in the future.

But with cultural heritage that kind of quantification very rarely exists and the territory remains largely unmapped. Of course, some countries have drawn up inventories, but they represent a minority at global level. Of course, cultural organizations try to achieve a global perspective. And of course UNESCO has drawn up a World Heritage list – with only 810 monuments and sites on it.

But please note, only sites and monuments figure on that list. No mention is made of museums, libraries and archives. We should rightly ask ourselves why only fixed assets are recognized as “Heritage” while movaTHE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 7

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

ble assets are excluded. We should rightly ask ourselves why the archaeological site at Carthage is considered as “Heritage” but not the 10 000 m2 of mosaics in the Bardo National Museum in Tunis ( mosaics which mostly came from the Carthage site). We should rightly ask ourselves why the Cairo Museum, the Vatican Museums, the Malatestiana Library or the Trinity College, Dublin, Library, or again the Delaware or Taipei Museums are not on the World Heritage list.

And, apropos of those Museums and Libraries, many of them have out-of-date or, worse, no inventories at all. How can we talk of excellence when, in 2000, the Louvre Museum discovered that 10 000 archaeological artefacts were missing and that the Hermitage Museum has 50 000 objects it cannot find.

The public is rarely made aware of such matters because the professionals usually find it rather embarrassing to admit how things really stand. And when those professionals venture to provide figures, the figures they give are often the wrong ones.

During the World Culture Forum held in Bali last November, a representative of the World Bank ended her presentation with three conclusions highlighted on the screen: “Measure” … “Measure”… “Measure” Let us keep have it quite clear that the main difference between the two kinds of resources we possess is that natural resources are able to regenerate, which is not the case where our cultural heritage is concerned.

- IDENTIFYING CLUTURAL HERITAGE IS A GOOD START, BUT WE STILL NEED TO RECOGNIZE HOW FRAGILE IT IS

As long as experts who are in denial about the problem of conservation are allowed to say, “It has kept well for 1 000 years and will therefore stay good for another 1 000,” we are making a terrible mistake, and one that will have dramatic consequences on our 8 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

cultural heritage. For that kind of statement sends out the message to the public that we need make no effort today to conserve our heritage.

During the 1990s, the Director-General of ICCROM forbade people to say that the cultural treasures we have inherited are fragile.

How can we ever hope, then, to get the public to support our efforts and bring pressure on politicians to pay more attention to our heritage and its needs!

Yet, various experiments have been tried to see whether the public can be made aware of how fragile our cultural heritage is. That kind of attempt was made, with very conclusive results, at the time of the restoration of the equestrian statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, which had stood in the Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome.

No Conservation Without Motivation As for the third condition – that people be motivated – it is unfortunately not hard to find examples of cultural heritage sites and items being widely abandoned or even systematically destroyed. You will all remember the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamyian or the wrecking of the holy shrines in Timbuktu and, very recently, Mosul. Recognizing the value of cultural heritage does not come naturally to everyone. It is something you have to learn. That said, I don’t like associating the word “value” with the word “heritage” because when members of the general public hear the world “value” they immediately think of “dollar, rouble, yen or euro”.

But without going to the extremes of destruction I just mentioned, it is important that we talk about the destruction of whole cities under the pretext of modernization – of cities whose own personalities could other-

How can we speak of excellence, then?

- NOW FOR THE CRUCIAL QUESTION: DO WE HAVE THE MONEY?

≥ MUSEUM RESERVE

wise have been safeguarded. I will cite just one example: Chisinau the capital of Moldavia, which I have just come back from. The city has incredible charm and character. If you haven’t been there, you should get on the next plane because nothing will be left of the city in 10 years’ time except its name.

The 10-storey-high tower blocks mushrooming in a cityscape of low, late 19th Century houses are completely changing the town’s skyline.

While the situation may not seem as brutal where museums are concerned, it is much more insidious. I should therefore like to turn now to the question of the museum reserves which, according to the professionals, make up 90% of entire collections. As it happens, I have been interested in reserves for 40 years. Whenever I meet former students now working in a museum, I always ask if I can see their reserves. In about half of all cases, they will try every trick in the book to prevent me from seeing the sort of places that professional should all be proud of but which experts are in fact ashamed of. How many museums are in a position to open their reserve collections to the public?

And here I must mention the results of a survey conducted on 1 500 museums (in both poor and rich countries). It found that 60 percent of museums holding reserves fail to

As with any human undertaking, conserving cultural heritage comes at a cost. But all recent economic studies show that the revenues generated through the conservation of cultural heirlooms largely exceed investments. Conservation activities are also a source of jobs at a time of rising unemployment. Speaking for myself, I am proud of having been part of the team that set up the Ecole du Patrimoine Africain (African Heritage School) (EPA), which still functions without any government support after 14 years. It employs 30 people, which means providing, albeit modest, livelihoods for 30 families.

Sometimes, however, money can spoil everything. In the Middle East I recently saw the restoration work that was done on an 11th Century mosque. What they did was to replace all the original marble decorations with Carrara marble. The result of that socalled restoration was abominable and the building lost all of its original character.

That mosque is now one of the restoration projects which I include under the heading of “Grandmothers in miniskirts”.

Is that what you call excellence?

- DO WE HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE?

In order to act on our cultural heritage, be it through restoration or remedial or preventive conservation, what we need to do prior to any direct intervention is to make proper plans. If the various steps involved in the

THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 9

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

meet the professional standards proposed by ICCROM and UNESCO (Photo: Museum Reserve). One should note here that the same figure of 60 percent applies to every country in the world, rich and poor alike.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

process are to succeed, solid preparation is required.

When you look at the contents of the courses preparing students for the various professions – e.g., architects, archaeologists, curators, librarians, curator-restorers, guides, cultural instructors etc. – you will be surprised to find how little space is given to practical information about the physical items concerned. Scant attention is paid to the reasons why they deteriorate, to the ways you can stop them from decaying and to the various advantages of keeping the public informed. Providing conservation training, even if incomplete, would already be an improvement because young professionals could subsequently build on that knowledge. But what do you do in countries where no training is provided and where a history teacher may find him or herself director of the national museum, or an architect with no specialization whatever can become director of cultural heritage. And those are far from the worst-case scenarios! How can such people provide the public with the information which it has the right to have?

I’d like to open a small parenthesis here to talk briefly about the scientists (chemists, physicists, biologists, etc.) who, since the 1960s, have systematically been called in to come to the aid of our cultural heritage. With the benefit of hindsight, we can safely say that their contribution has failed to come up to the profession’s expectations. The scientists have, for several reasons, sought refuge in dating, in the composition of materials and in technical studies and have proved unwilling or unable to go any further and come up with even a part of the solutions needed to slow the process of deterioration. Nor have they contributed to the development of methods allowing tangible cultural heritage to be passed on, or justified their jobs in the national laboratories created for them. They 10 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

≥ RESTORERS AT WORK IN PUBLIC AT THE CAPITOLINE MUSEUMS

are like artificial satellites put into orbit to fulfil a specific task but which escape the earth’s gravity and go on sending out signals that have nothing to do with the initial objective. Today, 80 percent of scientists in universities and elsewhere tinker about with cultural heritage and use it to get ahead in their fields. Only 20 percent of them actively contribute to its conservation.

How can we speak of excellence?

- THE SUPPORT OF COMMUNITIES IS ESSENTIAL

The public should be the first beneficiary of the conservation of cultural heritage. It could in return give conservation its support, although that would imply the professionals accepting a closer kind of contact with the public, while most of the time they see the public as a consumer and a predator of cultural heritage. Let us change our mental approach and consider members of the public as consumers, to be sure, but also as protectors of our heritage.

Here are three examples: The restoration work on the Roman statues in the Capitoline Museum, carried out in full view of the public. Far from finding the usual notices saying “Closed for restoration”, visi-

The collection of historical photographs carried out by the National History Museum in Santiago De Chile is another instance of successful collaboration with the public. Following an appeal published in the daily press, the Museum collected more than 8 000 old photos in a single weekend from people who came along with their parents’ photo albums – old pictures that would otherwise probably have ended up in the trashcan.

The third example I‘d like to mention is about how of a collection of historical archives concerning the villages of the Department of Auvergne was put together by the departmental archivist. What he did was to study a village, travel there, install himself in the village square and tell the crowd that soon gathered about his findings. You can imagine how successful the initiative was. It often led to further discoveries too, because people would bring along family papers that they had kept without realizing their importance.

Change is required, and it can only come from the professionals. They need to change the way they see things profoundly, to change in a way that is reflected today in a new term – preventive conservation – and in the following slogans: >> THOSE WHO THOUGHT “OBJECT” YESTERDAY SHOULD TODAY THINK …

COLLECTION >> THOSE WHO THOUGHT “ROOM” YESTERDAY SHOULD TODAY THINK …

BUILDING >> THOSE WHO THOUGHT “INDIVIDUAL” YESTERDAY SHOULD TODAY THINK …

TEAM >> THOSE WHO THOUGHT “SHORT TERM” YESTERDAY SHOULD TODAY THINK …

LONG TERM >> THOSE WHO THOUGHT “PROFESSIONALS” YESTERDAY SHOULD TODAY THINK … PUBLIC >> THOSE WHO THOUGHT “SECRET” YESTERDAY SHOULD TODAY THINK …

COMMUNICATION >> THOSE WHO THOUGHT “HOW” YESTERDAY SHOULD TODAY THINK …

WHY By broadening our points of view and associating the public with our work we are sure to increase our chances of coming closer to the excellence we hope to attain.

For me these are examples of excellence.

But all too often we waste the chance of involving the public despite the fact that it is ready, if called on, to become the best possible ambassador of the cause of conservation vis-�-vis public authorities.

But we are not here to make a list of all our problems but to propose solutions that will help us to come closer to excellence.

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KEYNOTE ADDRESS

tors were met with signs that said, “Open for restoration”. Assistants were there to receive the public and people were kept informed every half hour by a specialist available to answer their questions (Photo: Restorers at work in public at the Capitoline Museums).

It would naturally have been easier, slightly less expensive and possibly quicker to have done the work behind closed doors. But that would have meant losing a splendid opportunity of bringing the public on board.

An Urban History Museum Full Of Opinion, Politics & Debate

MUSEUM OF LIVERPOOL, LIVERPOOL, UNITED KINGDOM EUROPEAN MUSEUM FORUM / COUNCIL OF EUROPE MUSEUM PRIZE 2013

David Fleming DIRECTOR, NATIONAL MUSEUMS LIVERPOOL ≥ NATIONAL MUSEUMS LIVERPOOL 127 DALE STREET LIVERPOOL L2 2JH ENGLAND ≥ +44 151 207 0001 ≥ CHRISTINE.CORCORAN@LIVERPOOLMUSEUMS.ORG.UK WWW.LIVERPOOLMUSEUMS.ORG.UK 12 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

1.

Council Of Europe Museum Award 2013 Citation:

The Museum of Liverpool, a Euro 100 million project, opened in July 2011 as the UK’s newest national museum. The museum occupies a prime site next to the famous River Mersey in a part of the city that is a favourite for walks and cultural exploration. The Museum is part of National Museums Liverpool and has attracted more than 2.5 million visits since it opened. It tells the story of Liverpool and its people. Six thousand objects and countless images, stories and interactives form the Museum’s exhibitions, and together they reflect Liverpool’s history, geography and culture.

In a relatively short space of time in the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain was transformed from a small, weak agrarian country, where most people lived in villages, to the world’s first industrial nation. This transformation laid the foundations for the building of the greatest Empire the world has ever known.

One of the most extraordinary stories of the subsequent growth and decline of cities is the story of Liverpool. Liverpool, like many

cities, has a history that is full of ups and downs. For hundreds of years no more than an insignificant fishing village, it became possibly the greatest port in the world, the main port in the biggest empire the world has ever seen; and then it went into a decline that was almost terminal.

If ever there was a city that warranted a large scale museum to explore its extraordinary history, that city is Liverpool. We said that our ambition was to create the “the world’s greatest urban history museum”.

When contemplating creating a new museum that told this rollercoaster story, we asked ourselves “what do we want to achieve?” Our answers included the following: >>

>> >>

>>

>>

we wanted to be relevant to all, taking into account diversity of population, inclusivity and a layering of access we wanted to capture the personality of the city and its people we knew we had to consult and involve, with a lot of participation, dialogue, opinion and debate - we needed to include voices and identities we knew we needed lots of partnerships - the museum had to be extensively networked with and outside the city we wanted flexibility (not an overreliance on permanent display) THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 13

IMAGES COPYRIGHT: NATIONAL MUSEUMS LIVERPOOL

“The museum traces the social, economic and political history of a city which is one of the most socially diverse in Britain…the museum has an outstanding capacity to get people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities involved and promotes in such a strong, convincing form the Council of Europe core values…The Museum of Liverpool provides an exemplary recognition of human rights in museum practice…the interaction with the local community is excellent… it promotes mutual respect between ethnically and socially diverse parts of society, addresses human rights through contemporary debates and dialogue and maintains an open and inclusive policy aimed at bridging cultures in every aspect of its work.”

>> >>

>> >> >> >> >> >>

we knew the museum had to be intelligent - analytical not antiquarian we wanted quality - dignity, importance, prestige and cultural authority, unlike most city history museums we wanted the museum to be active, not passive we were aware of the time dimension - a museum is a long-term commitment we wanted to explain the modern city through analysis of the past we wanted to change the way visitors think about the city and themselves we wanted to create an emotional museum we wanted to create a fearless and democratic museum

Because of this approach, we created a museum that quickly became the most popular in England outside the capital city of London. Creating a new museum means most obviously designing a building, but the true measure of a museum is not the building that houses it, but what it contains.

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Making sense of the incredible Liverpool story was a challenge. We wanted a museum that captures the essence of this most remarkable city, that has an authentic Liverpool ‘voice’, that deals with the ‘wider’ Liverpool found in nearby Birkenhead, Bootle and Huyton, that appeals to different generations, and that is capable of frequent change.

We wanted to explain Liverpool. We wanted our visitors to understand Liverpool. It is very easy to grow up in a place and to love it, but actually to know very little about why it is like it is The Museum has four main galleries: Global City, The Great Port, The People’s Republic and Wondrous Place. It has other spaces too - the Skylight Gallery, Little Liverpool, History Detectives, City Soldiers, community and education facilities, atrium areas, as well as shop and café.

The Great Port is concerned with the trades and industries that came to flourish in Liverpool, especially in the docks.

Global City deals with the relationships Liverpool had (and has) with other ports and nations around the world - something which is, of course, very influential in a city that was a great trading port.

Probably the most unusual exhibition gallery in the Museum is Wondrous Place. It is hard to think of many other cities where a museum would allocate so much space to a gallery devoted entirely to creativity, but the story of Liverpool is one in which entertaining and performing play a central part.

This arrangement of main galleries is based upon an in-depth analysis of the Liverpool story: any new city museum must produce

its own storyline structure, and each will be different from all others.

As well as creating an outstanding urban history museum, it was important for us to create a building that would limit our impact on the environment. To this end we adopted an innovative arrangement of plant and equipment, and implemented several energy saving measures.

We believe we have created a new type of city museum: one that is democratic and emotional. It is full of opinion, of politics, of debate. It has broken a number of museum taboos. But it is a museum that is loved by the people of Liverpool: I still adore @MUSEUMLIVERPOOL, even though it makes me ridiculously emotional. A city museum done perfectly - @DONNAMK79 The wonderful @MUSEUMLIVERPOOL. First museum to ever make me cry. Twice - @YAZ_S

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IMAGES COPYRIGHT: NATIONAL MUSEUMS LIVERPOOL

The People’s Republic looks at the social history of the city, the stories of the ordinary people who lived and worked there.

2.

Devising The Programme IRISH WALLED TOWNS NETWORK EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME, KILKENNY, IRELAND EU PRIZE FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE / EUROPA NOSTRA AWARD 2013

Liam Mannix PROJECT MANAGER, IRISH WALLED TOWNS NETWORK ≥ THE HERITAGE COUNCIL ÁRAS NA HOIDHREACHTA CHURCH LANE KILKENNY, IRELAND ≥ LMANNIX@HERITAGECOUNCIL.IE MAIL@HERITAGECOUNCIL.IE WWW.HERITAGECOUNCIL.IE/IRISH-WALLED-TOWNS/ WELCOME/ WWW.IRISHWALLEDTOWNSNETWORK.IE TWITTER: @IRISHWALLEDTOWN FACEBOOK: FACEBOOK.COM/PAGES/IRISH-WALLEDTOWNS-NETWORK/137198476328993

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The network is not a top down organization.

Rather, it exists to help its members. The IWTN’s activities are controlled by a steering committee. The committee is made up of representatives from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, the Heritage Council, and several member towns.

These stakeholders recognised that by energising and educating the professionals and the community groups within the various member towns that the IWTN’s objectives of conserving and promoting Ireland’s medieval urban heritage could still be attained. Indeed, it was acknowledged that by engaging more intensely with local communities that perhaps the financial crisis had created an opportunity to develop a more tangible and sustainable bond between people and the heritage that surrounded them.

To make this happen, an education plan was devised. The plan did not focus on one single

issue. Instead, it was decided that a holistic approach would be taken. Several strands were to run in parallel. The three strands were: conservation; planning / town centre economy; and heritage tourism / community group development. The concept was that the various themes would be mutually supportive and attract a broader base of people into taking part than would otherwise have done so. In order that the plan be enacted, the role of IWTN Project Manager was expanded from being a part-time position to one which was full-time.

In the new post-economic boom Ireland, the preservation and enhancement of the country’s urban medieval fabric had to be wrapped up in economics. All conservation work is dependent on funding. During any period of austerity, limited money tends to be spent on either core areas such as education or on projects that are seen to have an economic benefit. In this situation, it was recognised that the intrinsic heritage value of the country’s town walls alone would not be enough to secure grant aid for conservation. We knew that in order to ensure a medieval structure’s future the number of people who appreciated their own town’s medieval fabric had to increase. Firstly, locals needed to be convinced of the social, cultural and economic value of their medieval past. They are the people who will ultimately protect the historic places that make up a town and voice concerns over their condition. Furthermore, tourists both national and international had to be directed to these places. This action will encourage local authorities to value the economic role of medieval structures in driving tourism. Ultimately, it was essential that the perception of need beyond solely that of heritage requirements was effectively communicated to decision makers and the general public. That is what the education programme aimed to do.

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≥ YOUGHAL MEDIEVAL FESTIVAL

The Irish Walled Towns Network (IWTN) was founded by the Heritage Council of Ireland in order to unite and co-ordinate local authorities involved in the management, conservation and enhancement of 27 historic walled towns in Ireland, both north and south.

Formed in 2005, the IWTN’s role had been to give grants for town wall conservation plans, the implementation of those plans, and the running of Walled Towns Day festivals. Each year there was a conference where members met and heard about recent conservation projects and archaeological excavations connected with town walls. However, by late 2010, due to the recession in the Irish economy it had become apparent that a more imaginative approach was needed. In essence, conservation for the sake of conservation was no longer viable and a programme of education, outreach and capacity building was required.

> BUTTEVANT EVENTS

The various lectures, seminars and workshops that have occurred since 2011 are supported by an emerging research programme. As of 2014, students and lecturers from three universities are working in and with member towns. Their input provides insight into planning and tourism issues. It is hoped that this research initiative will provide valuable information into what is needed for each town to become a better place in which to live, work and visit. It is also intended that the town-to-university interaction will develop further, bringing more participants and a greater depth of research.

Despite the cutbacks the IWTN has managed to maintain a conservation grants scheme.

Unlike previously, conservation without interpretation is no longer supported. Locals must be made aware to the importance of the work being carried out. Each grantee is obliged to conduct at least three community interaction actions. These can include tours of the site, social media updates, press releases, or interpretation panels. Up to 2% of the IWTN allocation may be used to help accomplish the actions.

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The educational programme is now three and a half years old. Since starting, more than 600 people have participated in 26 training events, attendance figures for Walled Towns Days have improved, and 22 stretches of historic town wall have been saved. All this has been done despite the challenging environment. The response from IWTN members has been overwhelmingly positive. With an educational programme such as ours it is quite difficult to quantify its impact. This is particularly true as regards the influence upon a local heritage tourism sector. In relation to public perception or awareness of town walls, not enough time have elapsed to allow this to be adequately measured. A baseline survey has already been carried out in Cork to provide a measurable index which will allow this to happen in the future.

Nonetheless, there are a number of indicators showing the educational programme is having a positive impact on the perception of heritage and its continued protection: 1.

The responses in post course feedback forms have all been excellent. All member towns have sent representatives

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Ultimately, all the training, grants, and research are intended to create a wave of knowledgeable decision makers and community members. It is hoped that these people will help to make their walled towns and cities become not only commercially successful but also great places in which to reside. So far, the results have been encouraging. Nonetheless, we recognise that blindly doing what we have always done is not enough. We are constantly reappraising the programme and asking where things went wrong and what can be improved. It is only through this honest appraisal that our limited funds can be intelligently used to get the best result for Ireland’s historic towns and the people who live in them.

> BUTTEVANT FESTIVAL

2.

to several training days. Town-IWTN interaction has improved significantly.

In the last three years despite a declining budget membership of the IWTN has increased from 21 to 27 towns.

Between 2011 and 2013, 110,000 people attended the improved Walled Towns Days. Visitor appraisal surveys from the last two years of Walled Towns Day have also been excellent with almost 90% of respondents saying that they would recommend their local festival to a friend. Walled Towns events have won at the National Heritage Week Awards in two of the last three years.

Several town and county councils have stepped in to support conservation work where reductions to the IWTN’s capital budget have meant reduced allocations. This indicates acceptance of the significance of the walls to the town’s heritage. One of the most enthusiastic councils we work with was shortlisted for a national planning award for their work on managing their town walls.

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A Museum For All BATALHA’S MUNICIPAL COMMUNITY MUSEUM, DAM�O E DIU – BATALHA, PORTUGAL EUROPEAN MUSEUM FORUM / KENNETH HUDSON AWARD 2013

Cíntia Manuela Silva DEPUTY MAYOR, MUNICIPAL CHAMBER OF BATALHA

Ana Luísa Moderno CURATOR, MMCB

≥ BATALHA MUNICIPAL COMMUNITY MUSEUM MUSEU DA COMUNIDADE CONCELHIA DA BATALHA LARGO GOA, DAM�O E DIU, N.° 4 2440-901 BATALHA PORTUGAL ≥ +351 244 769 878 ≥ GERAL@MUSEUBATALHA.COM WWW.MUSEUBATALHA.COM 20 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

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Who We Are Located in Batalha town, near Batalha’s Monastery, a UNESCO monument, the MCCB is seen as an innovative cultural centre, which promotes culture, knowledge and heritage, in one of the main tourist destinations of Portugal. It reveals a journey of over 250 million years. It holds a collection that covers various topics that characterises the peoples and the places of Batalha. This project contextualises local and national history with European facts, including the construction of the Monastery, a Gothic monument that welcomed many European artists. It completes its exhibits with interactive multimedia resources and accessible solutions designed to make people with disabilities welcomed and allow each visitor to experience the museum using the special facilities available to all.

Our History The interest of the Municipality and the community of this council for its heritage and safeguarding its values and cultural territory with strong historical roots, laid the foundation of a museum project that brought together experts in several areas.

In 2003, a working group was constituted comprising representatives of the Municipality, experts in finance, engineering, architecture, museology, exhibition design, paleontology, geology, archeology, local history, communication and administration, among others.

We intend to develop a museum organized on the lines of sociomuseology and that of community museums in which local people can review their identity and history. The team began the research work, collecting objects, researching and collaborating with the community. The project was presented in

local parishes tp exchange ideas and recognise local reality.

The musem, situated in the historic centre of Batalha, is housed in the former headquarters of a bank – the “Caixa de Crédito Agrícola”, which donated this building for the construction of a museum to show the importance of local history.

The total project cost was 1.2 million euros and was supported by European funds.

The MCCB was officially inaugurated on the 2nd April 2011 and since then it has already attracted about 20.000 visitors.

The Exhibition The museum is organized as a long-term exhibition with a temporary exhibition room.

It reveals a journey that begins with the origin of the universe. It shows geological and paleontological fossil remains; the first traces of human life; a roman city named Collippo; the Battle of Aljubarrota and the progressive construction of the Monastery of Batalha, the social and cultural features of the Region’s people; nature and biodiversity. The exhibition is completed with an illustrated chronological timeline and interactive multimedia resources. Visitors are also invited to make contact with the cultural and tourism region in a space that invites the exploration of thematic routes in an interactive model which displays promotional videos that show gastronomy, handicrafts and festivities.

The first temporary exhibition is entitled “Education in Batalha” and features a collaboration between museum technicians, students and teachers.

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A Museum For All

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Spacious exhibition rooms with good lighting and easy mobility Lift Tactile path Accessible toilet facilities Space for guide dogs Accessible web page

The MCCB views itself as a Museum for All offering a museological programme that enhances unique experiences that are highly personalized, respecting individual differences.

>>

The same resources and services can be enjoyed by people with and without disabilities.

Some of our solutions are:

This is a constantly developing area. The involvement of people with special needs from the beginning of the project was a key concern in structuring our visitor programme and museological programme. Based on the suggestions made by technicians, people with special needs and the general public, our team tries to constantly improve the museum offer, according to the available budget, priorities and our mission.

>> >> >> >> >>

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Screen readers.

Multimedia area with accessibility solutions Printed braille and tactile images Raised pictures and Braille lettering Tactile experiences - maps, maquettes, original objects and replicas to be touched Videos with multilingual subtitles Audioguide with audiodescription Videoguide with sign language interpretation

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>> >> >> >>

The Kenneth Hudson Award In 2013, on May 18th,the International Day of Museums, the MCCB was given, in the Belgian town of Tongeren, the prestigious Kenneth Hudson Award of the European Mu-

seum Forum (EMF). An award in honour of the founder of the European Museum of the Year Award which distinguishes “museums, people, projects or group of people who have demonstrated the most unusual, daring and, perhaps, controversial achievement that challenges common perceptions of the role of the museum in society and carries forward the spirit of Kenneth Hudson”. For the members of the international jury, the prize awarded to the MCCB was justified “for its extraordinary ability to provide, in a simple and edgy way, a diversity of experiences to the museum visitors, a process that included the participation of the local community, researchers and experts”.

seum in order to respond to the interests of an increasingly demanding public.

In December of 2012, the Portuguese Association of Museums (APOM) chose the MCCB as Portugal’s Best Museum.

The MCCB also has a partnership programme with other regional cultural institutions. The local Cultural Passport, which includes 6 partners (MCCB, Batalha’s Monastery; the Interpretation Centre of the Battle of Aljubarrota, the Ethnographic Museum of Alta Estremadura, “Grutas da Moeda” Caves and Pia do Urso -Sensory EcoPark) is a successful strategic example of this programme, attracting many people to this region.

We’ve also been recognized with regional awards such as the prize Territorial Development, received at the 14th Gala of the weekly paper “Regi�o de Leiria” and the Regional Merit award at the 4th Gala of Inclusion of Leiria, which recognised the accessibility policy of the Municipality of Batalha.

Challenges Challenges make part of the daily work of the small team of the museum.

Facing an economical crisis and working with very low budgets are the main challenges for cultural institutions. Every day we must be creative in order to keep public interest and maintain the quality of the project,always keeping to the mission of the museum.

Considering this, we emphasise the various partnerships with public and private institutions which ensure an improvement in the supply of visitors and in promoting the mu-

The collaboration with the community is constantly developing in order to create research programmes leading to the setting up of temporary exhibitions.

Collaboration with hotel chains in the region is another of the measures devised to attract visitors from all over the world. In order to promote a joint dynamic cultural, social and economic sustainability, we have developed synergies with business and commercial partners of the town and the region promoting the development of quality initiatives.

Another measure taken by the team towards increasing the profile of the Museum is the involvement in thematic conferences, related to accessibility, museology and tourism.

We are also intend on keeping a cultural programme that can promote investigation, heritage, education, and local development which is all inclusive for the public benefit.

We intend to continue the collaboration with the local community, in educating our youth in the preservation and promotion of our heritage and our history and contributing to changing mindsets about the concept that a museum only exists within the four walls that surround it.

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Seeking To Encourage Creative, Open And Unbiased Discussions

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MUSEUM OF MILITARY HISTORY OF BUNDESWEHR, DRESDEN, GERMANY EUROPEAN MUSEUM ACADEMY - MICHELETTI AWARD 2013

Jan Kindler HEAD OF SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMMES AND MEDIA ≥ MILITÄRHISTORISCHES MUSEUM DER BUNDESWEHR OLBRICHTPLATZ 2, 01099 DRESDEN GERMANY ≥ 0351-823-2831 0351-823-2805 ≥ JANKINDLER@BUNDESWEHR.ORG WWW.MHMBW.DE

In 2002 American architect Daniel Libeskind was commissioned to fundamentally reconstruct the old building from the 1870s and add a new one. The wedge-shaped, asymmetric new building he designed penetrates the massive old building with its classical layout. A transparent front of metal lamellas overlies the historical structure.

The new building provides room for large and bulky heavy exhibits. Here, form follows function. And at the same time, there are codings regarding the contents which make the building itself the first and largest item of the exhibition. The wedge becomes an instrument of force severing the arsenal, a thorn, a symbol of war and pain, the counterpoint to the war-symbolism of the arsenal.

Libeskind’s new building is not just architecture, it is a sculpture, a social sculpture – as Joseph Beuys would say – where people meet, argue, discuss, learn and walk, eat and drink. The Museum is a lively place, a history workshop and think-tank all in one, which gives room for people to form their own opinions and to make their own temporary museum.

The multiperspectivity of the permanent exhibition with its branching out into social history and cultural history offers many ways to interpret German military history. The new exhibition focuses on the human being, the anthropological side of violence. The military is just the famous tip of an iceberg whose centre of gravity is far below the water line in the field of anthropology and the cultural history of man.

Visitors are offered two main openings to military history, each clearly separated from the other in terms of both space and method. On the one hand, there is the classical chronological tour, the journey in time in the wings of the historical arsenal building and, on the other hand, there is the thematic cross-section, the theme tour in the new building designed by Daniel Libeskind.

One showroom of the new building for example is completely dedicated to the topic of War and Remembrance. Each human being is full of memories. But it is not only individuals who form a memory; communities do so as well. Another floor is dedicated to the topics of the Military and Society and Politics and Force. The relations between the military and civilian worlds are manifold. The visitors find in this floor sub-topics like the Military and Language, the Military and Music, the Military and Fashion, and War and Play. Ambivalence as a basic concept in exhibiting and contextualizing objects can be explored here very well by looking at a doll’s house that was built in 1944 and belonged to an English girl.

The girl lived in London and had made her doll‘s house fit for war by blackening the windows, preparing gas-proof cots for her baby dolls, and setting up a so-called “Anderson shelter” in the garden. As you stand in front of the doll’s house and see in the background the imposing form of a 16 meter tall V2-rocket, the presentation makes the V2-rocket tangible in all its ambivalence. On the one hand it is regarded as a technical marvel and THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 25

≥ © MHM / DANIEL BRANDT

The Military Historical Museum of the Bundeswehr ( MHM) sees itself primarily not as a museum devoted to the history of technology, but as a historical museum. Its purpose is to provide information about our history, to prompt people to ask questions and to offer a variety of answers – as a museum without pathos which endeavours to combine reflection on history and critical debate. It is more of a house encouraging thinking than one attempting to endow meaning. Focused on this objective, the Military Historical Museum of the Bundeswehr tries to break new ground both in what it contains and how it is constructed.

> © BÜRO LIBESKIND / NICK HUFTON

at the starting point for civilian space travel, while on the other hand it was developed and used in World War II as a weapon against the civilian populations of London and Antwerp.

More people died not from the weapon itself, but rather from brutal forced labour in the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp, where the V2 was built underground starting in January 1944.

Other topics displayed in the wedge are the Formation of Bodies, Animals and the Military and Suffering from War. The close link between the military and civilian use of technical developments is explained to the visitor in a wing on the ground floor entitled the Military and Technology. There is also the topical complex of Protection and Destruction which deals with the competition between fire and stone, protective and destructive weapons throughout the centuries.

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The chronology tour starts on the ground floor of the western wing of the old building spanning from the late Middle Ages to 1914.

The exhibition is arranged on different levels and offers different “depths of information”.

The first floor houses similar areas devoted to the World War Era of 1914 to 1945 and the period from 1945 to the present.

Variable special exhibitions in different areas and events like discussions, film talks, multimedia presentations, concerts, poetry slams and other formats amend the new permanent exhibition since its opening in 2011.

Experiences in the long process of a conceptual and architectual redesign of our house concern its constant advancement according to international museum standarts of restoration, climate control, and also the importance of a balanced concept of space for permanent and special exhibitions and for different kinds of events and programmes. Of

and unbiased discussions and sees itself as a forum for critical examination of military history and for creating a dialogue on the role of war and the military in the past, present and future.

≥ © BÜRO LIBESKIND

≥ © BÜRO LIBESKIND

> © MHM / DANIEL BRANDT

particular importance for the success of our museum proved to be its general orientation as an open minded, science-based historical forum. In contrast to a ‘company museum’, that presents mainly official points of view, the Military Historical Museum of the Bundeswehr seeks to encourage creative, open

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Keeping The Blues Alive DELTA BLUES MUSEUM, CLARKSDALE, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MEDAL FOR MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICE 2013

Shelley Ritter EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

≥ DELTA BLUES MUSEUM 1 BLUES ALLEY CLARKSDALE, MS 38614 UNITED STATES ≥ SHELLEY@DELTABLUESMUSEUM.ORG WWW.DELTABLUESMUSEUM.ORG TWITTER: @DBMCLARKSDALE FACEBOOK: FACEBOOK.COM/PAGES/DELTA-BLUESMUSEUM-CLARKSDALE-MISSISSIPPI/101876719872494 28 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

5.

The Museum was founded in 1979 by the Carnegie Public Library’s Board of Trustees and by Library Director Sid Graves, who envisioned a Delta Blues Museum, due to the number of tourists who were visiting Clarksdale in search of blues artists, blues music and blues culture. Inevitably, on their quest, they would stop by the library in search of information. Graves, with assistance from noted scholars Bill Ferris and Patti Carr Black, as well as the support of the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Public Library, established the Delta Blues Museum. Initial funding support came from the library, the Mississippi Humanities Council, blues artists, and blues fans.

In its beginning, “the museum” consisted of a few small cases of artifacts and memorabilia located in the library’s Myrtle Hall Branch. In 1981, the collection was moved to the main library branch. As visitors increased and interest grew, it became evident that the Museum needed a larger venue. In 1999, the Museum moved into the renovated Illinois Central freight depot, a Mississippi Landmark property. A 7,300 sq. ft. gallery expansion was completed in 2012. In 2013, the Delta Blues Museum was honored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services with a National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nation’s highest honor for museums, at a ceremony hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama in the East Wing of the White House.

The National Medal for Museum and Library Service honors outstanding institutions that make significant and exceptional contribu-

tions to their communities. Selected institutions demonstrate extraordinary and innovative approaches to public service, exceeding the expected levels of community outreach.

The award is the United States’ highest honor conferred on museums and libraries for remarkable community programming and resources.

The National Medal committee was impressed that such a small museum could have such a great impact all over the world.

They lauded our innovative approaches to public service and our extensive community outreach. They were impressed with our ability to simultaneously serve our local as well as our global patrons with only three full-time staff members and a $400,000 annual budget.

The Delta Blues Museum primarily serves two distinct audiences: tourists and residents of Coahoma County. The immediate benefactors of our educational programs are the Arts & Education students and the citizens of Coahoma County. However, the impact of our program extends far beyond local boundaries.

Our Arts and Education program is one of the few, year-round arts-based afternoon programs for youth. The program helps sustain our community’s cultural heritage by keeping blues music alive, which is appropriate since much of its history originated in our area. This innovative program was selected as one of 50 finalists for a National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award in 2013 and again in 2014.

Through performances by our students—The Delta Blues Museum Band—plus outreach programs and educational features on our website, we are able to exponentially expand our instructional capabilities. The Delta Blues Museum Band has performed at the THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 29

IMAGES BY CHUCK LAMB

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The Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi is Mississippi’s oldest music museum and the world’s first museum devoted entirely to the blues, America’s greatest contribution to world music. It is open to the public six days a week and by appointment.

Chicago Blues Festival, and is a regular for the Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival as well as the Juke Joint Festival. These unique educational opportunities impact around 50,000 people annually. Many more additional contacts (impossible to accurately count) are made through public performances by the Delta Blues Museum Band, our traveling trunk, and our website.

All of the artists featured in our exhibits have impacted blues music in their own way. Many of the artists are “known” to our visitors, both as friends and as musical heroes. Their humor, songs and stories have been and will remain an integral part of the Clarksdale experience, impacting all in profoundly significant ways. Regardless of their era, from the 1920s to date, music shaped their lives and their lives shaped their music. In turn, their music has influenced all genres of music, from classical to rap.

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Imagine how hard it was for Robert Johnson or Charley Patton to exist in the 1930s, during the Great Depression, as they were making their music. What drove them to create this music that has forever changed the way that music is played/heard/passed along?

The legacies created by these artists have endured and will continue to do so. Meanwhile, we are helping to nurture new artists who are learning the old music and making their own. As this generation honors the heritage of the past through new interpretations, the music continues to thrive.

Visitors to the Delta Blues Museum need a “big picture” that will help them orient facts and myths about blues in mental and physical spaces. Most of our visitors have an idea of the connection between blues and Clarksdale, but they may not grasp the underlying links among the music and its culture, rhythms, and instruments. Our new perma-

nent exhibits will connect these concepts and place them in a meaningful context.

We purposefully engage musicians, scholars, local historians and our visitors as we plan and implement activities. The endorsement of the blues musicians and their families is essential to professional excellence, and our many international visitors help us recognize what resonates with them as being integral to the Clarksdale blues story.

We have consistently used our mission statement as a measuring tool and held all consultants accountable to it as well. Our advice to share would be to keep in mind that as you begin your project you should be certain of your desired end result. As you select project professionals to help you plan and achieve your goals, it is important that they comprehensively understand the overall objective.

Although the direction or scope of the project can evolve as you progress, you must retain clarity of your essential vision, mission, and values.

Initially, we looked at simply upgrading the exhibits in the existing museum space. As we researched the Delta Blues Museum history, we recognized that we needed more space to adequately address the depth and breadth of its influence. We were fortunate to receive support from the Mississippi Arts Commission, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and the Mississippi Department of Transportation to support the physical expansion and the planning for new permanent exhibits. Difficulties in our expansion included determining how to add a sizable yet complementary addition to the existing historic structure with continuity between the old and new spaces. Essentially, the museum is “landlocked” (our footprint is fixed), so we added a second story to the new wing, which can be used for meetings and/or temporary exhibitions. We are currently raising funds

for the final design and fabrication for new permanent exhibits.

In 2012, the Delta Strategic Compact recognized our efforts with an award for Excellence in Tourism. In 2013, we were recognized by the Institute of Museum and Library Services with a National Medal for Museum and Library Service and by the Links, Incorporated. Our Arts and Education Program has twice been selected as one of fifty finalists for a National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award and The Blues Foundation recognized museum director Shelley Ritter with a Keeping the Blues Alive Award for historic preservation.

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Committed To Our Youngest Learners PLEASE TOUCH MUSEUM, PHILADELPHIA, UNITED STATES EUROPEAN MUSEUM ACADEMY - 2013 CHILDREN’S MUSEUMS AWARD

Lynn McMaster PRESIDENT & CEO ≥ PLEASE TOUCH MUSEUM 4231 AVENUE OF THE REPUBLIC PHILADELPHIA, PA 19131 UNITED STATES ≥ +1-215-581-3197 ≥ WWW.PLEASETOUCHMUSEUM.ORG CDION@PLEASETOUCHMUSEUM.ORG

6.

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By 2008, Please Touch Museum had outgrown its capacity to serve Philadelphian children and their families. The Museum required more space to deepen and expand it’s commitment to the youngest members of our community and made the move the national historic landmark, Memorial Hall in Fairmont Park. The Museum is situated in one of the largest urban green spaces in the United States covering 3700 hectares of trails, woodland and wetlands. It is housed in the last remaining building on the site of the 1876 Philadelphia World’s Fair marking the US centennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The theme of the 1876 fair celebrated innovation and new thinking in a variety of disciplines including the arts, education, invention, technology, and agriculture. It also featured a model kindergarten inspired by the ideas of German educator, Friedrich Froebel, that people could observe. His ideas maintained that when children engaged with the world, they gained understanding. Froebel’s play materials and activities were sold at the fair. The gifts included blocks that architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s mother bought at the Exhibition and took home for her son, which would later have great influence in his designs and theories.

Please Touch Museum presence at Memorial Hall—a site that had been a place for new thinking about education over 130 years

ago—now brings to very young children the idea of the museum experience through play.

A hallmark of Please Touch Museum is its commitment to creating environments, programs, and experiences that expand and deepen the abilities of our youngest learners and help them transition to the formal learning environment. The early childhood years are the most developmentally important in a person’s lifespan, as the brain develops more rapidly during these years. By age five the brain has developed 90% of the foundation for problem solving, communications, and critical thinking. It is imperative that children are exposed to a rich variety of learning experiences from a very young age to support cognitive growth during these most formative years. Play is regarded as one of the most powerful stimulants of intellectual and socio-emotional growth for young children. Please Touch Museum understood this and became the first children’s museum in the nation dedicated to serving children ages seven and younger, advocating for the value of playful learning by providing programs with hands-on introductory learning experiences in the arts, sciences, and humanities. Our School Readiness programs, including events that help children transition to Kindergarten have raised kindergarten enrollment in the surrounding neighborhood by 10%.

Accessibility is another of the Please Touch Museum’s defining attributes. We strive to make our facilities, programs, and services accessible to all children and families, irrespective of socio-economic background or level of ability. Our aim is to mitigate or abolish all barriers that prevent Philadelphia’s families from experiencing our playful learning. Our award-winning community programs serve more than 8,6000 individuals each year. We admit more than 46,000 visitors, many of them low-income and atTHE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 33

≥ ALICE IN WONDERLAND EXHIBIT

In 1976, a forward-thinking Montessori educator, Portia Sperr, founded Please Touch Museum with the mission of enriching the lives of children by creating learning opportunities through play. She understood importance that early childhood learning opportunities to school success and clearly saw our museum as an engine for the Philadelphia region’s arts and culture community.

> CHILD IN FAIRYTALE GARDEN EXHIBIT

risk, to the Museum each year with free or discounted admission. We also strive to be a leader in our field in developing programs and services that serve families of children with special needs. Our Play Without Boundaries program, for example, provides a set of programs and services for families of children with disabilities, helping them feel welcome and comfortable in our Museum.

Please Touch Museum is innovative in both the scope and quality of its programming.

Our programs address the full range of needs of families with young children, beyond conventional academic subjects. Recent examples of this are our financial literacy programming and our healthy lifestyles initiative, where we portray complex subjects in ways that are engaging and comprehensible, an approach firmly rooted in our philosophy of learning through play. During our Pinch and Penny theater show, children are introduced to the concepts of earning, saving, and 34 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

sharing, through a humorous puppet show.

At Stroller in the Park, our visitors walk a 5K path around the Museum and receive access to a Health Pavilion and Healthy Snack Tent, where they can learn about making healthy choices.

Our theater program, for example, distinguishes our museum among other children’s museums and cultural institution in the city of Philadelphia. Live theater provides an excellent opportunity for aesthetic, cultural, and behavioral child development. As Please Touch Museum is a first museum experience for many of our young visitors, we are proud to introduce children to their first theater experience. The Theater is a key component of the overall Museum experience, providing opportunities for playful learning and imagination. It presents a repertoire of both original productions and adaptations, written and produced by in-house actors. The works focus on ideas that highlight permanent ex-

In recent years, Please Touch Museum has undergone a period of rapid and profound growth. Our annual visitation of 580,000 includes us among Philadelphia’s most-visited cultural venues. Since 2008, we have welcomed more than 3 million visitors. Please Touch Museum has a long history of providing innovative learning experiences and resources that put young children at the center and help support the development of the youngest members of our community. We remain committed to expanding the scope and impact of our programs with the continued velocity that the Museum was founded.

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> PLEASE TOUCH MEMORIAL HALL ≥ CHILD IN FAIRYTALE GARDEN EXHIBIT

hibition topics and programmatic themes ranging from financial literacy, healthy eating and the world of jazz.

Transforming The William Morris Gallery

WILLIAM MORRIS GALLERY, WALTHAMSTOW, UNITED KINGDOM ART FUND FOR PRIZE MUSEUM OF THE YEAR 2013

Lorna Lee HEAD OF CULTURAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICES, WALTHAM FOREST COUNCIL

Carien Kremer EXHIBITION AND COLLECTION OFFICER, WILLIAM MORRIS GALLERY

≥ WILLIAM MORRIS GALLERY, LLOYD PARK, FOREST ROAD, LONDON, E17 4PP, UNITED KINGDOM ≥ +44 208 496 4390 ≥ WWW.WMGALLERY.ORG.UK WMG.ENQUIRIES@WALTHAMFOREST.GOV.UK FACEBOOK: FACEBOOK.COM/WMGALLERY TWITTER: @WMGALLERY 36 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

7.

The Gallery reopened in August 2012 following a £5million development project, funded

by Waltham Forest Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund, and many other trusts and organisations. The building and existing galleries have been refurbished, the collection redisplayed, and a new extension created with an ambitious programme of exhibitions, events and education. In 2013, in recognition of its transformation, the Gallery was awarded the biggest UK art award- The Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year.

About The Collection The William Morris Gallery holds the world’s most comprehensive collection relating to William Morris (1834-1896) – the radical Victorian designer, craftsman, poet and campaigner- housed in his childhood home in Walthamstow, London. Following Morris death, there was increasing local interest to commemorate Morris in his birthplace; residents had started to collect Morris’s work, with the aim of establishing a museum dedicated to his life. By the 1930s they had secured the backing of two important patrons, the artists Frank Brangwyn (1867-1956) and Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo (1851-1942) who both donated a substantial amount of work from their own collections. Following agreement with the local Council, the William Morris Gallery opened in 1950.

The Gallery’s collection continues to grow to reflect the full range of Morris life, works and legacy; the most exciting Morris discovery

for many years, the Peacock and Bird carpet, was acquired by the Gallery in 2010. Today the internationally renowned collection includes designs, wallpapers, textiles, furniture, ceramics, stained glass and fine art along with items representative of Morris’s political and literary life.

‘A Sleeping Giant’ Before redevelopment the Gallery was uninviting; with collections displayed in darkened rooms, with shuttered windows. Visitor facilities were poor - no social spaces and no refreshment facilities - and visits declined to fewer than 20,000 per year.

Waltham Forest is one of the most deprived areas in England with a diverse mix of communities and a low cultural offer. Described by one Art Fund judge as’ a sleeping giant’, the Gallery had lost touch with local residents and consequently its funding was reduced; this was a difficult period. However visionary supporters campaigned to rethink the Gallery; Waltham Forest Council listened and an inspired team turned the situation around with invaluable support from the Friends of the William Morris Gallery. We repositioned the Gallery and redefined the role it could play socially, culturally and economically.

Morris’ vision of art and education for all became the underlying principle for the redevelopment - to move away from being a niche Gallery, to become a welcoming, engaging and inspiring place for a wide range of people. The project was informed by extensive research - we asked our visitors what would make their visit better, and we also consulted with people who did not visit. We concluded that we needed to improve physical and intellectual access, preserve the historic fabric of the building and restore the connection with the original gardens - now a popular public park.

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≥ MORRIS AND CO SHOP GALLERY

‘I do not want art for a few’ (Morris 1877) William Morris argued that art was too important to only be enjoyed by the privileged few. He spent most of life trying to bring this ideal into practice; he wanted art to be part of everyday life, and available to all. This ambition sums up our aim for the William Morris Gallery.

The Transformation

> WILLIAM MORRIS GALLERY BY EDMUND SUMNER

Working with architects Pringle Richards and Sharratt, we have restored the Grade II* Georgian building (built c.1740), to reveal its original features and create a light, airy and welcoming space for visitors, whilst providing a safe and secure environment for the collection. The main entrance has been made physically accessible and visitors can now access all floors using the new lift.

Original wooden panelling, chimney pieces, timber and marble floors have been expertly refurbished.

The spaces in the building and the layout have been rationalised to maximise its use, relocating staff offices to enable a new learning centre to be established. An elegant extension houses a special exhibition gallery and a tearoom, with a new environmentally controlled object store in the basement. The designers found innovative ways of using Morris’ patterns throughout the new building: on the extension roof to shade the visitors from the sun, and also on the glass panels and doors. The tearoom has proved a great success, attracting park users and many families into the gallery.

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The interpretation within the displays is layered to appeal to those who have little knowledge of Morris and also to those who are more familiar with his works. An introduction gallery explains who Morris is, why there is a Gallery devoted to him and what you can expect in the rest of the building. A series of mechanical and digital interactives designed for children and families form an integral part of the displays. Text is written in plain English, complemented by film and audio; and for those who want to know more, the Gallery has pull-out drawers with further information, a research library, a new website and guidebook. A range of events and activities for families adults and schools also offer new and innovative ways of bringing the collections to life.

In the past year alone we have welcomed 127,000 visitors and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. ‘I’ve travelled 3000 miles to see the house and it didn’t disappoint - beautiful.’

The gallery has been transformed into an engaging space where many people come to spend a day, enjoy the collections, take part in an activity and have a cup of tea before exploring the park. The special exhibition gallery has brought world-class contemporary art to Waltham Forest, attracting new audiences and offering different perspectives on Morris’ ideas. Morris was such a complex personality and his career so diverse that artists from many different practices find a rich wealth of material to respond to. Our programme has included Turner Prize-winners Grayson Perry and Jeremy Deller, who brought his show from the Venice Biennale, in which Morris played an important role.

“The gallery does all this with scholarship and insight in an open and accessible style.

There is no dumbing down here, but a great programme of outreach. No compromise on aesthetic and curatorial excellence, but an equal commitment to ensuring that as many people as possible come to understand the importance and wonder of William Morris. As a result, one of the poorest boroughs in the country now has one

of the greatest museums in the country.”

(Judge- Art Fund prize for Museum of the Year) We have achieved what we set out to do more people, from different backgrounds, young and old, families and individuals, now come to the Gallery and enjoy their visit. We are now defining the next stage in the development to ensure that the Gallery remains resilient and that we continue to surprise and delight our visitors. Morris was continually pushing boundaries – learning new skills and expertise in his adult life. We are determined to build on the success of the project and show the real positive difference that a high-quality cultural destination can make to its local community and beyond.of people. The project was informed by extensive research - we asked our visitors what would make their visit better, and we also consulted with people who did not visit. We concluded that we needed to improve physical and intellectual access, preserve the historic fabric of the building and restore the connection with the original gardens - now a popular public park.

THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 39

> WORKSHOP GALLERY

The Gallery Today

Restoring An Iconic Monument Of Classical Antiquity: The Case Of The Propylaea Of The Acropolis In Athens PROPYLAEA CENTRAL BUILDING, ACROPOLIS, ATHENS, GREECE EU PRIZE FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE / EUROPA NOSTRA AWARD 2013

Dr. Tasos Tanoulas PROJECT FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE PROPYLAEA OF THE ACROPOLIS ≥ TASOS TANOULAS PRATINOU 48 11634 ATHENS GREECE ≥ ATANO@OTENET.GR YSMA@CULTURE.GR WWW.YSMA.GR

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The whole complex proves Mnesicles’ pioneer genius not only regarding architectural design, but engineering practices as well.

Ever since its erection, it generated admiration and inspired important architectural schemes in Antiquity, but also in the modern era, beginning in the Renaissance and continuing to the twentieth century.

For almost sixteen centuries, that is, from AD 267, to the establishment of the modern Greek state, in 1830, the Acropolis was a fortified castle and the Propylaia was incorporated into the fortifications. In the Middle Ages, the Propylaea functioned as an archbishop’s residence and then as a fortified palace. In 1640, while Athens was under Ottoman rule, the Propylaia was used as storage space for gunpowder. An explosion occurred causing damage to the original structure, particularly in the superstructure of the central building.

The first recorded and organised restoration carried out on the Propylaia was conducted by Nikolaos Balanos, between 1909 and 1917. It was concentrated on the Central Building which had suffered the most damage. It utilised most of the surviving original material in the superstructure of the east portico and of the west hall. The ample use of iron as a bonding agent soon caused serious damage to the marble, which made a subsequent restoration inevitable. The original aim of the Propylaea Restoration Project in 1986 was to face up to the dramatic fragmentation of the beams and coffers in the ceiling restored by Balanos. The qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the problems were revealed gradually during implementations carried out in two preliminary stages: In 1990-1993, the whole of the ceilings restored

by Balanos were dismantled. In 1997-2001, the east end of the south wall was dismantled, treated and reassembled.

The final stage of the Project that received an award in 2013, started with the dismantling of the superstructure in February 2002. The project was carried out by the Acropolis Restoration Service under the scientific supervision of the Committee for the Conservation of the Acropolis Monuments (ESMA, Hellenic Ministry of Culture). The project budget totalled 7.398.846 euro and it was co-funded by the Hellenic Republic and the European Union.

In May 2003 all the blocks had been dismantled and organized in the work site. Restoration started immediately and the work was completed in December 2009. By then, 301 blocks had been dismantled, conserved and reassembled; another 66 blocks had been restored for the first time, above the central passageway, thus allowing more of the famous ceilings of the Propylaia to be seen. In the end, 367 architectural pieces were reset

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≥ A VIEW IN THE WEST HALL OF THE CENTRAL BUILDING AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE RESTORATION (2008).

The Propylaea, the monumental gate building to the Athenian Acropolis, occupies the summit of the west slope, the only negotiable access to the top of the rock. The building process started in 437 B.C. and came to an end after a time period of considerable but unknown length. The building that was finally accomplished, comprised a central structure and two lateral wings facing each other. This was only a reduced version of the plan drawn up originally by the architect Mnesicles. Even so, it inspired the admiration of his contemporaries and generations to come, because it had no precedent. With the Propylaea, the concept of architecture was recast; a new building type was invented and implemented, where architectural language, secular purpose, and function dictated a setting and created an architectural landscape that finalised a sanctuary.

> THE EAST FRONT OF THE CENTRAL BUILDING AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE RESTORATION (2010).

in their original positions, their weight varying from 0.5 to 11 tons.

This restoration benefited immensely from the new detailed study of the building conducted in situ, and from the careful identification of the original fragments of the ceilings’ beams and coffers. Every step in treating and restoring the monument was scrupulously documented in text, drawings and photographs for each architectural component and for the building as a whole.

Particular attention was paid so that the original architectural details and the texture of the marble surfaces were reproduced with absolute accuracy. This approach was exemplified by the reconstruction of the two Ionic capitals, which were studied and restored from full scale drawings, for the first time in such detail, before being carved in new marble. The sculpting work on the capitals was produced by the hands of skilled craftsmen, while the accuracy in the reproduction of each detail was monitored and ensured in every stage of the procedure.

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Beyond the high quality of the details, the new restoration of the superstructure of the central building of the Propylaia is distinguished a) for having applied modern technology very carefully, in order to replicate the structural principles of the technology developed by the ancient builders; b) for having restored the correct dimensions to each block and to the building as a whole; c) for preserving traces of the original materials from the several structural phases of the monument.

The characteristic methods of operation can be summarised as follows: the rusty iron was removed and titanium reinforcements were used instead, this time integrated in a structural system designed so that the main principles of the classical structural technology are reproduced. For this purpose, titanium rods were installed inside each block, to join the original fragments and/or new marble supplements, thus restoring to the blocks the original solidity and individuality; the consolidated blocks were built into the wall with no mortar, with titanium clamps and dowels sheathed with cement instead.

Parallel to the implementation works, investigation of the original material was contin-

craftsmen and conservators. It is important to stress that it is through the hands of our devoted marble craftsmen, that what we had visualized through scientific investigation and architectural drawings, was made real.

It is a wonderful esprit de corps that has made Mnesikles’s mastepiece breathe again.

We pride ourselves on having restored the superstructure and the famous ceilings, in a manner that allows a new appreciation of the complex character and the harmonious proportions of this unique monumental space.

The architecture of the Propylaea, while retaining the majestic charm of the ancient ruin that it is, has emerged more coherent as a whole, presenting the west end of the Acropolis with an outline much more dignified than before.

The restoration of the superstructure of the Propylaia’s central building is an interdisciplinary achievement. None of the fine qualities of this implementation would have taken place without the unanimous collaboration of the team which I had the privilege to direct, comprised of architects, civil engineers, archaeologists, draughtsmen, marble THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 43

> THE EAST PORTICO AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE DISASSEMBLY OF THE BLOCKS RESTORED BETWEEN 1909-1917 AND BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE REASSEMBLY (MAY 2003).

ued, resulting in new discoveries and better knowledge of the monument. This allowed: a) the correction of mistakes in the Balanos restoration; b) the restoration of more parts of the superstructure in comparison to the Balanos restoration; c) the restoration of the original dimensions of the superstructure with important aesthetic results; d) and the recovery of much of the fine detailing of the architectural forms and of the dignity of the building as a whole. The principles followed in all the projects on the Acropolis were here applied with a meticulous care throughout the process of study and implementation, making the Propylaea Restoration Project outstanding in a European context and, thus, a model for restoration projects on European monuments with similar structural characteristics.

9.

Videogames And Heritage: A Look At The Game Masters Exhibition 44 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR MOVING IMAGE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA MUSEUMS AUSTRALIA (VICTORIA) AWARD FOR LARGE MUSEUMS 2013

Russell Briggs HEAD OF EXHIBITIONS & COLLECTIONS ≥ ACMI FEDERATION SQUARE MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA ≥ (03) 8663 2200 ≥ WWW.ACMI.NET.AU RUSSELL.BRIGGS@ACMI.NET.AU TWITTER: @BRIGGSAY

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As technology strengthens and diversifies our channels of connection to the past, “heritage” becomes more and more a modern concept in addition to an historical one. At the same time, preservation, the fraternal twin (perhaps even the conjoined twin) of heritage, becomes a word used in present tense rather than past.

While the history of videogames goes back to the early 1960s, its timeline begins in earnest in the late 70s. By the traditional vernacular of the concept of heritage, that barely rates a flicker on the timeline. And yet, as our technological – and hence social and cultural – evolution accelerates at such an increased rate, we now find ourselves looking with a profound sense of historicity at a commercial, cultural and artistic movement less than 40 years old that has irrevocably changed the world.

This is the kind of work that we do at The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), a museum in the heart of Melbourne that celebrates, explores and promotes the cultural and creative richness of the moving image in all its forms - film, television, digital culture, and videogames.

It may be said without hyperbole that videogames are the defining creative medium of our young century. Its combined value, level of engagement, and global reach across international boundaries, age, gender and economic class dwarfs that of film, contemporary art forms, fiction in the written form and even television. It harnesses more computing power than the internet and its commercial value exceeds the GDP of most countries. While a debate can be had over its worthiness as an artistic expression, there is no denying its potency and reach.

In fact, that very debate over its status as an art form lies at the very heart of the Game

Masters exhibition. While there have been other museum exhibitions on videogames – the very successful Game On/Game On 2.0 franchise from The Barbican being a notable example – Game explored the creative process of making videogames, not just the form and impact of the final games themselves, calling it a crucial component of our culture and an artistic expression worthy of interrogation, preservation, and consideration as heritage. By focusing on the creators of this global phenomenon – the “Game Masters” themselves – rather than only the games themselves, the exhibition posits as its central thesis that the journey of the artist to carve out and define a heretofore unknown and unexplored field of endeavour is tantamount to the journey of, say, the Russian Suprematist artists or the German Expressionists (to randomly name two) in redefining the nature of contemporary art.

By focusing on the creators themselves, our exhibition pays tribute to the global nature of the videogame movement. This allowed for a consideration of heritage at a global level, which is an interesting contrast to the common goal of heritage in drilling down to the very local context. While there are barriers to consider heritage at such a broad level, the spread of videogames has allowed for this unique perspective. In fact, one of the great benefits to touring Game Masters internationally has been the opportunity if affords to institutions within their own geographies to connect with and forge partnerships with local games creators. These artists often lurk just in the shadow of a city’s cultural institutions, well-known in their own subculture but largely not engaged by the more traditional organisations around them. Game Masters has provided a foundation upon which enduring links can be forged between these sometimes disparate communities and has become valued for this.

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The concept of exploring the art and social meaning of videogames is not new. In fact, the very first museum exhibition on the subject was back in 1989, when the field was still in its adolescence. In subsequent years there have been a number of exhibitions on the subject, and they usually put the games themselves in the spotlight, which is understandable. The challenge therein is one of topicality and currency. Because videogames depend so closely on the technology at hand, they are frequently seen to become outmoded as the platforms evolve. In much the same way that many games created for one technology become unplayable when the next advancement in that technology arrives, so too does the curatorial interpretation of games risk irrelevance if the exhibitions seems like “yesterday’s news” the day it opens.

This conundrum is even more keenly felt in the field of digital preservation, and it is here where heritage and technological currency become slightly uncomfortable bedfellows.

A growing number of institutions have now made a public commitment to collect games 46 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

as part of their remit. The Museum of Modern Art in New York even made headlines with their decision. In their case, the decision of what to collect is based on aesthetics and interaction design. Along a slightly divergent path, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum recently acquired the software code for a game-like app called Planetary which had been closed down by its creators. Their approach was to collect the code and release it publicly and openly to the world, so that others can allow it to live on and the museum will have, in a certain sense, preserved a piece of heritage.

ACMI has also amassed a collection of games, with a focus on Australian-born examples, but recognises that it can neither be exhaustive in its collecting nor perennially able to upkeep legacy computing environments to keep them playable. Instead, we have entered into a consortium of like-minded institutions which all play a small part in upholding certain aspects of technological currency, such as emulated environments of older operating systems. This distributed international network may prove to be the

only feasible way to guarantee the long-term preservation of modern technological heritage in the absence of a large central collecting body for this subject area.

Game Masters itself addressed the issues of impermanence by focusing on the people behind the games. Divided into three parts – Arcade Heroes, Game Changers, and Indies – the exhibition constantly maps back to the creative process and life journeys of the creators. Through this lens the ephemeral nature of the games’ playability becomes less of a central issue. Thanks to the current availability of original platforms, whether actual arcade games or early desktop versions of classics such as Pong and Space Invaders, visitors are able to move along a chronological spectrum quite effortlessly. While this is something that can be roughly replicated at home by using emulation environments in current browsers, nothing replaces the tactility of using original hardware.

equipment up to the wear and tear of physical use by the public. At a certain point, these game cartridges and arcade machines will become precious and carefully conserved collection items, and they will only be touched with white cotton gloves in sanitized conditions. This process of change is inevitable, especially given the increasing obsolescence of some of the hardware even now.

When that time does arrive, a very difficult decision will need to be made, one that goes directly to the heart of the meaning of “heritage” in our modern vernacular. What will be the future for the legacy of the game masters? And how will our institutions deal with this suddenly precious commodity?

We all look forward to tackling these questions on behalf of future generations of videogame lovers.

The time will come, of course, when we no longer have the option of offering original THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 47

Great Buildings Of Our Past Play An Important Part In Our Future KING’S CROSS STATION, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM EU PRIZE FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE / EUROPA NOSTRA AWARD 2013

Paddy Pugh DIRECTOR OF CONSERVATION AND PLANNING, JOHN MCASLAN + PARTNERS ≥ JOHN MCASLAN + PARTNERS 7-9 WILLIAM ROAD LONDON NW1 3ER ≥ +44 (0)20 7756 8515 +44 (0)20 7313 6000 ≥ WWW.MCASLAN.CO.UK R.TORDAY@MCASLAN.CO.UK

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Kings Cross Station is one of England’s most important historic buildings. Opened by the Great Northern Railway as its London terminus in 1852 it helped to usher in the new age of travel. It was the second terminus to be built in London after Euston which had opened in 1837. However unlike its ostentatious predecessor, Kings Cross is a masterpiece of rational design. Its architect, Lewis cubitt, provided a double barrelled train shed, one side for arrivals and one for departures, fronted by a monumental twin arched, yellow brick facade surmounted by an Italianate turret containing a clock. To this day it remains one of the very best demonstrations of functionalism in architecture.

The mid 20th century saw two significant changes to the station. First, on the night of 11 May 1941 the Western part was severely damaged by aerial bombing. Repairs were perfunctory and left the western elevation of the station scared by metal sheeting in place of yellow stock brickwork. Second was that continued growth in passenger numbers forced the construction of a new southern concourse in 1973. Always seen as a temporary solution by the Local Planning Authority, it was only granted a limited period planning permission to be reviewed every 5 years.

Architecturally, the new concourse was an utterly utilitarian structure which masked Cubitt’s magnificent elevation. Alongside under investment and poor standard of repairs, these changes saw station reach the end of the 20th century, 150 years after its construction, shabby, uninviting and ill equipped to meet the renaissance in railway travel which was pushing passenger numbers up.

In 1997 JMP won an international competition to design a scheme for the comprehensive refurbishment and development of the station. The aim was to create a station fit for the 21st century and capable of handling

passenger numbers projected to rise from 40million to 60million per year by 2020.

In July 2005 London was awarded the 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games a major contribution to securing central government support for the project. Applications for planning permission and listed building consent were made in May 2006 and granted 17 months later in November 2007. Work stared immediately on refurbishment of the Eastern Range and the “new” station opened in the summer of 2012, just in time for the Games. In September 2012, after the Games were complete, work began on the southern Piazza and was completed earlier this year.

The project was split into 5 main packages of work:

The Eastern Range The Easter Range is approximately 250m long by 12m wide and consists of 3 levels of office accommodation over the original taxi cab road for the station. The cab road has been converted into a new platform “0” significantly increasing capacity within the train shed. The floors above have been completely re-serviced and refurbished to provide office and operational accommodation for the station. This has included restoration of the stone and iron balustrade staircase back to its original polychromatic splendour.

The Train Shed Cubitt’s train shed is 250m long, 65m wide and 22m high. Its double barrelled roof has been cleaned, completely re-glazed and fitted with photovoltaic panels which supply 10% of the station’s energy requirement. All of the brickwork has been cleaned, repaired and cleared of ad-hoc cables and services.

The spectacular southern, twin-arched elevation has been cleaned and re-glazed and THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 49

a new platform over-bridge installed from the mezzanine level of the new concourse.

New traditional timber shop fronts face onto the platforms and all signage is provided through a bespoke integrated system. Finally a new and elegant catenary cable system has been installed to provide high level power for the locomotives.

The New Concourse The new concourse sits been the station’s Western Range and the Great Northern Hotel, also designed by Lewis Cubitt. Importantly, it sits directly above the main ticket hall of Kings Cross underground station. At its widest point the concourse is 140m and at its highest rises to 20m above an enclosed area of 7,500sqm. Its dramatic diagrid shell roof, one of the largest single span structures in Europe, is supported by a central tapered funnel and 16 tree-form structural columns. The covering is formed from 2,000 glass and aluminium panels balanced to provide natural lighting whilst controlling solar gain. Within the concourse, a mezzanine floor Mprovides direct access to all platforms within the train shed via a new bridge.

Designed in conjunction with Arup, the new concourse is an engineering ‘tour-de-force’ and sets an architectural benchmark for Network Rail.

The Western Range Restoration of the Western Range has been key to the operational requirements of the station. The elevation has been reinstated to match Cubitt’s yellow stock brickwork and within the “bomb gap” a new ventilation shaft has been installed to serve the underground below. Formation of the Southern Gateline, crucial to passenger movement between the new concourse and main train shed, required major intervention in the fabric and a complex engineering solution to support the 50 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

building’s upper floors. The station’s Victorian booking hall has been “recovered”, (it had been sub-divided and filled with plant and storage), and restored to its original use.

For the first time, the main train shed and concourse have been fully connected to the suburban platforms alongside the station’s North-West edge. Lastly, inspection of bomb damaged areas revealed a long closed off and forgotten atrium to the station’s parcel yard. This has been repaired, with careful structural strengthening, and given a new lease of life as a pub and restaurant, now the largest and most successful on the network.

The Shared Service Yard Key to the operational efficiency of the station has been the creation of a new underground Service Yard shared with Argent, developer of the former goods yards to the north of the station. This unseen but major piece of civil engineering has transformed the way in which goods and services are delivered to the station. Street level deliveries have been eliminated together with the congestion caused by passengers and service vehicles sharing the same platform space and routes.

All servicing is now delivered from the new yard direct to the platforms via a tunnel and new goods lifts.

The Public Space The new piazza in from of the station is the largest new public space to be created in London since the 19th century. Conceived as a calm surface of high quality natural, materials, it provides a fitting setting for Cubitt’s magnificent southern elevation. As with other parts of the project, it has been designed to accommodate the operational requirements of the underground station by integrating entrances, ventilation and fire fighting shaft.

The extraordinary project took 14 years to build but was completed on time and on budget. Throughout that period the station remained fully operational with a not a single day lost to passenger traffic. Similarly, despite extremely complex engineering requirements, the structural integrity and operation of the underground station below was fully protected throughout the works.

The project has completely transformed the passenger experience, expected to rise to some 55 million people per year, and created a station truly fit for the 21st century. Cubitt’s gloriously elegant southern elevation has once again been revealed and the new public space signals the importance of King’s Cross as a major civic building and a key part of the nations transport infra-structure.

The station project is a key element in the transformational change to this part of London. Completion of the new British Library, on the site of the Midland Railway’s Goods depot, signalled the beginnings of

regeneration at King’s Cross / St Pancras.

Transformation of St Pancras Station into London’s Euro-Star Terminal opened in November 2007, and subsequent restoration of the spectacular Grand Midland Hotel were hugely public statements of confidence and change in the area. Suddenly this was England’s gateway to Europe. Redevelopment of the former King’s Cross Goods Yard gained planning permission in 2006 and is creating a whole new quarter of commercial, residential, educational and cultural space. Taking all of these projects together, this is the most important conservation-led regeneration scheme in Europe.

British engineers invented the railway and railways changed the world. This project demonstrated that our forefather’s heroic approach to station design is alive and well at King’s Cross. It also confirms the conviction held by English Heritage and shared by JMP, that the great buildings of our past have a hugely important part to play in our future.

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Europeana Voiced.

Collective Diary Of A Changing Project EUROPEANA FOUNDATION, THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS EUROPEAN MUSEUM ACADEMY PRIZE 2013

René Capovin MEMBER OF BOARD, EUROPEANA

≥ EUROPEANA NATIONAL LIBRARY OF THE NETHERLANDS PO BOX 90407 2509 LK THE HAGUE THE NETHERLANDS ≥ 0031 70 31 40 991 ≥ RCAPOVIN@GMAIL.COM WWW.EUROPEANA.EU FACEBOOK: FACEBOOK.COM/EUROPEANA TWITTER: @EUROPEANAEU

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11.

"The EU Education, Youth and Culture Council will meet on 20-21 November 2008 in Brussels. The Council will hold a public debate on internet and culture and adopt conclusions on the European Digital Library Europeana as well as creative content online and combating digital piracy. After the audiovisual items, the ministers will, at the invitation of Commissioner for Information Society and Media Viviane Reding and French Minister for Culture and Communication Christine Albanel, attend the official launch ceremony of Europeana at the Belgian Royal Library at the Palais de Charles de Lorraine."

COLLECTIONS TRUST, 20 NOVEMBER 2008:

"Europe’s digital library, museum and archive, Europeana, was launched to the public today. It attracted so much interest that its website was swamped within the first few hours. Europeana had expected, after taking expert advice, to get peaks of 5 million hits per hour. However the real figure was 3 times this."

BLOG AGAINST THE GRAIN, 21 SEPTEMBER 2010:

"Colleagues from Europe’s galleries, libraries, archives and museums – GLAMs – will hear about innovations in their sector from Wikipedia and Google at the annual Europeana conference, Open Culture 2010, in Amsterdam on the 14-15 October."

NEELIE KROES, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DIGITAL AGENDA, 13 OCTOBER 2010:

"Europeana is the EU’s most visible expression of our digital heritage. In less than three years, Europeana has established itself as a reference point for European culture on the internet. It reflects the ambition of Europe’s cultural institutions to make our common and diverse cultural heritage more widely accessible to all."

EUROPEANA, STRATEGIC PLAN 2011-2015, JANUARY 2011:

"Europeana will become outmoded if it is not renewed through access to 20th and 21st century material. To ensure such access, more concerted efforts are needed at a European level to deal with orphan works and rights harmonisation. Secondly, it is vital that the digitisation of Europe’s cultural and intellectual record is accelerated. Thirdly, long-term funding needs to be secured for both Europeana and the ecosystem of content providers and aggregators that supplies its lifeblood."

JONATHAN GRAY, THE GUARDIAN, 12 SEPTEMBER 2012:

‘Today Europeana is opening up data about all 20 million of the items it holds under the CC0 rights waiver. This means that anyone can re-use the data for any purpose - whether using it to build applications to bring cultural content to new audiences in new ways, or analysing it to improve our understanding of Europe’s cultural and intellectual history."

AIMEE FARRELL, VOGUE UK, 18 FEBRUARY 2013:

"A public archive of Europe’s extensive fashion history will soon become available from 2 May with the launch of a website called europeanafashion.eu. Cultural institutions from 12 different countries - including London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and Paris’ Les Arts Décoratifs - will provide artefacts for the online project which will feature 100,000 digital elements.

Users will be able to search the archives by date, designer, item or keyword to find a particular image, accompanied by information about the respective item - whether a catwalk shot, a museum exhibition, a show invitation, a magazine clipping or biography.

By March 2015, the project’s organisers aim to have a total of 700,000 fashion artefacts available to view."

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≥ CONTRIBUTED ITEMS BEANING PREPARED FOR DIGITISATION AT ONE OF THE EUROPEANA 1914-1918 ROADSHOWS IN 2011.

EUROPEANA 1914-1918 (CC-BY-SA)

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION – MEMO/08/721 – 19 NOVEMBER 2008:

> JANUARY 10 2011, DELIVERY OF THE FINAL REPORT OF THE COMITÉ DES SAGES ON DIGITISATION OF EUROPE'S CULTURAL HERITAGE. © EUROPEAN UNION, 2014.

EMA – EUROPEAN MUSEUM ACADEMY, MOTIVATION FOR GIVING THE EMA PRIZE TO EUROPEANA, 19 SEPTEMBER 2013:

"Europeana is dynamically involved in a context whose cultural, technological, political and economic horizons are rapidly changing.

Europeana has also changed, and its evolving identity is maintained through a continuous realignment with new constraints and contemporary challenges. Examples are projects like Europeana Fashion and Europeana Creative, which are outlining innovative relationships between cultural institutions and creative industries. Europeana is projecting itself into the cultural landscape of tomorrow, through a wide and constant dialogue with its network, cultural institutions and new cultural actors, like Wikipedia. Europeana is searching its path in the digital world by using new tools, finding new partners and experimenting innovative models of participation. This daring and stimulating vision is the heritage of Europeana – it is something which should be shared, endorsed and actively sustained."

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EUROPEANA, BUSINESS PLAN 2014, 3 DECEMBER 2013:

"Transition from portal to platform. This means less focus on inviting individuals to explore their heritage in a pre-defined way on the europeana.eu portal and much more on developing communities who re-use the data, content, knowledge and technology that Europeana and its partners make available for them. This shift is essential to enable a future that will be read-write, where you will be able to take and give back to your community."

MONIKA GRÜTTERS, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSIONER FOR CULTURE AND THE MEDIA, 29 JANUARY 2014:

"Among the numerous projects the Federal Government of Germany is initiating and financially supporting during the current centenary 2014, Europeana 1914-1918 is a highlight due to its pan-European dimension. It shows the stark difference between the European disruptions of that time and our way of cooperating nowadays. It is vital for the Government to point out, especially to

young people, that today’s Europe is a union based on shared values, policies and justice.

That’s the best way to avoid the wars, terror and fragmentation that Europe suffered in the 20th century. We don’t just want to show historical events, we want to use them for the present and the future. The Europeana project will help shape our views of that time and it will make a great contribution to the mutual understanding of the European people, despite the conflicts of history."

OPEN EDUCATION EUROPA, 20 FEBRUARY 2014:

"Platforms like Historiana and Europeana 1914-18 are examples of excellent educational resources for history, heritage and citizenship education. These online platforms allow access to millions of media resources, such as historical sources that can be used in the classroom."

≥ CONTRIBUTED ITEMS BEANING PREPARED FOR DIGITISATION AT ONE OF THE EUROPEANA 1914-1918 ROADSHOWS IN 2011. EUROPEANA 1914-1918 (CC-BY-SA)

AGRO-KNOW BLOG, 2 MAY 2014:

"A few weeks ago, a small team of 4 Agro-Knowers started working on their application for the Europeana Creative Natural History Challenge. The Natural History track is among the first Challenges launched by Europeana Creative, with the aim to “identify, incubate and spin off into the commercial sector viable online applications based on the re-use of digital cultural heritage content accessible via Europeana”, an impressive online source of cultural heritage, from paintings, drawings and maps to newspapers, letters, music, radio broadcasts and much more. The event was hosted at The EGG in Brussels, an impressive hub of over 15.000m sq. dedicated to creativity and innovation and organised under the umbrella of the New Frontiers for European Entrepreneurs Event (NFFEE), organised by ACE, EUHUB and others." ≥ MARKUS GEILER CONTRIBUTED PICTURES OF HIS GRANDFATHER’S LIFE-SAVING BIBLE, WITH THE LUMP OF SHRAPNEL EMBEDDED IN IT FROM THE GRENADE THAT KILLED HIS COMRADES WHILE THEY SLEPT. EUROPEANA 1914-1918 (CC-BY-SA)

THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 55

12.

10 Years Of Preservation Of The Memory Of Mexico SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES, MEXICO CITY, MEXICO UNESCO/JIKJI MEMORY OF THE WORLD PRIZE 2013

Amanda Rosales Bada DEPUTY DIRECTOR ≥ DEVELOPMENT IN ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES 5. CERRO SAN ANDRÉS 312 COL. CAMPESTRE CHURUBUSCO COYOACÁN, C.P. 04200 MÉXICO, D.F., MÉXICO. ≥ +52 554 969 13 +52 551 044 92 ≥ AROSALES@ADABI.ORG.MX CONTACTO@ADABI.ORG.MX WWW.ADABI.ORG.MX

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.

ADABI of Mexico is a non-profit civil association sponsored by the Alfredo Harp Helú Foundation whose mission is to assist the defence of the memory of Mexico for the benefit of society, through supporting the development of the archives and libraries of Mexico and consequently promoting the revaluation and use of historical memory as a source that strengthens national identity.

ADABI was created on May 9th 2003 in order to provide support to institutions with valuable documentary collections in danger of being lost for some reason, including budget problems, lack of knowledge of the value of the documents and ancient books, and the lack of awareness necessary in the treatment, storage and use of documents.

The activities developed by ADABI started at the General Archive of Mexico (Archivo General de la Nación), in the Anthropology and History National Library and in the Francisco de Burgoa Library, all located in Oaxaca City, institutions with a great historical vocation that represent the aspirations and thoughts of many scholars, intellectuals and citizens concerned with the conservation of the documentary and bibliographic heritage of Mexico. As a result of this, ADABI was born with a deep knowledge of Mexico, regarding archives and old bibliographic collections, with the experience of many years of dedicated work on these valuable collections.

ADABI also collaborates directly in the training of staff located in every region of operation, providing the necessary inputs to rescue documents or books. The main activities implemented by ADABI are as follows: >> >> >>

Technical Advice and training in archives and documents Infrastructure Rescuing public, private and ancient libraries.

>> >> >> >>

Description of collections Preservation of documentary sources Conservation and restoration of ancient bibliographic collections Media and publications

The above activities are displayed through the project “ADABI of Mexico” that constitutes the meaning and purpose of the Association. By the operation of this system, resources are directed to institutions with specific needs, whose characteristics determine the types of support they will receive and the necessary actions that will be carried out.

Since its foundation, ADABI has benefited 986 different institutions across Mexico, located in 29 different States. Puebla, Oaxaca and Mexico City have been the most involved clients of ADABI regarding the rescue of bibliographic, documentary and artistic heritage. The beneficiary institutions trained and hired 67% of the required personnel who participated in such projects.

Without doubt the rescue of ecclesiastical archives is the most innovative activity carried out by ADABI concerning the Mexican documentary heritage contained in colonial information. This information is really important because in most cases it helps to complete and explain civil documentation in different regions, lost by forgetfulness or human actions (177 inventories generated).

Leadership: The leadership of ADABI in rescuing ancient documents and books in Mexico is unquestionable. ADABI has finished 811 projects, which shows an unparalleled activity developed in Mexico.

Among the above mentioned projects we would like to highlight the following ones in which innovation and initiative are present: THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 57

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2.

3.

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The antique bibliographic funds of Mexico database. This data bank sorts and stores information about 132,649 ancient books. The classification includes identification of work units and supports broadcasting.

The Archivo Fotográfico de béisbol Alfredo Harp Helú (archive of photographs of baseball, sponsored by Alfredo Harp Helú), the only one of its kind in Mexico.

The Centro de Conservación Restauración y Encuadernación which is committed to recovering the documentary heritage of Mexico, providing services in the field of conservation, restoration and binding to institutions, archives and libraries.

The rescue of parish archives is a very important activity due to the social, demographic and historical background that they contain regarding the Mexican vice- regal period. Such archives complement the information of local archives.

The organization and stabilization of the General Archive of the Executive Branch of the State of Oaxaca, which led to the creation of the City Archives in Oaxaca, and an architectural project that will house 16 km of linear shelves.

The success of ADABI lies in the compromise established between such an association and other institutions. ADABI generates the initial project, providing resources and the required advice to make it happen; it collaborates in the training of the staff in the operational regions to provide the necessary inputs needed to start the rescue of documents or books, always heeding the opinion of scholars and everyone involved in the projects.

The aforementioned procedure guarantees the continuity of ADABI’s work and the optimal achievement of human resources in new archives.

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One of the most important achievements of ADABI has been the enrolment of the local population in projects- considering that our work has spread through Mexico - so this situation enabled us to get involved with participants, share our philosophy and guidelines and to create employment and consequently obtain better conditions for the population.

Over its 10 years of work, ADABI has basically faced three challenges in the development of its work: the first, the lack of budgets of organizations to carry out projects; in many of these projects ADABI has covered the costs and paid for almost the entire amount of the rescues, especially in projects concerning libraries. The second challenge is the lack of trained personnel, which affects the entire situation both the preparation and results of the projects. It means that ADABI has to properly train all the necessary staff before starting the project itself. The third

and final challenge arises from a combination of the two previous factors, the lack of resources and the lack of trained personnel, a situation that in many cases has led to the abandonment of the rescue project, whether documentary or bibliographical. Therefore it is not possible to hire qualified staff that can both take care of the public and maintain and keep the collections .

After all these years, experience has shown ADABI that the payment of the entire cost of one project makes the beneficiary dependent upon ADABI. The sense of obligation is always required to make things happen, whether in private or public organizations.

We define our professional excellence as a result of the following principles carried out

by ADABI in all its activities: >>

>> >> >> >> >> >> >>

Team work Clear rules Compromise with beneficiaries (private or public organizations) Connection with civil society Awareness of heritage value Social responsibility Initiative

We would like to encourage more people to reach the goals that ADABI has achieved always taking into account the three factors that make possible any potential project: the disposition to work, the financial possibilities, and training. We are sure that if these elements come together in any project or plan, success will always be the result.

Proven track record THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 59

HORNIMAN MUSEUM AND GARDENS, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM TELEGRAPH FAMILY FRIENDLY MUSEUM AWARD 2013

Janet Vitmayer CBE DIRECTOR ≥ HORNIMAN MUSEUM AND GARDENS 100 LONDON ROAD FOREST HILL LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM SE23 3PQ ≥ ENQUIRY@HORNIMAN.AC.UK PRESS@HORNIMAN.AC.UK WWW.HORNIMAN.AC.UK

Creating An Inclusive Family Friendly Culture

13.

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We believe it was capital investment in our Museum and Gardens, the development of our family learning programmes and the creation of an inclusive culture and visitor-facing teams that led to this Award.

‘The Horniman has always been a big hitter in the world of family friendly museums, offering events and supporting activities for families which are pioneering in the field. Family friendliness touches everything the museum does, whether it’s the lower handrail for kids to hold on to going down the stairs to the packed-out regular storytelling sessions, they prove that a world class collection and catering to families goes hand in hand. The strong community engagement was particularly noted by the panel of expert judges.’ Dea Birkett, Kids in Museums

and hundreds of families responded with their own experiences of being made to feel unwelcome in museums and galleries.

The Horniman The Horniman Museum and Gardens was given to ‘the People in Perpetuity’ in 1901 by tea merchant and philanthropist Frederick Horniman, for their ‘recreation instruction and enjoyment’. His gift included a newly-built Museum, our founding collections, an aquarium and Gardens.

Through 100 years of fieldwork, donations, transfer and purchase, the collections have grown to number 80,000 Anthropology objects, 250,000 Natural History specimens and 8,000 Musical Instruments. Our vision is to use these high quality collections, and our living collections and 16.5 acres of Gardens, ‘to encourage a wider appreciation of the World, its peoples and their cultures, and its environments’, locally, nationally and internationally.

Museum And Gardens Developments

This award, the first museum Award in Britain to be judged by families and children, has an interesting history. It is run by Kids in Museums, an independent charity established 10 years ago and dedicated to making museums open and welcoming to all families.

Since 2002 we have expanded the museum and re-landscaped the Gardens, adding new public engagement spaces, galleries and facilities. We have trebled our visitor numbers to 860,000 in 2013/14, and built a strong, loyal and still-expanding family visitor base. Our repeat visitation rate is around 70% and, of our General Public visitors, 81% are families with children.

The award was the inspiration of British journalist and mother, Dea Birkett. In 2003 Dea visited a major London art gallery with her two-year-old son who, seeing a statue of Eagle Man, shouted ‘Monster!’ They were thrown out of the gallery. Dea wrote about her experience in her newspaper column

Built into these developments was the desire to cater better for our growing family audience. Our old buildings struggled to accommodate visitors, and had displays with poor circulation and many barriers to physical and intellectual access. Improvements ranged from installing low-level handrails on stairs,

The Award

THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 61

≥ POND DIPPING - © MEGAN TAYLOR

The Horniman is the joint holder of the Telegraph’s Family Friendly Museum Award 2013 organised by Kids in Museums. This pioneering award is voted for by families to create a shortlist and then inspected by family ‘mystery shoppers’ to determine the winners.

We are proud to have been chosen by visiting families themselves for this competitive award.

> DISCOVERY FOR ALL - © MEGAN TAYLOR

and low-level basins in the toilets, to building inspirational areas for handling objects, creating performances or art works.

Child friendly does not mean dumbing down our work, however. Our Aquarium was redisplayed with child-height viewing areas but is also a centre for coral research. More recently we have developed collections appealing to families, which link the Museum and Gardens – a Sound Garden and animal walk linked to our musical instrument and natural history collections, and a dye and fibres garden linked to anthropology.

We support the interests and passions of our young audience, increasingly now in the virtual world, nurturing the future generations of subject specialists and researchers.

But family-friendly buildings and collections are not enough. For the day-to-day visitor, it is the culture of our people on the ground interacting with families – be they the learning team, Gardens staff, front of house, café or 62 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

shop staff – that plays a key role in creating a welcoming environment. Our visitor survey shows it works; 98% of our visitors would recommend a visit to their friends.

Our Approach To Families And Learning Families are made up of all ages and generations, and identify with a number of ethnicities, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds – so we need a variety of ways to engage and inspire. We also recognise that parental involvement in children’s learning increases children’s attainment levels more than any other factor.

The breadth of our family programme – object handling, nature exploration, storytelling, craft workshops and participatory dance and music – ensures there are regular opportunities for families to enjoy and learn together. We encourage curiosity, imagination, mutual respect, enhanced motor skills and critical thinking through activities designed

Storytelling is a great way for families to access the Horniman’s collections. Last year we delivered 350 storytelling sessions attended by 15,092 people. We are also wellknown for our object-based family sessions, run in our inspiring Hands On Base housing a handling collection of 3,500 objects. One visitor commented, ‘Absolutely loved it, the kids did too! Great to be able to do what I have wanted since my first visit to the Horniman as a child “Touch”’.

Families From Marginalised Communities The Horniman is committed to reflecting the diversity of London and building non-traditional audiences – this includes our family audience.

We attract around 40% of our visitors from lower income groups, and 5% of our audi-

ence identify themselves as disabled. Visits from ethnic minority groups account for 29% of all our general public visits and our audience is becoming more diverse, reflective of the increase in diversity of London’s population.

We regularly carry out projects and events to welcome minority family groups. The scope and range of our collections allows us to speak directly to and with Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) audiences. We take a collaborative and consultative approach, working with partners in our community.

A successful example is our annual Crossing Borders events, run in partnership with refugees and asylum seekers. Last year families working with the Children’s Society and with Fairbeats! Rainbow Club, a group supported by Action for Refugees in Lewisham, created a Rangoli pattern made from foods of the world, and presented food preparation tools, techniques, cookery and food tasting, to our visitors. The Rainbow Club also gave a celebratory performance for their parents and visitors – the culmination of a project to explore and celebrate cultural diversity through shared stories, objects, costumes and art work.

Building Community We are arguably the largest community museum in London, and play a highly valued educational and social role, actively welcoming a very diverse range of families – new arrivals as well as established Londoners – many of whom make us a key part of their lives.

It is the fact that these families nominated the Horniman in a competitive national campaign that makes us most proud of our Family Friendly Museum Award.

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≥ © CLIFF VAN COEVORDEN

to accommodate all literacy levels, and overcome language and other barriers to participation.

14.

Imperial Collections And The Public Museum: The Hermitage Yesterday And Today 64 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM AND WINTER PALACE, ST.PETERSBURG, RUSSIA TRIPADVISOR 2013 TRAVELERS' CHOICE - TOP MUSEUMS OF THE WORLD, NO.1

Dr Elena Malozyomova EDUCATIONAL DEPARTMENT, CURATOR OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS ON MIDDLE EASTERN ART ≥ STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM AND WINTER PALACE PALACE SQUARE 2 ST PETERSBURG RUSSIA, 190000 ≥ PRESS@HERMITAGE.RU VISITORSERVICES@HERMITAGE.RU FRIENDSCLUB@HERMITAGE.RU ≥ FACEBOOK.COM/STATE.HERMITAGE TWITTER: @STATE_HERMITAGE TWITTER: @HERMITAGE_ENG INSTAGRAM.COM/HERMITAGE_MUSEUM

For about a quarter of a millennium the Hermitage collections, numbering now about 3 million exhibits and representing the art and culture of different peoples, regions and times - from the ancient East and the known ancient world to Western European painting and contemporary art with masterpieces by Leonardo and Rembrandt, ancient goldsmiths and Matisse - have been housed in a complex of five buildings erected during the 18th and 19th centuries by different architects but as an ensemble and situated around the Palace Square in the very centre of Saint-Petersburg. This combination that makes the museum unique is perceived and appreciated by people and its preservation and development is one of the main tasks of the museum today. To fulfill its task the Hermitage has been realising a number of projects. One of them is the creation of a special museum zone around the Palace Square which will integrate the museum collections with educational, leisure and entertainment facilities and permit everyone an easier access to the different museum activities and make the very heart of the city its cultural

and public forum. This museum activity is the most important component in the Museum Development Concept named “The Great Hermitage” which was formulated fifteen years ago.. Consequently in 2003 the main entrance to the museum was organised directly from the Palace Square through the Grand yard of the Winter Palace while since 1999 a number of permanent and temporary exhibitions were organised in the rooms of the Left Wing of the General Staff Building situated on the opposite side of the Square.

The building was created between 1820-27 by an outstanding architect C. Rossy especially to accommodate the main governmental bodies of the Russian Empire and in 1989 it was transferred to the Hermitage by the city authorities. By the current jubilee year this space has been almost entirely renovated for modern museum purposes and has met the demands made by the consortium of “Intarsia Group” and “Vozrozhdeniye” according to the design concept worked out by the architect’s workshop “Studio 44” with the financial support of The Government of the Russian Federation and the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development.

This initiative towards creating a new museum space involving changes to the permanent museum exhibitions could also help solve the problem of visitor accommodation in the museum complex.

Due to the Hermitage jubilee the Left Wing of the General Staff building has become the main arena for another current project involving the whole city – the 10th European Biennial of Contemporary Art “Manifesta-10” featuring more than 50 artists from all over the world. The “Manifesta” activities - exhibitions, educational programmes and special projects - in the Hermitage were organised in collaboration with the members of the museum staff engaged in the local museum project “The Hermitage 20/21”. Its goal is to collect, exhibit and study art of the 20th-21st THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 65

≥ THE GENERAL STAFF BUILDING - THE MAIN STAIRCASE

.

In “Trip Adviser’s 2013 Travellers’ Choice” the State Hermitage Museum was ranked the first among the top world museums in terms of visitor satisfaction. On the eve of its 250th anniversary the Hermitage is a very complex and rapidly developing museum-encyclopedia welcoming more than 2 million visitors a year. The outstanding collections started as a private one by the Russian empress Catherine the Great in 1764. The ensemble of museum buildings and the strong present-day necessity of attracting attention to real human values revealed through pieces of art prompts the museum to develop its own special approach to the museum idea. Citing the director of the State Hermitage Museum Prof. M. Piotrovsky its mission is “to be extremely conservative and at the same time extremely innovative”.

> WINTER PALACE - THE INNER YARD

centuries. ”Manifesta” critically responds to the current sociopolitical situation and stimulates reflection about the place of art within it.

Response and reflection are the focal philosophical points of almost every Hermitage exhibition which makes the museum interesting to discover. Annually the Hermitage organizes about 30 temporary exhibitions on different topics and spheres of art in its rooms (for instance “Corporate unity. Dutch Group portraits of the Golden Age from the Amsterdam museums collections”, “Utopia and Reality. El Lissitzky, Ilya and Emilia Kobakovs” in 2013) and regularly shows its collections in other Russian cities and abroad. Some of them become special exhibitions/events which sometimes accompany ceremonies 66 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

taking place in the museum rooms. One another variant of this museum activity is the organization of Hermitage exhibition and scientific centres like those in Amsterdam, Ferrara, Kazan etc. providing people in different parts of the world with the opportunity of seeing the Hermitage collections.

Of special importance is the creation or renovation of the museum’s permanent exhibitions that allow visitors to see the museum collections acquired by means of acquisitions, donations, archaeological expeditions as well as the results of museum restoration work and its scientific work Among the latest are for example “Culture and Art of Central Asia” and “Art and Culture in the ancient towns of the Northern Black Sea Coast”. Temporary and permanent exhibitions are the sphere for

other parts of the Hermitage complex –the Menshikov Palace and Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory.

The achievements of the Hermitage’s restoration work can be vividly represented with a good number of museum objects for example with the newly restored picture “The Annunciation” by Cima da Conegliano.

Information about the Hermitage, its collections and events is available via different kinds of books, albums, catalogues, a newspaper “The Hermitage News”, a magazine “The Hermitage” and also mobile apps. People visiting Saint-Petersburg can stay in the State Hermitage official luxury hotel.

The great part of the museum collections is housed and curated in a specially constructed modern Restoration and Storage Centre “Staraya Derevnya” that consists of eight buildings and so is the world’s greatest complex of its kind that can be visited via guided tours. This opportunity makes this another museum project which is unique. The museum collections are also displayed in two

All these museum activities demand highly professional work from the various categories of the museum stuff and certainly different types of support from the museum’s sponsors, partners and friends in Russia and abroad.

THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 67

> QUEUE TO THE HERMITAGE

museum educational activity such as different types of excursions and lectures for both adult and children.

Building Bridges With Communities MUSEUM AAN DE STROOM, ANTWERP, BELGIUM EUROPEAN MUSEUM FORUM / SILLETTO PRIZE 2013

Carl Depauw DIRECTOR ≥ [MAS] MUSEUM AAN DE STROOM HANZESTEDENPLAATS 1 TE 2000 ANTWERPEN BELGIUM ≥ TEL + 32 3 338 44 10 FAX +32 3 338 44 44 ≥ CARL.DEPAUW@STAD.ANTWERPEN.BE WWW.MAS.BE

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In a stunning building, the MAS tells a largely untold story about Antwerp in the world. And about the world in Antwerp.

The MAS unites diverse collections previously on show in a number of Antwerp’s former museums:the Folklore Museum, the Ethnographic Museum, the National Maritime Museum and the Butcher’s House. Furthermore, it houses the Paul and Dora Janssen-Arts collection of Pre-Columbian art.

But it also looks beyond the walls of the museum to the city and the world outside. The MAS has the largest collection of dockside cranes in the world and supports and works with heritage communities large and small all over the city. Beside its own collection – 470.000 items – the MAS co-operates with more than 250 heritage organizations, professionals and non-professionals.

The focus of the common story is the long history of trade and cultural exchange between the city and the world. The MAS tells new stories based on evidence of that mutual exchange. Stories about the city, the river and the port. About the world in all its diversity. About Antwerp’s age-old links with the world. This combination is what makes the MAS unique: it is local ‘Antwerpian’ and it is global and thus glocal.

The new museum opened its doors in 2011 and created a new mission statement . Mission statement The MAS performs as a ground-breaking museum that tells the story of the people, the past, present and future of the city of Antwerp and the world. The MAS | Museum aan de Stroom - a landmark on the boundary between the city and the port - is a ground-breaking museum that tells the story of people with diverse mentalities who came from a multitude of backgrounds. It is for those who are curious about the past, pres-

ent and future of the city of Antwerp and the world. It is a museum for those who want to know more about Antwerp’s place, and their own, in the world. The MAS is a cultural heritage forum that works with various collections and methodologies. It is developing a diverse intramural and extramural programme, the common theme of which involves stories of the river, the city, the port and the world. The MAS works with the public, experts and other partners on both national and international levels. It ensures maximum accessibility and involvement of the general public.

Working for and with communities is working in a global city and world. The mission is to develop a programme that is supporting and visualizing this mission. More and more communities are involved in the MAS: they are becoming part of those who create exhibitions or develop a programme of museum activities.

Here is a summary of some of the recent activities (2012-2014).

Giants There are more than 40 giants in Antwerp, mostly active in the suburbs of the town. All of these huge characters have their own personalities. In fact, a giant’s life does have a fair amount in common with the lives of ordinary people. Giants are born. Their appearances change. Some of them marry, others just live together. Sometimes one will die or go missing. Above all else, however, they love celebrations among throngs of people. Old, and not so old, local giants were combined with artists’s giants by the Greek Atopos., thus combining lower with higher culture.

Trackers The term ‘trackers’ refers to fifteen Antwerp residents who are looking for Moroccan tracTHE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 69

es in the city. They collect memories, objects, pictures and films that tell a story about Antwerp and its residents.

The heritage that is kept in Antwerp museums, archives and local historic groups could bear witness to its diverse population.

However, it doesn’t (so far). There are few visible traces of people with a different cultural background. By means of the trackers project we are trying to include the tremendous diversity of Antwerp heritage in our collections and presentations.

This exhibit (2012) displayed our search as ‘works in progress’ in the Viewing depot. Who are these trackers and what do they find with family, friends or former colleagues? In 2014 the final results within the framework of fif70 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

ty years of Moroccan presence in Belgium is displayed in the permanent collection.

Old Folk Songs What do Antwerp’s folk songs tell us about daily life in the city, then and now? Why is this music still relevant today? A mini-exhibition in the open-access storage area at the MAS goes in search of answers. For the second edition of ‘Folk Songs’, rock musician Axl Peleman appealed to everyone still in possession of folk song scores, music books, texts and the like to bring them along to the MAS on several Wednesdays in October 2012.

The choice of the MAS as a location was deliberate because in April 2013 a mini-exhibition about folk songs, seen from the view-

point of the contemporary musician, opened in the open-access storage area. Axl Peleman curated the exhibition drawing on the material he had collected.

Sport Meets Culture Antwerp has been designated European Capital of Sport 2013. For a period of one calendar year, ‘Sporting MAS’ is bringing together sport and culture in the ‘boulevard’ at the MAS. The renowned Dutch photographer Hans van der Meer paid tribute to Antwerp’s amateur football pitches in large panoramic photos and several films. Visual stories of Antwerp’s sports clubs are told in display cases alongside the escalators. Suddenly, local (sport) communities are aware of the value of their heritage, showing the history of their club.

They had a display in their MAS.

Happy Birthday Dear Academy In 2013 the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp celebrated its 350th anniversary. To this end the Antwerp Academy, MoMu, MAS, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp and Antwerpen Open joined forces for a magnificent celebration throughout the city, with an exhibition in the MAS. Fashion designer Walter Van Beirendonck and museum curator Paul Huvenne prepared this show that reviewed some of the artistic highlights of the amazing history of Antwerp’s Academy in an accessible and creative exhibition. A wide selection of masterpieces from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts was completed with masterpieces from the Academy’s valuable collection and from unique private collections.

the tale of the evolution of 350 years of higher art education in an academic, international and urban context. The works of veterans such as Rubens, Jordaens and Teniers were contrasted with those of more recent, world-renowned artists such as Van Gogh, Alma-Tadema, Panamarenko and Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven and other former students of the Academy.

Chinatown Antwerp In the Visible Storage, the MAS presented the story of Antwerp’s Chinatown, with unique personal photographs, objects and stories from several generations of Chinese in the city, having collected these objects in close cooperation with Antwerp’s Chinese associations.

Antwerp was an important port for Chinese sailors. Initially, it was where they sought temporary accommodation in between two ocean voyages and where they later came to live and work. In the 1920s, the first Chinese restaurants opened their doors, such as the Wah Kel restaurant, which literally means the ‘Chinese from overseas’ and can still be found in the Schipperskwartier (the red light district).

MAS in Young Hands | MAS in Jonge Handen How to get more young people to visit museums? Easy: just hand it over to them. Thanks, said ten young Antwerpers between the ages of 15 and 25 years. As a key feature of the project, MAS in Jonge Handen (MAS in Young Hands), they have access to the depot, they can put together their own exhibitions and they can wave their own access badge at the entrance like all other MAS employees.

These works, combined with documents which had never been exhibited before, told THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 71

16.

Citoyens – Hier, Aujourd’hui, Demain

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2013 ÉCOMUSÉE DU FIER MONDE, MONTREAL, CANADA GOVERNOR GENERAL’S HISTORY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN MUSEUMS: HISTORY ALIVE!

René Binette, FAMC DIRECTOR ≥ ÉCOMUSÉE DU FIER MONDE 2050 AMHERST STREET MONTRÉAL (QUÉBEC) H2L 3L8 CANADA ≥ 514 528-8444 ≥ INFO@ECOMUSEE.QC.CA ECOMUSEE.QC.CA EXPOCITOYENS.CA FACEBOOK: FACEBOOK.COM/ECOMUSEEDUFIERMONDE TWITTER: @ECOMUSEEEFM

Note: The “musée citoyen” fits into a French movement surrounding the concept of citizenship: “If we accept the idea that the individual truly becomes a citizen when he or she has the conviction of being a meaningful public actor in the making of decisions and practical choices, then citizenship and participation are intertwined. It is in accordance with this responsible and active concept of citizenship that “muséologie citoyenne” could clearly express itself through the diverse facets of a museology project within the city” (Anik Meunier, 2009).

The Citoyens – Hier, aujourd’hui, demain exhibition showcased the social engagement of over forty citizens, whose actions marked the Centre-Sud neighbourhood in the last century. Presented from September 2012 until February 2013, it is the culmination of an undertaking that lasted many years. It also effectively illustrates what the Écomusée is, i.e. a history museum and a “musée citoyen”.

The Centre-Sud Neighbourhood In Montreal The Centre-Sud is a former industrial and working-class neighbourhood which underwent a significant process of deindustrialization after World War II. Hundreds of housing areas disappeared as a result of demolition and development projects. Numerous families left for the suburbs, leaving behind mostly low wage workers and the elderly.

The 1960s and 1970s were marked by the emergence of a significant “grassroots community group” movement. These non-profit collective organizations offered services and assistance to those most in need, defended the rights of certain segments of the population, worked toward improving quality of life,

and made political demands. The Écomusée du fier monde was created in 1980 as part of Habitations communautaires Centre-Sud, whose mandate was the creation of cooperative housing. The organization determined that it was important for the community to know its past in order to understand its present and its future. Hence the creation of the Écomusée.

A History Museum And A “Musée Citoyen” Strongly influenced by the new museology movement, the Écomusée du fier monde became a museum recognized and financed by the State. It occupies the former Généreux public baths, which were built in 1927 and recalls an era when three quarters of all working-class housing lacked both baths and showers. The museum became an institution and maintained close ties with the community. It develops its projects in collaboration with various local partners and defines itself as a history museum and a “musée citoyen”.

Dedicated to documenting the history of labour since the period of industrialization, the museum views the exhibition as a popular education tool and a means to empowerment. Cultural democracy, participation, and contributions towards local development are among its highest priorities.

Origins Of The Citoyens Project The Citoyens project stems from a need identified by neighbourhood community actors: they recognized a lack of documentation and transmission of community history, as well as a risk of losing this kind of collective memory. It is deemed necessary to collect and highlight the personal accounts of those who were active in the community. There is also a concern related to the changing of the guard within local organizations: as a new generation becomes active, it is often unaTHE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 73

≥ CITOYENS - HIER, AUJOURD’HUI, DEMAIN EXHIBITION, 2012-2013. © ÉCOMUSÉE DU FIER MONDE

An Illustration Of The Concept Of A “Musée Citoyen”

ware of those who came before. Moreover, a will to preserve the tradition of social engagement is expressed within the community. There is a wish to encourage community action and demonstrate that the gestures of citizens can change society. This was the aim of the Écomusée du fier monde and its partners through this project.

In Search Of Community Movement Pioneers Citoyens – Hier, aujourd’hui, demain is founded on meticulous research work. A committee was created in order to identify, seek out, and select individuals who were key to the community movement and who would ultimately be presented in the exhibition. Research professionals consulted various sources in order to document the journeys of those citizens who were represented: archive centres, 74 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

documentation centres, past newspapers, as well as documents from the organisations themselves. In addition, interviews were carried out with citizens who were able to recount their experiences and their actions.

The collected accounts are now part of the Écomusée collection. Thus, the initiative will have served to preserve traces of the past and collect information about this seldom documented facet of history while many of its pioneers are still around to convey it firsthand. We mean to continue this work.

Characteristics Of The Exhibition The exhibition highlighted the journeys of 41 citizens who were engaged in their community. These portraits were classified according to seven themes, each corresponding to a type of involvement and represented by an

A three-dimensional visual concept was developed in order to give the portraits of these citizens a strong presence. The content was presented on the sides of cubes, which encouraged the public to move around the space and to discover different facets of these citizens. The exhibition put the spotlight on people and, through them, on iconographic, photographic, and documentary archives. Interviews and quotations from citizens were also displayed. A visual identity was developed by an illustrator who made use of “allegorical” portraits illustrating the seven major themes.

A Program Of Mobilizing Activities The exhibition also comprised a participatory dimension: visitors were invited to make a commitment or to offer the names of engaged citizens who deserved to appear in the exhibition. In addition, a programme of activities was carried out alongside the exhibition and created a space for meeting up, discussing, and taking action related to the topic of community involvement. These activities – carried out with the support of the Service aux collectivités at the Université du Québec � Montréal – were able to bring together university and community sectors.

Among the activities included: >>

>>

>>

The screening of a documentary – in the presence of its makers – about the status of foreign workers.

A round table about the role of art and creativity in the exercise of democracy and citizenship.

A community charrette aimed at reflecting on the public school and its rootedness in the community.

A Fruitful Project…

That Continues!

By relying on the support of partnerships within the community, the project was able to advance knowledge about the history of the local community movement and place citizen involvement at the forefront. Through its dynamic presentation of personal accounts, the exhibition demonstrated the concrete benefits of community engagement on society, all the while inspiring its audience to reflect and participate. Above all, the project continues.

The exhibition has become virtual – therefore accessible to all – as well as open to growth: in the future we could add the names of other important citizens.

The exhibition offers a concrete example of what a “musée citoyen” is. It is a museum that acts within its environment, recognises the worth of those who play a role in society, and supports the development of its community.

Source Meunier, Anik, “La muséologie citoyenne, rencontre entre patrimoines et identités” in Activaciones patrimoniales e iniciativas museísticas: ¿por quién? ¿para qué?, I�aki Arrieta Urtizberea (dir.), Bilbao, Servicio Editorial de la Universidad des Pais Vasco, 2009, pp. 129-150.

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≥ A COMMUNITY ACTIVITY DURING THE CITOYENS - HIER, AUJOURD’HUI, DEMAIN EXHIBITION, 2013. © ÉCOMUSÉE DU FIER MONDE

action verb conjugated in the 1st person: I help, I give, I contribute, We mobilize, We cooperate, We speak out for, and I act. This choice was meant to make the content dynamic, to call out to the visitor, to inspire his or her reflection and, ultimately, his or her engagement. The visitor thereby discovered how community involvement – whether through a small gesture or a large scale action – can take different forms: speaking out, defending a cause, patronage, lifestyle, setting up an organization, etc.

The Museum Feasts Your Eyes, The Volunteer Touches Your Heart

SUZHOU MUSEUM, SUZHOU, CHINA CHINESE MUSEUM ASSOCIATION - MOST INNOVATIVE MUSEUMS AWARD 2013

Li Zhe HEAD OF PR DEPARTMENT ≥ SUZHOU MUSEUM NO.204 DONGBEI STREET, SUZHOU, CHINA 215001 ≥ (86-512) 67576009 ≥ WWW.SZMUSEUM.COM WEBMASTER@SZMUSEUM.COM ALLEN@SZMUSEUM.COM

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The Growth Of A Creative Volunteer Programme In Suzhou Museum Suzhou, a beautiful city, boasts a history of more than 2500 years, and is a living example of cultural heritage itself. In 2004, it hosted the 28th World Heritage Convention, which, to date, is the only Chinese city ever to have hosted this international event.

Established on January 1st 1960, Suzhou Museum saw another opportunity for rapid growth in the first decade of the 21st century.

In 2003, Ieoh Ming Pei, the world renowned Suzhou-born Chinese-American architect, designed a new exhibition hall for Suzhou Museum which was opened to the public in October, 2006. Since then, the new museum has been forging itself into being “a World Class Museum, among the best in China” embracing the classic character of the South Yangtze River. From May 2008, the public have been able to visit Suzhou Museum for free. Now, the average number of daily visitors tops 4000 and annual visitors amount to 1 million.

In 2008, Suzhou Museum was rated as a Chinese First-grade Museum by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. In 2012, Suzhou Museum was ranked No.8 among 100 top Chinese museums in a state evaluation of museum operations.

On May 18, 2013, International Museums Day, Suzhou Museum was awarded the prize of “Most Creative Museum of 2013” by the Chinese Museums Association.

1. Status Quo Of Volunteer Team A volunteer team is a token example of development for a city or even for a nation.

Unlike the fully developed volunteering programmes in the EU or the United States, volunteering work in China only hit the start button barely a decade ago. The Volunteer Commission of the Chinese Museums Association was founded in 2009, and Suzhou Museum was among its first members.

Since their public debut in 2006, volunteers from Suzhou Museum have been the best illustration for what the city holds dear: “Culture, Harmony, Creativity, and Vision”.

In February 2007, the first volunteer team started its service in Suzhou Museum after strict screening, interviews, training and examination.

By 2014, Suzhou Museum had recruited 10 batches of volunteers, totalling nearly 700.

The Volunteers of Suzhou Museum come from all walks of life, most of whom are well-educated and experienced. 68% of them are in-service employees (including freelancers 9%, middle school and college faculty 15%, others 44%), 20% are college students, and 6% are retirees and 6% housewives.

2. S ervices Of The Volunteer Team (1) ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE

The standing committee for the volunteer team is the Volunteer Work Committee, whose board members and the board director are elected by in-service volunteers. The committee is fully responsible for all services and coordination.

(2) RECRUITMENT

Suzhou Museum accepts applications for volunteering all year round. Depending upon the annual work load, the committee screens, interviews and trains possible canTHE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 77

didates. The training ranges from the basics of museum science, volunteer ethics, history and exhibit knowledge, interpretation skill and etiquette. The qualified candidates are awarded a badge on World Museums Day in their year of qualification.

(3) RESPONSIBILITIES

The responsibilities of the Suzhou Museum volunteers range from interpretation and acting as tour guides, to social education programmes, collation of ancient books, questionnaires, book editing and community lectures. In 2011, we hosted “Made in the UK---British Council Modern Art Collections”. Volunteers made invaluable contributions in providing services in interpretation, lectures and questionnaires etc.

By the end of 2013, the volunteers of Suzhou Museum had provided up to 78877 hours of service for more than 1.5 million visitors. According to our survey, about one in ten visitors to Suzhou Museum received the service. Volunteers enjoy providing the service, some of them even compare their work to a date with their loved ones----on some days, at some moment, they come to the same place as appointed, and continue to do so for months, even years.

3. T raining For And Growth Of Volunteers (1) CULTIVATING A LEARNING TEAM

Suzhou Museum values the voluntary study of its volunteers. Meanwhile, we enhance the training of their cultural knowledge, improve their service quality and enrich the common working language among team members.

We also regularly invite experts and scholars to give lectures to our volunteers on topics such as the local history of Suzhou, bronze casting techniques, ceramics and jade identification skills. With an eye on improving in78 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

terpretation skills and maintaining morale, we hosted the “Learning in Suzhou Museum” knowledge contest in 2010.

Besides these activities the museum often organises cycling, hiking and parties for volunteers to enrich their off-duty time and build friendships among team members.

Also, an annual award of “Top Ten Volunteers” is a buoyant occasion that gathers all members together, rewards the best service and entertains the hard-working ones.

(2) INTERACTION AND COOPERATION

Great efforts have been made to make contact with other volunteer groups and charities by the volunteer committee of our museum. Our volunteers have also participated in other volunteering activities in Suzhou, such as caring for the poor and disadvantaged.

Volunteers are sent to visit other museums in China on paid tours by our museum. The tour is both a reward for their hard work, and a great opportunity to open their eyes and enrich their experience. In recent years, we have built up regular communications with other Chinese museums such as the National Museum of China, the Palace Museum,

The Capital Museum, Shanghai Museum and Henan Museum. By doing so, we share our experience and learn from their volunteering work.

(3) INCENTIVES

The museum has built up a series of incentives for the volunteer programme so that the committee board is able to receive more feedback and advice from the members, safeguard their rights and provide perks and benefits. Meanwhile, annual award ceremonies are held to give out awards to outstanding volunteers and badges to excellent volunteers. Thus, volunteers can get a greater sense of belonging through various activities and feel the respect and care for their work.

4. F eedbacks And Social Influences Volunteer work is an indispensable link on the museum service chain. Volunteer work in Suzhou Museum has gained itself attention and recognition via the hard work of our volunteer team. Many visitors left kind words, “the most impressive part of my visit to Suzhou Museum is its volunteer service, and it creates a genuine space for citizens.”

After his visit on May 11, 2008, Mr. Holland Cotter, the veteran commentator of New York Times, wrote a front page article on July 4th, lauding the surprising number of excellent English-speaking volunteers who are nowhere to be found in many other museums around China.

In November 2010, the 22nd General Conference of the International Council of Museums was held in Shanghai. Wendy Lee, a volunteer from Suzhou Museum, received the “Excellent Volunteer in a Chinese Museum” award given by the Chinese Museums Association and made a speech in an Open Forum to the Global Museum Volunteers Initiative. In 2013, Suzhou Museum hosted the annual meeting of the Chinese Museums Volunteer Committees.

The widespread nature of volunteering services, which embodies the height of civilization and spirituality, has created the possibility of making it a way of life. In the years to come, volunteers in Suzhou Museum will work harder and serve better by practising the spirit of volunteering ethics: dedication, friendship, mutual aid and progress.

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Challenging The Stereotypes Of Management

SHANXI MUSEUM, TAIYUAN, CHINA CHINESE MUSEUM ASSOCIATION - MOST INNOVATIVE MUSEUMS AWARD 2013

Shi Jinming DIRECTOR ≥ SHANXI MUSEUM 13 BINHE XILU BEIDUAN TAIYUAN CITY, SHANXI P.R. CHINA 030024 ≥ 86-351-8789188 ≥ SHANXIMUSEUM@163.COM WWW.SHANXIMUSEUM.COM

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Shanxi is situated on the banks of the Yellow River and on the eastern plateau in Northern China, covering an area of about 160,000 square kilometers with a population of 36 million. It is the important birthplace of Chinese civilization and a major historical staging post of ethnic integration and development. Shanxi is abundant in historic and cultural heritage and known as a treasure house of ancient architecture, mural paintings and sculpture.

Shanxi museum, founded in 1919, is one of the oldest museums in China. The new Shanxi Museum is located on the west bank of the Fenhe River in Taiyuan, the capital city of Shanxi Province. The museum occupies an area of about 28 acres. There are more than 400,000 cultural relics in the collection, which represent the cultural essence of the province. Therefore it is the biggest centre for collecting, preserving, studying and exhibiting cultural relics in Shanxi province. The permanent exhibition, themed as Jin Spirits, consists of 12 exhibition halls: the Cradle of Civilization, the Traces of Xia and Shang, the Accomplishments of the Jin Vassal State, the Melting pot of Different Nationalities, the Relics of Buddhism, the Hometown of Chinese Operas, Shanxi Merchants in 14-16th century, Chinese Ancient Architecture, Jade wares, Ceramics, Ancient Money and Paintings. These are displayed chronologically and local culture and art are highlighted and comprehensively illustrated.

The prize of most innovative museum in China was established by the Chinese Museums Association and is overseen by the State Cultural Relics Administration. It aims to inspire Chinese museums to play a more positive role in their regional areas, in cultural development and to encourage them to develop academic studies and innovation. Only two museums are awarded the prize each year. The CMA is responsible for the organ-

ization and evaluation, the results of which are announced on International Museums Day. Shanghai Museum and Sun yat-sen’s Former Residence Memorial in Guangdong province received the prize in 2012, Shanxi Museum and Suzhou Museum in 2013.

Shanxi Museum is a pioneer of innovation in the museum field across China, especially in museum management and temporary exhibitions. Public cultural life in Shanxi and surrounding area has been promoted and influenced dramatically since its opening in 2005.

The museum has now run successfully for 9 years attracting more than 1 million people each year. The CMA and Chinese museum professionals have highly praised what we have done in recent years.

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Innovations On Management Shanxi Museum has tried to change the stereotypes of management and has set up an advisory board in the museum. Some members of the social elite and experts have been invited as board members to guide and direct the development programmes and macro-management in the museum. These experienced professionals, as board members with a broad view, have helped us avoid mistakes.

A social system of management was also introduced into Shanxi Museum, which solved a severe problem- the lack of human resources. We cooperated with local universities, research institutes, guards and a cultural company which is in charge of specific study projects, security and the museum store respectively. They receive the same salary and social welfare as the regular staff.

Some excellent, qualified companies help us do some work they are specialized in, but the museum has stayed in charge of supervision 82 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

and evaluation. Thus this new idea of the government acquiring services from society has been fulfilled in public welfare mechanisms.

Innovations On Exhibitions Various exhibitions in the museum have strong public appeal. Temporary exhibitions hosted in Shanxi Museum since 2008 consist of 6 series, including the Civilization of the Yangtze River, the Civilization of the Chinese Border Area, Minority Folk customs, Great Calligraphers and Painters, Contemporary Artists and Modern Artists. Not only have we designed and hosted 25 temporary exhibitions ourselves, but we have introduced 48 classic and fine temporary exhibitions from other museums and institutes as well during the past 7 years. These wonderful exhibitions raised interest and were appreciated by the visitors. Meanwhile, we designed five representative exhibitions based on our collections, including Selected Cultural Relics of Early Shanxi(11-3nd century B.C), the Art of Brick Carvings(10-14th century), Stone Sar-

cophagi of Yuhong(late 6th century), Cultural Relics of Buddhism(4-19th century)) and Masterworks of Fushan(17th century). These exhibitions have toured 27 cities and museums both at home and abroad.

Shanxi Museum is zealous and active in displaying the latest archaeological discoveries and research achievements to the public. In 2005, the archaeological excavations in Xihou Du, revealed the oldest prehistoric remains in China that we know of, resulting in a major new discovery which shocked the academic world. We displayed these new findings in the permanent exhibition as soon as it was possible. The valuable articles from the excavation of Taosi, the Jin Marquis Cemetery, the Tomb of Xu Xianxiu and Shizi Tan were shown to the public for the first time as well.

In designing these temporary exhibitions, more important archaeological achievements from China in recent years were presented, such as Excellent Archaeological Excavations from the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Science(2012), the Discovery of Ba Kingdom(2012), the Traces of Life-the New Achievements of Chinese vertebrate paleontology(2008) and so on. Our curators introduced new studies to the public through these sensitive exhibitions. The academic world, science and pleasure were fused together perfectly in these exhibitions which made unfamiliar archaeological finds and rigorous science much closer to public life.

Progressive ideas in design and display combined academic study and exhibition art together. For example, in the exhibition the Discovery of Ba Kingdom (2012), there are some wooden articles and lacquer which are still in the process of scientific conservation,and these were displayed as if they were in the Lab. We also displayed a set of bronze items that had not been uncovered yet. Through X-ray images, people can see

what exactly there is under the rust and clay.

People are curious about these new, mysterious archaeological excavations. We raised some questions about this discovery to try to stimulate people to ponder and focus on these issues. Meanwhile, the answers and explanations from visitors are probably helpful for a future study. This is a two-sided interaction between professionals and visitors.

Through such exhibitions, Public Archaeology is welcomed and people can find out how archaeological excavations and scientific archaeology are represented today in academic circles .

One of the regular exhibition halls which displays Buddhist cultural relics is designed as a stone grotto temple from an early Buddhist period and a palace- style temple in the Chinese Buddhist phase. Many stone items are displayed naturally without showcases, and this very likely took people back to the real Buddhist world when they were strolling through the hall after entering the exhibition.

Thus both the exhibition and its design have enjoyed a good reputation in the Chinese museum world.

Although we have started with the system of the advisory board, there are still some problems we have to face. For instance, for western methods to be accepted by and blended with the regular Chinese management system still needs more time and has a long way to go. The funds of Shanxi Museum were supported by the allocation of governmental grants, but these are not sufficient in meeting total expenditure. On the one hand we look forward to attracting more funds from the government, while on the other hand we wish we could get more social funds through the advisory board by conducting significant commercial activities in the museum, which is allowed for and supported by the government.

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19.

Interpreting A Design Brief – The Fram Museum

FRAM MUSEUM / SARNER INTERNATIONAL LTD, OSLO, NORWAY MUSEUMS + HERITAGE AWARDS 2013 INTERNATIONAL AWARD

Ross Magri DIRECTOR, SARNER INTERNATIONAL LTD.

Geir Kløver DIRECTOR, FRAM MUSEUM ≥ SARNER INTERNATIONAL LTD 5 PRINCESS MEWS, HORACE ROAD KINGSTON UPON THAMES SURREY KT1 2SZ UNITED KINGDOM ≥ +44 20 8481 0600 ≥ RMAGRI@SARNER.COM WWW.SARNER.COM ≥ FRAM MUSEUM BYGD�YNESVEIEN 36 0286 OSLO NORWAY ≥ TEL: 23 28 29 50 ≥ GEIR@FRAMMUSEUM.NO WWW.FRAMMUSEUM.NO

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Last year, Sarner was the proud recipient of the Museum and Heritage International Award for The Fram Museum in Oslo, Norway.

Sarner International is a multi-skilled group of people encompassing both creative and engineering skills delivering projects for the museum, leisure and educational fields both in the UK and internationally.

Our clients have included the Science Museum, National Gallery, the Natural History Museum, the National Army Museum, Tate Gallery, HMS Belfast, Royal Navel Museum, The Norwegian Glacier Museum, Polaria in Tromso, Norway and many others. Our experience has been built over a period of more than 40 years, during which time we designed and delivered many whole projects from concept to completion.

Amongst these projects is the Fram Museum, located on a peninsula on the western side of the city of Oslo, just a short boat or taxi ride from the city centre. The FRAM, which was the first ship specially built in Norway for polar research, is the world’s strongest wooden ship and holds the record for sailing the farthest distance, both north and south.

The Fram was used on three important expeditions: with Fridtjof Nansen on a drift over the Arctic Ocean 1893-96; with Otto Sverdrup to the Arctic archipelago, west of Greenland (now the Nunavut region of Canada) 18981902; and with Roald Amundsen to Antarctica for his South Pole expedition 1910-12.

The Museum, which is built around the actual ship, first opened in the 1930’s and contains exhibitions of the most famous voyages of global historical and scientific significance, with its centrepiece being the ship itself.

The original building that housed the Fram was initially no more than an enclosure to protect the ship for future generations, but over time the building started to house collections of artefacts that formed part of the ship’s expeditions. It also became part of a number of museums that are located on Bygd�y, which include the Kon-Tiki Museum, Norsk Folke Museum, the Viking Ship Museum and the Norwegian Maritime Museum.

In 2010, Geir Kl�ver,the Museum’s current director, approached Sarner with the aim of making structural changes to the building and its contents to bring the museum to current standards and to provide a better exhibition space. The brief was two-fold: to change the whole look of the Museum and to also add value to the visitor experience, so that the Museum offered more than a purely static exhibition. It had always been a very light and bright space, but the client felt that this didn’t reflect the dark and often haunting realities of the Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. The ship had become an incidental part of the Museum but needed to be the focal point and truly be centre stage.

Visitors to the Museum begin their experience on the ship’s top deck and go on an exciting immersive journey around the ship to discover the realities of being an explorer in the early 1900’s. The history of the ship would also be a major part of the exhibition.

A key requirement was to display the collection of scientific instruments and artefacts in a more interesting way that is informative without being burdened with too much detail.

Starting on the top floor of the Museum, visitors learn the story of the three main expeditions on the FRAM through new and modern layered graphics with creative theatrical sets along the way. The theatre of the exhibition continues as the new graphics tell the explorTHE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 85

ers’ stories as though the visitors are reading a book or seeing a play. This is interspersed with scenic elements featuring original artefacts and dioramas to enhance the story.

One spectacular two metre set shows FRAM stuck in the ice in 1893 during Nansen’s voyage to be the first person to reach the North Pole. This is all further enhanced by interactive touch screens throughout the exhibition offering eight different languages.

Visitors are in for a real treat when they step on to the top deck of the ship where Sarner has magically created an indoor aurora Borealis. The captivating three minute Northern Lights show (running every 20 minutes), uses 5 projectors to create a horizon effect 30 metres around the FRAM. Told in visual form, the mesmerizing sequence shows how the beautiful yellow, green, red, violet and blue lights are formed when large numbers of the Sun’s electrically charged particles react with the Earth along its magnetic field.

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The excitement continues with the new dark walk experience: a 10m x 8m two minute immersive sensory adventure showcasing the fear and dangers that early explorers faced while charting the Arctic regions. As visitors walk through a set of double doors they immediately feel a drop in temperature as the entire walk-through simulates Arctic temperatures. A representation of a boat deck, which shows a stormy night sky, tilts and rocks to evoke a turbulent sea and visitors witness the monsters of legend that sailors feared so much.

From here, visitors enter a small cabin of the ship where the crushing ice dramatically breaks through the wood using mechanical and backlighting effects. Then visitors walk through into an ice tunnel, lit using LED to create a blue ice-like translucency. This creatively captures the beauty and claustrophobia of the ice whilst the freezing temperature of minus 10 degrees enhances the experience, together with the natural ice that forms on the surfaces of the structure.

Within the new Explorers Club, situated above the dark walk, there is a great vantage point from which visitors can see the entire ship. Sarner based the design of this room on the main hall of the Royal Geographical Society in London to evoke the feeling of discovery and exploration. Used as a group meeting place and conference room, the Explorers Club features paintings and framed screens showing footage of the FRAM’s historic explorations.

As a result of the successful re-launch of the Fram Museum, Sarner were subsequently commissioned to design and deliver an extension to the Museum which houses the GJ�A. This was the first vessel to transit the fabled Northwest Passage with explorer Roald Amundsen and is on display in this brand new building. The fascination and intrigue of the North West Passage tantalised sailors for 400 years, and this almost mythical story is now revealed in a new exhibition that brings to life its historic adventures. The exhibition features the GJ�A as a center-

piece but also explores the story of the Maud and Amundsen’s continued explorations by airship and seaplane via a collage of artefacts, graphics and dioramas.

Visitors begin their polar journey in the brand new cinema/lecture theatre which has been fitted with a three projector, 8 meter wide screen and surround sound effects. Here, Sarner has created an exciting 10 minute film titled The Polar Explorers which charts the North and South Pole explorers, the FRAM, the GJ�A, expeditions to Greenland and the race to the South Pole as well as the more modern explorer ‘vessels’, the N24 and N25.

As a result of the extensive upgrade, the museum is now rated as one of the best destinations by many and in addition to the Museum and Heritage industry award, it is has also been rated by Trip Advisor as Travellers Choice for 2013.

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20.

SOS AZULEJO PROJECT, LOURES, PORTUGAL EU PRIZE FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE / EUROPA NOSTRA AWARD 2013

Leonor Sá COORDINATOR OF SOS AZULEJO PROJECT ≥ MUSEU DE POLÍCIA JUDICIÁRIA ESCOLA DE POLÍCIA JUDICIÁRIA QUINTA DO BOM SUCESSO, BARRO 2670-345 LOURES PORTUGAL ≥ + 351 21 984 42 34 ≥ LEONOR.SA@PJ.PT WWW.SOSAZULEJO.COM 88 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

Turning A Social Problem Into A Cultural Opportunity: The “Sos Azulejo Project”

≥ CHART 1 - NUMBERS OF REGISTERED STOLEN ARTISTIC/ HISTORIC TILES. PORTUQUESE JUDICIARY POLICE DEPARTMENT OF LISBON (DLVT)THE JPM

Portuguese historic and artistic ceramic tiles stand out in the world’s cultural heritage for their invaluable richness in quality, quantity, style, materials, and techniques. Portuguese architecture is known worldwide for its ‘azulejos’, which cover the exterior and interior walls of hundreds of thousands of Portuguese buildings, from convents, churches and palaces to hospitals, railway stations, schools, all sorts of public buildings and entire urban private housing blocks.

Because ‘azulejos’ are increasingly valued by art experts, historians and international antique dealers, they are getting more tempting for art and antiques burglars and traffickers – and the number of thefts has risen accordingly, especially in the area of Lisbon, as we can see in Chart 1.

by ordinary Portuguese people and institutions. These tiles have been so permanently present in Portuguese everyday life, and for so many centuries, that the average citizen no longer especially notices or cares about them. The result is neglect, needless tile removal from walls, demolition of tile- covered buildings, vandalism and an endless quantity of tiled constructions which need conservation measures badly.

The Emergence Of “Sos Azulejo” In 2007 the Portuguese Judiciary Police Museum (JPM) created the ‘SOS Azulejo Project’ in response to the above mentioned problems of theft and neglect, but also motivated by the following institutional and practical circumstances:

This statistical data shows us the registered thefts of thousands of ‘azulejos’ in this geographical area, especially from the year 2000 onwards.

Firstly, the Portuguese Judiciary Police is the law enforcement agency in Portugal with the exclusive competence for crimes related to cultural heritage.

Curiously enough - and paradoxically - apart from some important referred exceptions, urban ‘azulejos’ seem not to be much valued

Secondly, the JPM possesses a collection of stolen historic tiles which have been recovered by the police but whose origin remains THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 89

unknown to this day. This collection has been exhibited on several occasions by the JPM, with educational purposes.

Linked to these educational purposes is the fact that the JPM chose ‘Crime Prevention’ as its ‘museum mission’, for crime prevention constitutes one of the explicit competences of the Judiciary Police, and is of direct interest and service to the community.

In this context, ‘SOS Azulejo’ was born as a ‘crime prevention project’, to protect Portuguese ‘azulejos’ from growing theft, trafficking and vandalism, but involving two other perspectives: ‘preventive conservation’ and ‘raising people’s awareness of the value of Portuguese historic tiles.’

This interdisciplinary approach meant an absolute need for partnerships. In 2007 the JPM signed protocols with the following prestigious Portuguese organisations (belonging to the former Ministry of Culture, Universities, a local authorities’ Association and other police forces): >> >> >> >>

>> >>

Associaç�o Nacional de Municípios Portugueses (ANMP) Direç�o Geral do Património Cultural (DGPC) Instituto Politécnico de Tomar (IPT) Rede Temática em Estudos de Azulejaria e Cerâmica Jo�o Miguel Santos Sim�es (RTEACJMSS), Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa (FLUL) Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR) Polícia de Segurança Pública (PSP).

‘SOS Azulejo’ has no budget and its functioning is light and flexible. Each Partner performs its specific skills within its institutional budget, giving the project a multidisciplinary performance capacity. Occasionally sponsors are enlisted for actiivities that cannot be covered by the Partners.

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Short Summary Of The Main Sos Azulejo’s Work And Results: FOCUS 1: PREVENTING AND DETERRING THEFTS

The first visible ‘SOS Azulejo’ activity towards this goal consisted of disseminating systematised information and images of stolen figurative ‘azulejos’ through its website www.sosazulejo.com (and fb). Easy access to these images aims at: >> >> >>

Making identification and recovery of stolen historic tiles easy; Making circulation of stolen historic tiles in the market difficult; Deterring this kind of crime for burglars and fences.

Indeed we have direct information that before ‘SOS Azulejo’, figurative stolen ‘azulejos’ circulated very easily in the market, art circuits and even state museums. After ‘SOS Azulejo’, this situation completely changed.

Buyers in good faith – whether antique dealers, curators or other professionals - now have easily available information, and buyers in bad faith can no longer claim ignorance.

The results of this measure were immediate and encouraging. The very first day after the launching of the web site, a stolen tile panel was recognized and recovered. In the longer term, statistics concerning registered thefts of ‘azulejos’ are also very encouraging and show impressive measurable results (Chart 2).

Considering the fact that ‘SOS Azulejo’ was created in 2007, the chart shows there was a more than 80% decrease in the number of registered thefts of ‘azulejos ’to 2013.

FOCUS 2: PREVENTING NEGLECT AND DESTRUCTION

- Raising awareness of the local municipal authority of Lisbon (CML), which finally created a concrete municipal plan for the protection of Lisbon’s azulejos in 2010.

≥ CHART 2 - HISTORIC AND ARTISTIC TILES: NUMBER OF REGISTERED THEFTS 2006-2013 AT DLVT (PORTUGUESE JUDICIARY POLICE - DEPARTMENT OF LISBON)

- Proposing important measures to be incorporated in the new urbanism regulations of CML, prohibiting the demolition of tiled buildings’ façades and the removal of ‘azulejos’ from the same façades. The acceptance of this proposition means a full 180 degree turn in the protection approach of Portuguese tiles’ heritage.

Once this new regulation was put into effect in April 2013, ‘SOS Azulejo’ proposed its implementation in all Portuguese cities. Indeed, the introduction of this simple measure and input nationwide would have an enormous impact and output in terms of the global protection of the Portuguese tiles’ heritage. We hope it will become a reality soon. It would also mean a solid basis to submit a proposal for Portuguese historic and artistic ‘azulejos’ to be considered for inclusion in UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

FOCUS 3: DISSEMINATING AND AWARDING GOOD PRACTISES

Departing from a focus on negative information - theft, vandalism, degradation, - ‘SOS Azulejo’ soon realized the importance of enlarging its scope of activity, adding a positive

perspective to it. Consequently, it developed the following series of activities: - Disseminating and encouraging good practices; - Awarding academic studies, artists’ and community actions: the Annual ‘SOS Azulejo Awards’ were created in 2010, allowing for publicly paying tribute to individuals and institutions whose remarkable work contributes not only for the safeguarding of the ‘azulejos’ , but also for their study, dissemination, fruition and continuity in contemporary art.

- Last but not least, disseminating love for ‘azulejos’, especially in children: ‘SCHOOL ACTION SOS AZULEJO’ takes place every year in May, with the participation of schools at a nation-wide level. On this day various playful activities are performed by schoolchildren related to the knowledge and manufacturing of ‘azulejos’. We hope to turn this day into a ‘National Day of Azulejos’ in the near future.

In conclusion, we dare say that ‘SOS Azulejo’ is not made just of hopes - but also of positive concrete results.

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SETAGAYA LITERARY MUSEUM, TOKYO, JAPAN JAPAN FOUNDATION FOR REGIONAL ART-ACTIVITIES GRAND PRIZE FOR MUSEUM 2013

Yoshihiko Otake CURATOR ≥ SETAGAYA LITERARY MUSEUM 1-10-10 MINAMIKARASUYAMA SETAGAYA-KU, TOKYO JAPAN ≥ Y-OTAKE@SETABUN.NET WWW.SETABUN.OR.JP

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Spaces For Experiencing Literature

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History And Background The Setagaya Literary Museum was established by the city of Setagaya in 1995. As Japanese museums go, it is a medium-sized facility and is patronized by between 130,000 and 140,000 people annually.

Setagaya Ward is a residential district located about 20 minutes by train from central Tokyo. Approximately 840,000 people live in the ward, making it the most populous municipality in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Developed as a suburban community in the 1920s, Setagaya has long been home to many artists and writers, and the site of a wide range of creative activities. One of Japan’s major film companies, Toho, has a studio in the area where scenes from notable movies such as Godzilla (1954) and The Seven Samurai (1954) were shot. The Seijo district where the studio is located has historically attracted many movie directors and actors, and is today known as an upmarket neighborhood.

Against this cultural-historical backdrop, it is our job to explore the true merits of the work done by literary and film figures with links to Setagaya, and to convey them far beyond the local area. In addition to original manuscripts, letters, and rare books related to literary figures working in a variety of genres including mystery, science fiction, juvenile fiction, travel writing, and poetry, the museum collection, housing over 90,000 items, includes film scripts, set sketches, and still photographs.

At this point, it is important to emphasize the fact that our facility is a museum rather than a library. Thus, we have adopted the catchphrase, “Spaces to Experience Literature,” and in addition to conducting research, we focus primarily on organizing exhibitions and

public programmes. Targeting a wide range of ages, we place a strong emphasis on creating a place that will provide encounters and encourage interest in diverse literary works, prompt the rediscovery of cultural history in Setagaya Ward, and facilitate meetings and exchanges between people via literature.

In general, however, visitors of literary museums tend to be middle-aged book lovers with a developed intellectual curiosity. Thus, we have adopted two distinctive programmes to help broaden the range of visitors and increase the appeal of literature.

The first, cross-genre exhibitions, focuses on the relationship between literature and other artistic genres such as art, design, manga, and music. The second, called the Children’s Museum of Literature, targets children from the age of six to 15 (i.e., elementary to junior high school students).

Cross-genre Exhibitions Cross-genre exhibitions have remained a key part of the museum’s activities since the facility opened 19 years ago. Here, we would like to present two examples.

The Seiichi Horiuchi: Designs, Journeys, and Picture Books (2009) exhibition surveyed the career of Seiichi Horiuchi (1931-1987), a Setagaya-resident artist who revolutionised editorial design in the Japanese magazine world as a designer, created a number of best-selling picture books as an illustrator, and travelled all over the world as an essayist. By comprehensively introducing Horiuchi’s multifaceted activities, the exhibition stressed the links between different genres and highlighted the artist’s collaborations with a variety of literary figures. The exhibition was warmly received by those in the art and design fields, and the year after it was

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presented at the Setagaya Literary Museum, it travelled to four other art museums in Japan.

The Osamu Tezuka Retrospective (2012) dealt with the work of Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989), the so-called “King of Manga,” as the foundation for contemporary Japanese comics and animation. Though there have been numerous manga exhibitions in Japan in recent years, this event focused on the literary aspects of the genre by outlining the stories and social contexts of the works. Many notable manga artists have been residents of Setagaya, and we are planning to revisit the genre in a future exhibition. As manga are familiar to a large audience, including everyone from children to adults, exhibitions related to the subject tend to be blockbusters. This event was similarly popular, attracting the second largest number of visitors to a special exhibition in the museum’s history.

The Children’s Museum Of Literature The Children’s Museum of Literature is not the name of a facility but rather a series of programmes organized for children. A variety of activities including exhibition-related workshops and worksheets, and outreach programs using replicas of works in the collection are held throughout the year. Here, we would like to introduce two of the most distinctive:the Word Museum and the Literary Walk.

Launched in 2009, the Word Museum is a series of workshops that are held inside the museum. Dealing with subjects that bridge literature and other genres, including art, dance, and music, the events allow participants to experience non-verbal methods of communication through artistic and physical expressions using three approaches: “Words and Art,” “Words and Gesture,” and “Words 94 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

and the Body.” This is followed by an activity called “Words of Words 1&2,” in which participants create linguistic expressions or poems dealing with the theme of “the self.”

Artists working in a variety of genres serve as facilitators in each event, and a total of five programmes are offered every six months.

Launched in 2011,the Literary Walk is a programme that is conducted outdoors. Dealing with subjects such as Setagaya folk tales and travel writing related to museum exhibitions, we organize outings not only to local destinations but also to mountains and rivers outside the Tokyo metropolitan area. Led by nature observers and artists, participants visit places that are depicted in literature and sometimes take part in craft and cooking projects along the way. Covering a distance of from seven to ten kilometers and requiring from seven to nine hours, the walks are highly demanding, but many children participate on a regular basis. In order to meet more specific needs, in 2013 we introduced

a beginners’ course for six to 12-year olds, and an intermediate course for nine to 15year olds.

Both the Word Museum and the Literary Walk emerged from the desire to motivate children to engage in creative activities and to provide a place that would inspire them to write and convey information. To prompt children’s interest in expressing themselves, it is first necessary to provide them with unique experiences and emotional stimulation. Moreover, many young people today do not have the opportunity to play with children of different ages. In that sense, these activities are also an important means of creating diverse human relationships outsidef the classroom environment.

shops, and walks are intended to go beyond merely reading and listening, and serve as a mechanism to encourage people to feel and consider literature through physical spaces and their bodies.

Acclaimed for our efforts to expand the potential of a literary museum, we received the Japan Foundation for Regional Art Activities Award (Minister of Internal and Communication Award) in 2013. “Literary museum” is not a term that appears in most Japanese dictionaries. Which is to say, there is no clear definition. This makes it even more important to devise new functions and continue making use of them. While engaging in a trial-and-error process, we hope to develop a new style of literary museum in the future.

The 2013 JAFRA Award All of our activities share the common goal of creating a museum that allows people to experience literature. Our exhibitions, workTHE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 95

22.

Restoring The San Francesco Woodland FOREST OF SAINT FRANCIS, ASSISI, ITALY EU PRIZE FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE/EUROPA NOSTRA AWARD 2013

Luca Chiarini PROPERTY MANAGER, FAI - BOSCO DI SAN FRANCESCO ≥ FAI LA CAVALLERIZZA VIA CARLO FOLDI, 2 20135 MILANO ITALIA ≥ 02 46 76 15 1 ≥ INFO@FONDOAMBIENTE.IT L.CHIARINI@FONDOAMBIENTE.IT WWW.FONDOAMBIENTE.IT

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FAI - Fondo Ambiente Italiano, the Italian National Trust, is a national, non-profit foundation that was established in 1975 with one concrete objective: to safeguard Italy’s artistic assets and natural heritage.

The mission of FAI - Fondo Ambiente Italiano is twofold: on the one hand, it is to promote a tangible culture of respect for Italy’s natural heritage, art, history and traditions; and on the other, it is to protect a legacy that forms a fundamental part of the roots and identity of the Italian people.

Day in, day out, this commitment sees FAI engaged in: PROTECTING AND ENHANCING

FAI has restored and opened to the public numerous unique monuments and natural history sites in Italy, entrusted to it through donations or concessions.

EDUCATING AND RAISING AWARENESS

FAI educates and raises the awareness of the public with a view to increasing their knowledge of, respect for and dedication to art and nature, which are among the defining elements of Italy’s national identity.

SUPERVISING AND INTERVENING

FAI serves as the spokesperson for the interests and expectations of the public, pro-actively supervising and intervening on their behalf across the country to defend Italy’s landscape and cultural assets.FAI - Fondo Ambiente Italiano manages a set of assets of exceptionally high value in terms of their history, culture, landscape and natural heritage, with a view to conserving, supporting and enhancing the environment on behalf of the Italian people and those from further afield. Dealing with the environment means

dealing not only with the places where people live but also with how people live, develop and operate in those places. It is in this sense that FAI is concerned with the landscape, which – according to the Italian Code of Cultural Assets – is territory that encapsulates a sense of identity, the character of which derives from the action of natural and human factors and from the inter-relation of those factors.

By “landscape” we mean, then, a living organism undergoing constant evolution, representing the encounter between natural elements and human activity in the fields of town planning, architecture, art, economics, rural life and handicrafts, which have over time become stratified and have taken their place within a complex and dynamic system of relationships.

In addition to embracing the definition of “landscape” set out in the “European Landscape Convention”, FAI operates above all on the basis of the constitutional legislation, which acknowledges the landscape’s value in terms of culture and identity – a value that belongs to the entire nation and, as such, is subject to protection.

Article 9 of the Constitution of the Italian Republic states: “The Republic safeguards the landscape and the historic and artistic heritage of the Nation”.

FAI’s work should be considered to all intents and purposes a social activity, because the beneficiaries of FAI’s work are people.

People are also valuable and indispensable allies of FAI in the fulfilment of its mission; if FAI had no members, if its properties had no visitors, if there were no major national events, FAI would be nothing more than a property trust with no outreach at all.

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≥ © ROBERTO BERTI

FAI: not just an acronym but also a part of the Italian verb “FARE”, meaning “TO DO”.

> Š ANDREA ANGELUCCI

The Restoration Of San Francesco Woodland When, in 2008, FAI completed the transfer of ownership of the San Francesco Woodland, following its donation to the Trust, the woodland was in a state of advanced decay: the path that runs down from the basilica of San Francesco to the Benedictine complex of Santa Croce had been broken up by a landslide; the entire surrounding forest was overgrown after years of neglect, with dead but still standing trees and trees that had come crashing down; the imposing wall of the Hospice was suffocated by vegetation; the Church of Santa Croce was suffering from damp and had been robbed of its small bell; the rooms of the adjacent parsonage were empty and crumbling; the Mill, damaged by the latest earthquake, was falling apart and had lain unused for years; the dry walls of the no longer cultivated olive groves had collapsed; and the paths that rise back 98 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

up the valley of the Tescio stream from the bridge of Santa Croce had been invaded by briar. This was the starting point for the conservation and restoration project by FAI, geared towards the recovery of the natural, historical and cultural elements that characterise these 64 hectares of the Italian landscape, which were in a sorry state due, above all, to neglect.

The works, undertaken in late 2010, initially concerned the paths and wooded areas. As part of the effort to recover and integrate the network of existing paths, a trail was created that runs from the piazza of the Basilica Superiore down to the complex of Santa Croce, before then rising up the valley of the Tescio stream to the clearing of the Terzo Paradiso and finally returning along the opposite bank of the stream towards the Mill.

The paths have been made safe through the construction of wooden parapets, reinstating the wooden and stone terraced steps and

restoring the rainwater channelling works, whereas the two fords of the Tescio stream have been made easier and safer to cross through the sinking of large masses into the river bed.

The most challenging part of the works was that relating to the Santa Croce complex, where a well-orchestrated series of operations was required to achieve the conservative restoration of the buildings, with structural consolidation and dehumidification works being implemented alongside efforts to make the buildings functional once again.

While the parsonage was overhauled to play host to a welcome area and information point for visitors, complete with a bookshop and a dedicated exhibition, the Mill was refurbished as a catering facility.

and the water that flows through the subsoil.

However, the landscape restoration project has not come to an end with the inauguration and opening to the public of the San Francesco Woodland. The recovery and regeneration operations carried out thus far have, in fact, focused on a mere 15 of the total of 64 hectares that comprise the woodland. Over the coming years, FAI will execute a cohesive set of agroforestal operations that will make it possible to complete the regeneration works and will guarantee the sustainable management of the entire site.

The Hospice area saw the restoration of the remains of the perimeter wall. Fig, walnut and other fruit trees were used to mark out once again the internal terracing, thereby evoking the lost garden of the Benedictine nuns.

The archaeological excavations also concerned the area adjacent to the tower. The tower’s walled structure was consolidated and its collapsed vault was reconstructed. In addition, a new iron staircase was inserted internally to provide access to the roof, which is a veritable belvedere, taking in the clearing of the Terzo Paradiso and the valley of the Tescio stream.

≥ © ANDREA ANGELUCCI

The operation to realise Michelangelo Pistoletto’s major work of land art was highly unusual: 121 olive trees were planted in dual rows in the clearing to delineate the symbol of the Terzo Paradiso, with a compacted crushed stone path located between the two rows. A 12 metre high stainless steel pole has been driven into the ground at the centre of the work to symbolise the union of the sky THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 99

23.

Changing Minds YAROSLAVL ART MUSEUM, YAROSLAV, RUSSIA ICOM RUSSIA AWARD 2013

Alla Khatyukhina DIRECTOR ≥ YAROSLAVL ART MUSEUM VOLZHSKAYA NABEREZHNAYA 23 YAROSLAVL RUSSIA, 150000 ≥ +7 (4852) 30-48-31 ≥ YARARTMUSEUM@GMAIL.COM YARARTMUSEUM.RU

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An Autonomous Public Institution Of Culture Of The Yaroslavl Region Yaroslavl Art Museum, the only specialized art museum in the Yaroslavl region, was founded in 1919. Today the museum collection contains more than 75 thousand exhibits and presents 9 centuries of art from the 13 to the 20 century. The prides of the collection are the works of Yaroslavl icon painting school, provincial portraits and the canvases of Russian avant-garde. About 150 thousand people visit the museum every year. The museum follows an active exhibition policy; its exhibition map unites more than 50 cities of Russia, the United States of America, Spain, Great Britain, Italy and Germany.

The collection of Old Russian art is considered one of the best in Russia and contains more than 2000 icons originated mainly from the Yaroslavl churches destroyed in the Soviet period. The icons of the museum collection are published in the Old Russian art history fundamental editions and numerous exhibition catalogues. They represent the development of the Yaroslavl icon painting style, its peculiarities and above all the moral and aesthetic ideals of the customers – the inhabitants of Yaroslavl. The icon exposition is situated in the residence of the head of the Church, in the civil architecture monument of the 17 century, one of the first stone houses in the city.

The project of collaboration with Yaroslavl Theological Seminary performed by the Old Russian art department was found the best in the competitive program of the international museum festival Intermuseum 2013 in the nomination Rare Guest, the museum got the ICOM award. The festival has revealed that the Yaroslavl Art Museum is the only Russian museum that regards seminarians and representatives of Russian Orthodox

Church as museum visitors. The very project of the competitive program presented a specialized museum offer for this rare visitors’ category.

The Yaroslavl Art Museum elaborated the courses Yaroslavl Eparchy History and Museology. Together with the Seminary the museum administration has carried out a great work on the inclusion of these courses into the curriculum. The head of the Old Russian art department Victoria Victorovna Gorshkova supervises students’ work and carries out the main part of the lessons. First the students attended the museum in the frame of the course Yaroslavl Eparchy History; the course Museology is in the curriculum since 2012. The audience consists of 50 students, from 2011 to 2013 the museum lessons were attended by 18 seminarians that provides individual approach to every person.

The museum lessons in the form of lectures about works of art take place in the exposition. The lectures deal with the history of the Russian museums formation and the clergy’s part in the archives creation: since the 19 century on the priests’ initiative the most valuable cult objects were withdrawn from everyday use to preserve them for the descendants. Today these very objects are the most precious in the collections of the leading museums of the country. A great deed of the museum workers in 1920s-1930s who saved the Old Russian art monuments from destruction is shown by way of example of the Yaroslavl Art Museum collection. Acquaintance with the icon restoration process, exposure and custody peculiarities and also with the open funds allows understanding of an important social role of the museum as a keeper of the national culture and history originals.

Educating the seminarians – the future priests – the museum cultivates respect for THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 101

the cultural values and the museum’s part in their keeping and representing.

It is no mere chance that the very project came into being in Yaroslavl.

Yaroslavl is one of the most ancient Russian cities; it has a thousand-year-old history. From the foundation the city served the centre of Christianity in the northeast of the country. The Church had an important part in people’s life and was not only religious, but social and artistic centre of Yaroslavl as well.

Economic, political and ideological development took place in the 17 century, the time of trade and commerce prosperity when Yaroslavl was in the thick of the political events in Russia. The city’s role in the Time of Trouble events and the Romanov tsar’s dynasty establishment favoured occupying a special political position in the state and being an important ideological centre. Less than in a century several dozens of stone temples were built in Yaroslavl, hundreds of icons and objects of church applied art of the highest historical and artistic value were created.

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the main attraction for the tourists and form the historical territory in the special protected UNESCO zone. Since the 18 century the direction of society development has changed.

The formation of a secular state influenced the religious fall. The Church was deprived of the major part of its property in the Soviet times. Only after the Soviet Union dissolution the Church began obtaining its lost place in the ideology of the Russian state which bore its responsibility for all religious persecutions of the atheism epoch. The return to the Church of all its religious property within unmarked period of time was fixed by law.

The transfer of the churches to the Eparchy, the icons to the temples and monasteries became everyday practice. The question of the religious heritage conservation has been discussed heatedly. Very often the Russian Orthodox Church representatives together with a part of the contemporary Russian society regard the religious monuments as worship objects, and museums as organizations holding them illegally. The icon must be in the church – it is an opinion of the mass media and private conversations. It is almost forgotten that the museums not only saved

the temples and the church art works from destruction in the Soviet period, but restored a great number of them, returned their original look and gave them scientific comprehension – that’s why they became an essential part of the Russian culture. Obviously the museum and the Eparchy must create the collaboration program to keep the collection intact. The Yaroslavl Art Museum identified the priority direction - future priests’ education, their interest to the monuments conservation, the conviction that the Old Russian art works are the world cultural property and not confessional groups’ ones.

Accomplishing the project the museum in fact takes the state’s functions in creation of a tolerant society, where all the conflicts are resolved in a civilized way, considering the citizens’ interests. The museum’s mission is unchangeable – the monuments’ conservation. Like in 1920s-1930s the museum saved the Old Russian masterpieces from the atheist authority, today it saves icon paintings from the radical part of the Orthodox society considering them their own property.

Russian Orthodox Church claims for withdrawal of the ancient icons from the museum collection to use them in religious purpose. A bitter conflict between the museum and Kazan convent occurred in 2012: the monastery demanded the relic transfer to its museum.

The museum offered to copy the icon to use it in every day church life. In 2013 the Yaroslavl Art Museum won the international festival Intermuseum with the project Seminarians in the Museum in the nomination Rare Guest and transferred the reward to create a copy of the 17 century icon which now is in Kazan convent. So the museum managed to keep the unique monument in its collection providing required conservation mode and the convent got the opportunity to use the copy in its religious service.

Thanks to the work with the seminarians in the museum we managed to reduce tension between the museum and the church. As the result of educational work in 2013 the priests appeal to the museum for the icon examination and conservation in a working church.

The museum pretends to be an expert and an assistant of the Eparchy in the conservation of Russian historical and cultural monuments.

In perspective Seminarians in the Museum is considered long-term program of collaboration with the Russian Orthodox Church.

The program is raising interest to the icons as the monuments and forming a tolerant attitude to the museums as the keepers of national heritage.

The museum’s experience of collaboration with the Seminary and the Yaroslavl Eparchy is extremely important for modern Russia because it favors the success in the conservation of the world heritage for future generations.

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CHRISTCHURCH ART GALLERY: OUTER SPACES, CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND NEW ZEALAND 2013 MUSEUM AWARDS LAUREATE FOR ART EXHIBITION

Jenny Harper DIRECTOR ≥ CHRISTCHURCH ART GALLERY PO BOX 2626 CHRISTCHURCH 8140 NEW ZEALAND ≥ INFO@CHRISTCHURCHARTGALLERY.ORG.NZ WWW.CHRISTCHURCHARTGALLERY.ORG.NZ TWITTER: @CHCHARTGALLERY

24.

Good Art Really Matters: Christchurch Art Gallery’s "Outer Spaces"

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background of empty sites, demolition rubble and toppled shop fronts, two sculpted bronze bulls atop bronze grand pianos entered this city’s imagination in a special way.

Who would have predicted during their time in the luxurious surroundings of Venice that a year later the bulls and carved piano would become so symbolic of surreal events in this most English of New Zealand cities?

The Art Gallery building went from being Civil Defence Headquarters for ten days in September 2010 to hosting an amazingly popular art exhibition Ron Mueck (October 2010–January 2011), to setting up and opening three new exhibitions on 10 February 2011 prior to enduring a further major earthquake on 22 February 2011. This time, the Gallery became Emergency Operations Centre for seven months. There was very little damage to collection items and the primary building structure responded well, but currently the Gallery awaits full repairs, including retrofitting base isolation to ensure more future seismic capability. We are still unable to project a reopening date with confidence, but hope this may be achieved in late 2015.

Initially, we imagined locating the playable piano in the Gallery’s airy foyer with the bronze bulls on the forecourt of our home base. But these and all previous suppositions came to an inglorious halt with earthquakes on 4 September 2010 and, worse for the central city, on 22 February 2011.

Despite being closed, however, Art Gallery staff have turned to ensuring art’s presence in the city in a series of projects beyond the Gallery’s walls, ‘Outer Spaces’. We were delighted to win the national award for art exhibition excellence for this in 2013.

Michael Parekowhai’s 2011 Venice Biennale presentation, On first looking into Chapman’s Homer, was unforgettable in Christchurch when it showed here for four weeks. It would have been a powerful and memorable highlight of our programme at any time. But, following Venice and also a showing at Musée du quai Branly in Paris, its return to New Zealand was amplified unexpectedly by the poignancy of this city’s surrounding earthquake devastation. Against a

So it’s an interesting moment to reflect on the roller-coaster of adjustment and dramatic change within this city. Equally, it’s inspiring to consider what our artists, gallery staff and others in the arts sector have achieved and how reinforced we are by responses to the continued showing of differing types of art, all now with the ‘temporary’ trade mark that accompanies our situation. Gains sit alongside huge losses in our collective memories; and difficult though it is, it’s also hard to imagine another place in the world where what we currently do makes such a difference. But gallery or none, we’re here because good art really matters.

Initially the Art Gallery was considered to be the safest building in the central city and was taken over by national and civil defence as their emergency headquarters, being vacated when the demolition of a precarious apartment building next door became inevitable (we had to move our entire art collection to ensure its safety). Right through our ‘occupation’, however, we were optimistic that we would re-open to the public once they left.

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≥ © MICHAEL PAREKOWHAI CHAPMAN'S HOMER 2011. BRONZE, STAINLESS STEEL. COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND MICHAEL LETT, AUCKLAND.

Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu opened on its current site in May 2003, having inherited the collections of the former Robert McDougall Art Gallery, a stately 1930s building in the Botanic Gardens, Christchurch New Zealand. Back then noone imagined the devastation that would literally turn this city up-side-down, the earthquakes of 2010-11.

> RECONSTRUCTION: CONVERSATIONS ON A CITY

Staff planned no fewer than three re-openings and, it’s hard to believe, thinking back to then that these same gallery spaces are now largely abandoned and eerily empty as we await progress with our re-build. However, as the ground settled after the February ‘quake, we came to realise the building must be re-levelled with greater seismic capability incorporated into its repair if we were to be able to operate as before.

So, what to do? Initially, we tackled backof-house projects (copyright clearance, revisions of procedures and forms). However, as time passed, we embraced the inevitability of becoming a ‘gallery without walls’. In effect, we decided to engage with audiences on two fronts: by enhancing our existing but localised Outer Spaces programme and projecting art’s presence into the city; and by increasing our web presence, maintaining a cyberspace profile.

This presentation is concerned with the Outer Spaces projects for which the gallery was awarded an important exhibition excellence award in 2013.

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Before the earthquakes, the Gallery had commissioned a series of works around and on our building, but we began to think further afield, installing video in a near-by deserted house for dawn-to-dusk viewing. A large wall painting by Wayne Youle, I seem to have temporarily misplaced my sense of humour, was presented on a large wall in the suburb of Sydenham in collaboration with Gap Filler. We took over and opened an upstairs space in Madras Street with an exhibition

by Julia Morison, Meet me on the other side, continuing to show there with Rolling Maul, a three-weekly changing series, designed to show work by local artists affected by the earthquake.

Another Outer Spaces project of interest in a heritage context was Reconstruction: conversations on a city which we presented on continuously lit display boards along Worcester Boulevard. Showing images from various collections it was designed to open up conversations around the future shape of Christchurch, an important discussion for us to engage with. Reconstruction was inevitably read as a eulogy on the pasts of our city

feed the public imagination, locally and further afield. So it’s rewarding to share our experiences – and to be noticed, as we have been and are increasingly.

The concept of Outer Spaces stretched to Australia with a Shane Cotton exhibition presented in collaboration with IMA Brisbane during the Asia-Pacific Triennial in December 2012; it was also shown also at Campbelltown Arts Centre, Sydney and at City Gallery Wellington in 2013.

Amazingly, a manifesto which we developed as part of a 5-year vision exercise before we closed, continues to remind us of our purpose throughout these difficult times:

So far we’ve presented some 80 projects, including: 20 smaller scale exhibitions in off-site spaces; Art in Unexpected Places; and Faces from the Collection. We’ve had two grand community events, Populate! on our tenth anniversary in 2013 and another in March 2014 at the opening of a current family-friendly exhibition, Burster Flipper Wobbler Dripper Spinner Stacker Shaker Maker.

We’re here because good art really matters.

We connect people with art, ideas about art and with artists.

Their creativity inspires ours.

We are crucial to the heart of the city.

People identify Christchurch as important because of us and what we do.

We set standards others aspire to. We do great things that are recognised and celebrated (and we’re not afraid to break the rules - even our own)

We’ve taken the view throughout that, while the Gallery is closed, it is crucial to provide support to the visual arts community and to THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 107

> BURSTER FLIPPER WOBBLER DRIPPER SPINNER STACKER SHAKER MAKER

with the earthquakes revealed as the latest in multiple layers of destruction of the past, most city-sanctioned and the result of human indifference.

SHORT BIOGRAPHIES

Presenters IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE IN THE PROGRAMME

LIVERPOOL MUSEUM, LIVERPOOL, UNITED KINGDOM

is director of the NML and has led the modernisation of NML, which has become a leading example of an inclusive museum service with a large and diverse audience. NML audiences have more than quadrupled, rising to more than 3.2 million per year, and NML has recently created two new museums, the Museum of Liverpool and the International Slavery Museum. David is Convener of the Social Justice Alliance of Museums, Chairman of ICOM’s Finance and Resources Committee, Vice President of the European Museum Forum, and President of the Federation of International Human Rights Museums.

DAVID FLEMING

IRISH WALLED TOWNS NETWORK EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME, KILKENNY, IRELAND

LIAM MANNIX is conservation consultant with over ten years experience in the heritage sectors of Ireland, Australia and Papua New Guinea. Currently, he acts as Project Manager of the Irish Walled Towns Network with the Heritage Council of Ireland. This involves coordinating the conservation and interpretation of the country’s medieval town walls with various local authorities. Outside of Liam’s daily duties, he has sat on the steering committee for National Heritage Week and has been a part of the Irish tourist board’s steering group directing the promotion of Ireland’s built heritage.

BATALHA’S MUNICIPAL COMMUNITY MUSEUM, DAMO E DIU – BATALHA, PORTUGAL CÍNTIA MANUELA SILVA’s

work in Social Security began in 2000 and from 2008 to 2009 she was Director of the Centre for Management of attendance in this service. Since 2009, she assumed the post of Deputy Mayor of the Municipal Chamber of Batalha, being responsible for matters of Social Action, Health, Tourism, Culture and Private Institutions of Social Solidarity. ANA LUÍSA MODERNO is a graduate in Social Museology at the University Lusófona, where she is developing her Master’s thesis on the same subject.She works as curator of the Museum of Municipal Community of Batalha since 2005.

In period 1996-2001 JAN KINDLER was scientific assistant on Audio-Visual Theory and Design at the “Institute for Time Based Media” at the Berlin University of the Arts, 2001-2004 university lecturer, author and film curator; since 2004 scientific member of the project team for the redesigning of the Military Historical Museum of the Bundeswehr (MHM). Since 2010 is Head of Scientific Programmes and Media at the MHM; curator of scientific programmes and film related exhibition parts to all exhibitions of the MHM; publications, lectures and curated film programmes on different aspects of films on war and violence.

DELTA BLUES MUSEUM, CLARKSDALE, UNITED STATES SHELLEY RITTER was

hired as the Executive Director of the Delta Blues Museum in 2003. After graduating from Millsaps College with an English degree, she studied under Dr. William Ferris at the University of Mississippi’s Center for the Study of Southern Culture. She was hired as the first archivist for Elvis Presley Enterprises. She served as the Field Services Curator for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, where she administered two grant programs and worked with local historical societies. Shelley serves on the Advisory Board for the Center for the Gulf South at Tulane.

PLEASE TOUCH MUSEUM, PHILADELPHIA, UNITED STATES

LYNN MCMASTER, President & CEO since 2014, joined the Museum in 2012 as the Executive Vice President. Previously she served in a number of critical roles with the Canadian Museum of History (formerly Canadian Museum of Civilization), most specifically with its affiliate museum, the Canadian Children’s Museum for which she was one of the leading figures in shaping the then-nascent Museum into a nationally known and respected entity.

Lynn has established herself as one of the premier educators and a leading authority in the development and operation of child-focused museums within and beyond Canada.

WILLIAM MORRIS GALLERY, WALTHAMSTOW, UNITED KINGDOM

started out as a conservation scientist and Head of Visitor Services at the British Museum. Joined Waltham Forest Council in 2004 as Head of Museum Gallery and Archives, and was project director for the £5 million refurbishment of the William Morris Gallery. Now Head of Cultural and Community Services with a wide brief covering heritage, museum and gallery, arts, library development, events and community engagement. CARIEN KREMER curated a number of touring exhibitions for the East of England region. Appointed as Exhibitions and Collection Officer for the William Morris Gallery and Vestry House Museum in 2008.

LORNA LEE

SHORT BIOGRAPHIES

MUSEUM OF MILITARY HISTORY OF THE BUNDESWEHR, DRESDEN, GERMANY

SHORT BIOGRAPHIES

PROPYLAEA CENTRAL BUILDING, ACROPOLIS, ATHENS, GREECE

Architect TASOS TANOULAS has been actively engaged in work on monuments, archaeological sites and historic settlements of Greece since 1969 and is a member of the technical team for the Preservation of the Acropolis Monuments since 1977. Tasos participated in many conferences and seminars, published and lectured widely on the structural history of the Propylaea and the Acropolis, and on several topics of architectural history and theory, from the archaic to modern times. Although in charge of the Project for the Preservation of the Propylaea of the Acropolis at Athens until official retirement in 2010, he is still involved in the Project on a daily basis.

AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR MOVING IMAGE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

From 2012 RUSSELL BRIGGS is the Head of Exhibitions and Collections at the ACMI. After working as Creative Director of a multimedia company in California that specialised in rich-media and interactive technology, he moved to New Zealand and joined the team at Auckland Museum as Director of Exhibitions and Programmes as well as Director of the War Memorial. Russell received his degree in Film and Television at UCLA. He was an apprentice editor at MGM Studios, a screenwriter and ghost-writer for feature films and a music video director. He has also been a journalist and television correspondent covering popular culture.

KING’S CROSS STATION, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM

Before joining John McAslan + Partners, PADDY PUGH worked with English Heritage’s London Team for 26 years, the last seven as its Director. His passionate advocacy for historic buildings and places is coupled with an understanding that commercial realities often provide the key to securing their long term, viable future. Over a ten year period, he steered English Heritage’s involvement in Argent’s huge King’s Cross Central development, the St Pancras Eurostar Terminal, the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, the University of the Arts and King’s Cross Station.

EUROPEANA FOUNDATION, THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS

is a researcher of the Luigi Micheletti Foundation and Head of Project Office of the MusIL – Museum of Industry and Labour of Brescia. He is Member of the Board of Europeana, representative of the Luigi Micheletti Foundation and National Correspondent of European Museum Academy, Den Haag. Coordinator of the international project: “Dissonant Heritage of the XX Century. Ideologies and Wars in Ionian and Adriatic Area”.

His last Publication was “Eating - Contingencies of a Necessity”, and next is upcoming “Museums as Social Arenas. Rediscovering the Social Roots of Heritage” RENÉ CAPOVIN

AMANDA ROSALES BADA has a History Degree from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. She worked as a Researcher in History in El Colegio de México, and in the Centro de Estudios Históricos del Movimiento Obrero Mexicano (CEHSMO) and has occupied several executive positions at the Archivo General de la Nación, working on historical archives, preparing documentary exhibits and videos regarding Mexican history and the Mexican labor movement. Amanda worked also as a consultant in private archives, as Chief of Official Publications Office during Carlos Salinas de Gortari regime, Director of Records management of the Legal Issues Office of Government Secretary etc.

HORNIMAN MUSEUM AND GARDENS, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM JANET VITMAYER has

worked in UK museums since 1976, with a strong focus on public engagement. As Director since 1999, she has guided the Horniman Museum and Gardens through a major transformation, including trebling visitor numbers, extending the museum and redeveloping its Gardens. Janet serves the wider UK museum sector through the Women Leaders in Museums Network, as Trustee of the Collections Trust, the Hunterian Collection and as a Visitor to the University of Oxford (Pitt Rivers Museum). She was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2011, for services to Museums.

STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM AND WINTER PALACE, ST.PETERSBURG, RUSSIA

Dr ELENA MALOZYOMOVA graduated in 2002 from St.Petersburg State University, Faculty of Oriental Studies, with bachelor degree in Iranian philology and master degree in Asian culture. In 2008 Elena defended thesis on Iranian Arms of IX-XIX centuries and acquired doctorial degree in history and anthropology. Since 2006 she is a stuff member of the State Hermitage museum, Educational Department. Currently curator of educational programs on Middle Eastern art, Elena is author of scientific and methodological articles.

MUSEUM AAN DE STROOM, ANTWERP, BELGIUM CARL DEPAUW,

previously research assistant at the Museum Plantin-Moretus and the Stedelijk Prentenkabinet, became Keeper of Prints and Drawings there in 1987. He was responsable for various exhibitions on 16th and 17th century prints and drawings, and published numerous articles, catalogues and books in this field. 1998-99 he worked as exhibitions curator and exhibition secretary at Antwerpen Open. Since 2000 Carl became Director at the Rubens House. There he produced several exhibitions and - in 2004 became artistic director of a event focussed on Rubens’ art in 2004. Since 2004 he is director of MAS.

SHORT BIOGRAPHIES

SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES, MEXICO CITY, MEXICO

SHORT BIOGRAPHIES

ÉCOMUSÉE DU FIER MONDE, MONTREAL, CANADA

RENÉ BINETTE is the director of the Écomusée du fier monde, which defines itself as a history museum and a “musée citoyen”. One of its founding members, he has been associated with the institution since the early 1980s. He is a lecturer at Université du Québec � Montréal. René is a member of the board of directors of the Canadian Museums Association, the Société des musées du Québec, and the Board of Montreal Museum Directors.

He became a Fellow of the Canadian Museums Association in 2013 and received the Barbara A. Tyler Award in Museum Leadership in 2014.

SUZHOU MUSEUM, SUZHOU, CHINA

After graduation with doctorate degree from Chinese modern history major in Soochow University LI ZHE, currently head of PR department at Suzhou, specializes on subjects like public service and social education.

He has been doing academic research on museum science, volunteer service and education and local historical culture for a long period. With deep thought on related professional projects, he has published several theses on national and provincial academic magazines.

SHANXI MUSEUM, TAIYUAN, CHINA

The director since 2005, SHI JINMING is also a professor of Paleolithic archaeology at Shanxi University, as well as the vice-chairman of Chinese Museums Association and the vice-president of the Chinese Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Previously he worked in Shanxi Provincial institute of Archaeology for historical study and archaeological excavations. He engaged in prehistoric archaeology and museology and directed many very important archaeological excavations in China. The scientific excavation of Shizi Tan Paleolithic Site was awarded Top 10 Greatest New Archaeological Discoveries in 2002 and National Prize in 2003.

FRAM MUSEUM / SARNER INTERNATIONAL LTD, OSLO, NORWAY

ROSS MAGRI is the managing director of Sarner Int. and leads the design and technical team. A senior design professional with many years’ experience in the museum, corporate and leisure field, he has 25 years’ experience in the industry is an invaluable resource to any project. GEIR KL�VER, museum director since 2005, published 15 books on Norwegian polar expeditions and has been engaged in smaller and larger projects since his student days.

From 1997 to 2005 he worked as Project Director for a Norwegian human rights NGO.

LEONOR SÁ was the museum curator responsible for the “Portuguese Judiciary Police Museum” since 1993. She has a degree and a master degree in Literary Studies, a post graduation in Museum Studies (traineeship at Ecomuseum de la Haute Bausse, Quebec, Canada) and is currently finishing her PhD in Cultural Studies at the Portuguese Catholic University in Lisbon. Leonor has created and coordinated interdisciplinary projects for the protection of the Portuguese cultural heritage which were awarded at a national and international level. She has published various articles and presented numerous papers in Portugal and abroad.

SETAGAYA LITERARY MUSEUM, TOKYO, JAPAN

YOSHIHIKO OTAKE has been Curator of Setagaya Literary Museum since 2008. He organized several cross-genre exhibitions including “Seiichi Horiuchi: Designs, Journeys, and Picture Books” (2009), “Makoto Wada: Books and Movies” (2011), “A SHOP THAT SELLS STARS: strange exhibition of craft ebbing & co.” (2014). From 2003 to 2008, he worked at Setagaya Art Museum as Associate Curator of three annexes of the museum.

FOREST OF SAINT FRANCIS, ASSISI, ITALY LUCA CHIARINI studied

Economics at the University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’.

He was in charge of planning and control at Telecom Italia Company from 1993 to 2001, spending the last three years in Madrid working for a spanish branch. He started working at FAI in 2002 as a volunteer in the Rome team, where he was in charge of the cultural program and special events. From 2007 to 2011, he was responsible for promotion of events and fundraising at Villa Gregoriana Park (FAI property in Tivoli). He has been the FAI Property Manager of the Bosco di San Francesco since 2011.

YAROSLAVL ART MUSEUM, YAROSLAV, RUSSIA ALLA KHATYUKHINA is

the director since 2008. Under her guidance the museum confirmed its leadership within the regional museum community, developed educational, scientific activities and produced many innovative projects. In 2009 Alla participated in museumification project Peter and Paul Sloboda, which won the Netherlands Embassy grant. In 2010 the Yaroslavl Art Museum received the presidential grant for an exposition The 20th Century Art. In 2013 the museum won the competition Changeable Museum in Changeable World, at the festival Intermuseum the project Seminarians in the Museum considered the best in the nomination Rare Guest.

SHORT BIOGRAPHIES

SOS AZULEJO PROJECT, LOURES, PORTUGAL

SHORT BIOGRAPHIES

CHRISTCHURCH ART GALLERY: OUTER SPACES, CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND

JENNY HARPER has been Director of Christchurch Art Gallery since 2006.

Before this she worked at Victoria University of Wellington, developing the Art History programme and establishing the Adam Art Gallery and, from 2000, as head of a new school of Art History, Classics and Religious Studies. In 2003, she was appointed Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Academic). She was Director of the former National Art Gallery in Wellington, becoming also Director of Art & History at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Jenny was Commissioner for New Zealand’s presentation at the Venice Biennale from 2009-2013.

IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE IN THE PROGRAMME

GAËL DE GUICHEN, FRANCE

A chemical engineer by training, Gaël de Guichen began his professional career as a scientific officer at the Cave of Lascaux. In 1969 he was called to Rome at the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), where he has made his career. Besides other duties he was Director of “collections” unit, and assistant to four consecutive Directors-generals of ICCROM. He launched three major programs: 1975 to 1991 “Safeguarding”; from 1985 to 2000 Prema-prevention in African- museums and 1990-2001 “Media Save Art” designed to raise public awareness of the fragility of heritage. For more than a decade he was actively participating in the work of ICOM. He has made more than five hundred missions, most of them for teaching in ICCROM member countries. He is currently Advisor to the Director-General of ICCROM.

JOHN SELL, UNITED KINGDOM

John Sell is the Executive Vice-President of Europa Nostra and the chairman of The Best in Heritage Advisory Board. Member of RIBA from 1973, he holds Accredited Architect Graduate diploma in Building conservation. John Sell worked on many projects across Europe as consultant, architect and advisor, contributed to and started many heritage and conservation projects. He holds several voluntary and advisory positions in UK and abroad, such as Chairman of Society for the protection of Ancient Buildings, assessor of conservation grants to the Getty programme etc. He wrote several publications and lectured extensively throughout Europe.

SHORT BIOGRAPHIES

Keynote speaker and Moderators

SHORT BIOGRAPHIES

TAJA VOVK VAN GAAL, BELGIUM

An Historian, Sociologist and Museum Adviser, Taja Vovk van Gaal is since 2001 the Leader of the Academic Project Team of House of European History at the European Parliament. Formerly the Director of the City Museum of Ljubljana, where she led the largest investment in cultural projects in the city with the renovation of a museum- palace as well as the preparation of its permanent exhibition. Taja Vovk van Gaal was the author/curator of many exhibitions and articles, and member of the board of different professional national and international organisations. From 2006 - 2010 she was Head of Support at European Cultural Foundation and from 1999 - 2011 Judge of the European Museum of the Year Award and Member of the Board of Trustees of the European Museum Forum, currently of Europeana.

DR ANNE-CATHERINE ROBERT-HAUGLUSTAIN, FRANCE

Dr Anne Catherine Robert-Hauglustaine was appointed as Director General of ICOM at the 127th session of the Executive Council in December 2013. She started her new position at ICOM 1st of May 2014. With a Ph.D. in history of science and technology from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) she was Deputy Director of the Jardin des Sciences of the University of Strasbourg and Vice-President of European Science Events Association (Eusea). She is Professor at the University Paris 1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne.

During her term as board member (2007-2010), then chairperson (2010-2013) of ICOM’s International Committee for Exhibition Exchange (ICEE), Dr Robert-Hauglustaine was involved in various international exhibition projects and wrote several books on history of science and exhibitions.

DR WIM DE VOS, BELGIUM

Born in Mechelen, Wim de Vos has a PhD in History of Literature, Specialisation in Semiotics. Formerly he was in charge of the outreach activities of the Royal Library of Belgium and communication Manager of the Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels. Currently he is Senior Advisor in Communication and Museums at the Federal Science Policy Office. He is also member of the Executive Council of ICOM and Chair of the Judging Panel of the European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA).

In paraphrasing the famous formula that changed the world, we will use it here to create a different interpretation that will provoke a change in the domain of (public) memory, museums, monuments. Only through the insistence of communicating the values we stand for, can we create momentum in the heritage movement.

EUROPEAN HERITAGE ASSOCIATION Š

ALBERT EINSTEIN DURING A LECTURE IN VIENNA IN 1921. PHOTO: FERDINAND SCHMUTZER.

E = excellence m = memory, museums, monuments c = communication, collaboration

THE EXCELLENCE CLUB

The Excellence Club Listed below are museums, heritage and conservation projects which have been presented in Dubrovnik in the past twelve years, joined by the new members - the projects being presented in September 2014.

To be invited they must have received a reward for outstanding quality of their achievements in the previous year. Our is the rightful claim that they are supposed to be the cutting edge of what the heritage profession(s) can offer.

The idea is to let them share their success story with an eager international audience.

We give them opportunity to spread their fame and gain further, well deserved recognition for their achievements.

The accumulation of such positive, constructive efforts, so evidently recognized by the fellow professionals and the wider public, has achieved such a coherence that it deserved a name. Therefore, we named this collection The Excellence Club. It is an informal, but real club.

The collection is a remarkable one: some 250 projects strong. All we want is to make it more evident, accessible and used: by heritage professionals or those who are being educated for heritage professions.

Thus The Best in Heritage Excellence Club will further grow to become a indispensable search engine for all those who wish to ex-

plore the changing ideas of what constitutes excellence in museums, heritage and conservation in practice.

...being present at MPTExpo2014, Xiamen, China 2014 International Exposition of Museum and Relevant Products and Technologies” (MPT-Expo2014), a biennial fair started in 2004 for museums and related fields will take will take place from 23 to26 November, 2014, in Xiamen city, Fujian Province, China.

This event is organized by the Chinese Museums Association (CMA) in cooperation of various partners in China. With highest appreciation for the contributions that Best in Heritage has made to the international museum and heritage fields, CMA invited BIH’s representatives to the Xiamen event during which presentations on the project will be given to the Chinese and international museum professionals, both by a keynote speech and a booth. More significantly, further cooperation between CMA and Best in Heritage will be communicated and developed on this occasion.

...and at EXPONATEC Fair in Cologne in 2015 The opportunity and value we have created caught the attention of the organizers of Exponatec, probably the most important international fair for Museums, Conservation and Heritage in the world held biannually at Koelnmesse, Cologne, Germany. It has led to an interesting partnership. We were convinced from the outset that good equipment, excellent tools and technical solutions are essential to our professional success.

They can energize the excellence we are supporting. The suppliers can be astonishingly well informed about our profession, but they still learn from us and are also inspired by our ambitions. Exponatec gives us the op-

Excellence Club Members: >>Improve a Heritage Site - Norwegian Heritage Foundation, Vaga, Norway >>Hunan Provincial Museum, ChangSha, China >>Estonian Maritime Museum: Seaplane Harbour, Tallinn, Estonia >>Natuurmuseum Fryslân, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands >>Number 2 Blast Furnace, Sagunto, Spain >>Immigration Museum “Identity: yours, mine, ours”, Melbourne, Australia >>Riverside Museum, Glasgow, Scotland >>Magritte Museum, Bruxelles, Belgium >>Children’s Centre for Civilisation & Creativity, Cairo, Egypt >>Leighton House Museum, London, United Kingdom >>State A.S. Pushkin Museum, Moscow, Russia >>Municipal Museum of Penafiel, Penafiel, Portugal >>“Driving America” - The Henry Ford, Dearborn, United States >>Crossing Cultures: Transforming the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, United Kingdom >>“Human Library” - Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Canada >>Glasnevin Museum, Dublin, Ireland >>Tropenmuseum Junior, Amsterdam, The Netherlands >>Hamamatsu Museum of Musical Instruments, Hamamatsu-City, Japan >>The Seaweed Bank, Laæs�, Denmark >>Mbaru Niang, Flores Island, Indonesia

>>Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum – Kulturen der Welt, Cologne, Germany >>National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland >>Windmills of the Monastery of St.John the Theologian, Patmos, Greece >>TOPIC: the International Puppet Museum Centre, Tolosa, Spain >>Gallo-Romeins Museum, Tongeren, Belgium >>Historic Building Conservation Programme – Weald & Downland Open Air Museum, Chichester, UK >>The State Textile and Industry Museum (TIM), Augsburg, Germany >>The Kizhi State Open-Air Museum of Cultural History and Architecture, Petrozavodsk, Russia >>New Acropolis Museum, Athens, Greece >>4 grada Dragodid.org, Komiža, Croatia >>The Intan, Singapore >>Antwerp Central Station, Antwerp, Belgium >>Norwegian Museum of Science, Technology and Medicine, Oslo, Norway >>Museu do Papel, Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal >>Baojiatun Watermill in Guizhou Province, China >>Watersnoodmuseum, Owerkerk, Netherlands >>MuseoTorino, Torino, Italy >>Swedish Air Force Museum, Linköping, Sweden >>Heart for People’s Cafes, in Flanders and Brussels, Ghent, Belgium >>Martello Media Ltd, Dublin, Ireland >>Sumda Chun Gonpa, Leh, India >>Neues Museum, Berlin, Germany >>“Brothers and Sisters”- Streetmuseum, Museum of London, London, UK >>Church of St. George, Shipcka, Albania >>National Archives of Australia, Canberra, Australia

THE EXCELLENCE CLUB

portunity to learn about the performance of technological, technical and marketing solutions for our field. In November 2015 it will be the sixth time we join forces with them to demonstrate that the closer contact with suppliers makes our job easier and more attractive. Save the date: 18. – 20. November 2015... www.exponatec.de

THE EXCELLENCE CLUB

>>“In Search of the Canadian Car” Canada Science and Technology Museum, Ottawa, Canada >>Artzuid – Sculptures and Architecture in Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands >>Museum of Portim�o, Portim�o, Portugal >>The Workshops Rail Museum, North Ipswich, Australia >>Tarbat Discovery Programme, Rossshire, Scotland >>Hôpital Notre-Dame � la Rose”, Lessines, Belgium >>The NTNU Museum of Natural History and Archaeology, Trondheim, Norway >>Science Center NEMO, Amsterdam, The Netherlands >>Museu Agbar de les Aigües, Cornell� de Llobregat, Spain >>Ozeaneum, Stralsund, Germany >>The Medical Museion, Copenhagen, Denmark) >>UNESCO Bangkok / Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, Asia - Pacific >>Museum of Contraception and Abortion, Vienna, Austria >>Ulster Museum, Belfast, Northern Ireland >>Museum Victoria, Melbourne, Australia >>Discovering the Museum – Brukenthal National Museum, Sibiu, Romania >>Faith in Maintainance- SPAB, London, UK >>The Letters Project, Amsterdam, The Netherlands >>The Baerwaldbad - Conservation through Vocational Training, Berlin, Germany >>The Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam, The Netherlands >>Technical Museum in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic >>NUKU Museum of Puppet Arts, Tallinn, Estonia >>Museum of Natural History - Neuchâtel, Switzerland >>Zeeuws Museum - Middelburg, Netherlands

>>Museum of the Jaeren Region - Narbo, Norway >>The Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre - Nuneaton, Leicestershire UK >>Open Air Museum - Arnhem, Nederlands >>Idrija Municipal Museum - Idrija, Slovenia >>Salzburg Museum - Salzburg, Austria >>D.D. Studio - Riga, Latvia >>Kerry County Museum - Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland >>Craftattract project - Museums of Hrvatsko zagorje - Gornja Stubica, Croatia >>BELvue Museum - Brussels, Belgium >>Mátra Museum - Gyöngyös, Hungary >>The Pier Arts Centre - Orkney, UK >>Sustainable Aegean Programme - Crete and the Aegean Islands, Greece >>Maison du patrimoine médiéval mosan Bouvignes, Belgium >>Culture Ants project - Istanbul, Turkey >>Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian - Washington, United States >>Robbers’ Paradise or “The European Museum of Overseas Stolen Treasures Amsterdam, Netherlands >>A Mediated Window to the Stockholm Art and Industry Fair of 1897 - Stockholm, Sweden >>Art Museum of Estonia - Talinn, Estonia >>Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, United States >>Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience Moher, Ireland >>Europa Nostra - The Hague, Netherlands >>Cultural Tourism Development Center “City-Museum” - Kolomna, Russia >>Fondation des Clefs de St-Pierre Geneve, Switzerland >>Hunebedcentrum - Borger, The Netherlands >>IMTAL Europe Board of Directors - Paris, France >>Liebermann-Villa am Wannsee - Berlin, Germany

>>Museum the Menkemaborg, Uithuizen, Netherlands >>Archeological Museum Narona, Vid Metkovic, Croatia >>National Library of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland >>Professor Amareswar Galla: Ha Long Ecomuseum, Australia / Vietnam >>CosmoCaixa / Fundació “la Caixa”, Barcelona, Spain >>ss Great Britain Trust, Bristol, UK >>UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards, UNESCO Bangkok, Thailand >>Tom Tits Experiment, Södertälje, Sweden >>Omeriye Ottoman Baths, Nicosia, Cyprus >>Juminkeko Foundation, Kuhmo, Finland >>Hat Industry Museum, Sao Joao da Madeira, Portugal >>Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, London, United Kingdom >>International Cultural Center and Museum - IKM, Oslo, Norway >>Museum of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium >>Kew Bridge Steam Museum, Brentford London, United Kingdom >>Fremantle Prison - The Convict Establishment, Fremantle, Western Australia >>University of Art & Design Helsinki (UIAH), Media Lab, Helsinki, Finland >>Museum of Literature Petofi, Budapest, Hungary >>National Museum of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland >>Mr. Tjebbe van Tijen / Imaginary Museum Projects, Amsterdam, Netherlands >>Netherlands Open Air Museum, Arnhem, Netherlands >>Big Pit, National Mining Museum of Wales, Blaenafon, UK >>Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki, Greece >>The National Library of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic

THE EXCELLENCE CLUB

>>Manx National Heritage - Isle of Mann, British Isles >>Museum of History of Catalonia Barcelona, Spain >>Svalbard Museum – Norway >>The Museum of Communication - Bern, Switzerland >>The National Institute for the Protection and Conservation of Monuments and Sites - Praha, Czech Republic >>The Science Museum at the University of Coimbra - Coimbra, Portugal >>Transylvania Trust - Romania >> XXI Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquites of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism - Athens, Greece >>German Emigration Center / Deutsches Auswandererhaus, Bremerhaven, Germany >>Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, United Kingdom >>International Museum of the Reformation, Geneva, Switzerland >>Sarica Church, Cappadocia, Turkey >>Mourne Homesteads - Mourne Heritage Trust, Newcastle, Co. Down, Northern Ireland >>Biskupin Archaeological Museum, Biskupin, Poland >>The Abbey of Klosterneuburg, Klosterneuburg, Austria >>Triglav National Park - The Pocar Farmhouse, Slovenia >>The Workshops Rail Museum / Queensland Museum, North Ipswich, Australia >>State Borodino War and History MuseumReserve, Borodino, Russia >>Museum Centre of Hordaland, Salhus, Norway >>Royal Museums of Art and History, Cinquantenaire Museum, Brussels, Belgium >>National Museums Liverpool, World Museum, Liverpool, United Kingdom

THE EXCELLENCE CLUB

>>Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, UCL, London, UK >>Tr�ndelag Folkemuseum, Sverresborg, Trondheim, Norway >>Casa Batlló - A. Gaudí, Barcelona, Spain >>Varusschlacht im Osnabrücker Land Museum und Park Kalkriese, Kalkriese, Germany >>The Heathland Centre, Lygra, Norway >>Bauska Castle Museum, Bauska, Latvia >>Värmlands Museum, Karlstad, Sweden >>The M. A. Sholokhov State MuseumReserve, Veshenskaya, Russia >>Locomotion: the National Railway Museum at Shildon, Shildon, UK >>Technical Museum, Brno, Czech Republic >>No 1 Pump Station, Mundaring Weir, Western Australia >>Stichting Monumentenzorg Curaçao, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles >>Museum of Nature of Buryatiya, UlanUde, Russia >>Continuum Group, York, UK >>Caesarea development corp. ltd., Caesarea old city, Israel >>Landesmuseum Joanneum / Kunsthaus Graz, Graz, Austria >>Vapaavuori Architects / Pekka Vapaavuori >>The James Putnam Organization >>Archaeological Museum of Alicante, Alicante, Spain >>Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, Scotland >>Trakya University Sultan Bayazid II Kulliye Health Care Museum, Edirne, Turkey >>The Ulster Folk & Transport Museum, Belfast, Northern Ireland >>Joe Alon Center - The Museum of Bedouin Culture, Israel >>The House of Terror Museum, Budapest, Hungary >>Old Paper Mill Complex, Warsaw, Poland >>L’Arno Racconta, Florence, Italy >>Landscape Park of the Secovlje SaltPans, Piran, Slovenia >>Midt-Troms Museum, Norway

>>Museum of Folkart and Tradition, Spittal / Drau, Austria >>Museums to Discover, Société des Musées Québécois, Canada >>The Avesta Works, Sweden >>Varazdin City Museum : CD ROM Insects, Varazdin, Croatia >>Zagreb City Museum : CD ROM The Dictates of the Time, Zagreb, Croatia >>Desht-i-Art Centre - Minus Six. Exhibition about GULAG, Karaganda, Kazakhstan >>Museum of P.V. Kuznetsov - The Trace of the Garden, Russia >>The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield, IL,USA >>Domvs Romana project - Heritage Malta, Rabat, Malta >>The Worker’s Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark >>Andrew Hunter: 11 Fishermen - Lalla Rookh: A poetic Archive >>Antenna Audio International >>Victoria and Albert Museum >>Moderna Museet ( Stockholm, Sweden) >>Canadian Museum of Nature >>National Centre for Citizenship and the Law, Galleries of Justice, Nottingham >>The Goulandris Natural History Museum - Greece >>Laténium, Park and Museum of Archaeology (Hauterive, Switzerland) >>Ær�sk�bing, ÆR� Island, Denmark >>Museo del Aceite “El Lagar del Mudo” en San Felices de los Gallegos. >>National Museum of Ireland - Museum of Country Life (Mayo, Ireland) >>Slovenski verski muzej >>Western Australian Maritime Museum (Australia) >>Museum of Textil And Clothing Industry (Textilmuseum) >>The Karelian State Regional Museum (Karelia, Russia) >>Etnografski muzej Split >>Buryat Historical Museum, Ulan-Ude, Buryatia

>>Segedunum Roman Fort /Tyne and Wear Museums/, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK >>Krasnoyarsk Regional Museum, Krasnoyarsk, Russia >>Lions Home, Nicosia, Cyprus >>Theatre Museum, Helsinki, Finland >>Rushean Abbey - Manx National Heritage, Isle of Man >>Coal Mine Museum, Velenje, Slovenia >>Hungarian Open Air Museum, Szentendre, Hungary >>Science Museum, London, UK >>NS Dokumentationszentrum, Koeln, Germany >>J.M. Humbert: Review of the world’s awarded projects by AVICOM >>National Palace web site, Taipei, Taiwan >>L.N.Tolstoy Museum, Yasnaya Polyana, Russia >>Space City, Toulouse, France >>La Piscine, Museum of Art and Industry, Roubaix, France >>Haus der Musik, Wienna, Austria >>Runkelstein Castle, Bozen /Bolzano, Italy >>Liverpool Football Club Museum and Tour Centre, Liverpool, UK >>Visions form museums, Stockholm, Sweden >>Gernika Peace Museum, Basque Country, Spain >>Damir Fabijanić: Dubrovnik before and after - a photographer’s view >>Julian Walker (presentation of art projects)

THE EXCELLENCE CLUB

>>Shetland Amenity Trust >>Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée (Marseille, France) >>Michael Pinsky: “Exhibition PONTIS at Segedunum museum” >>The Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, Ireland >>Duna Museum - Danube Museum, Esztergom, Hungary >>Almond Valley Heritage Trust, West Lothian, Scotland, UK >>Buddenbrook-House, Lübeck, Germany >>Museum of Recent History Celje, Celje, Slovenia >>Museum of Ceramics of Sacavém, Loures, Portugal >>Het Huis van Alijn, Gent, Belgium >>Musée de la civilisation, Québec, Canada >>Rotorua Museum of Art and History, Rotorua, New Zeland >>Museum Rhein-Schauen, Lustenau, Austria >>The Kierikki Stone Age Centre, Yli-Ii, Finland >>The Karl Ernst Osthaus Museum Hagen, Hagen, Germany >>Imperial War Museum North, Manchester, UK >>Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia >>Museu Paulista da Universidade de S�o Paulo, S�o Paulo, Brasil >>Svendborg & Omegns Museum, Svendborg, Denmark >>Alimentarium Food Museum, Vevey, Switzerland >>The Herring Era Museum, Siglufjörřur, Iceland >>James Putnam (the author of the book “The Museum as Medium”), London, UK >>Hellenic Cosmos, Athens, Greece >>National Railway Museum, York, United Kingdom >>Anne Frank House, Amsterdam, Netherlands >>Zagreb City Museum, Zagreb, Croatia

THE EXCELLENCE CLUB

Congratulations to the new members, projects presented at The Best in Heritage 2014 conference!

>>European Museum Forum / Council of Europe Museum Prize 2013 laureate Museum of Liverpool , Liverpool, United Kingdom >>EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award 2013 winner Irish Walled Towns Network Educational Programme, Kilkenny, Ireland >>European Museum Forum / Kenneth Hudson Award 2013 Batalha’s Municipal Community Museum, Dam�o e Diu – Batalha, Portugal >>European Museum Academy - Micheletti Award 2013 laureate Museum of Military History of Bundeswehr, Dresden, Germany >>National Medal for Museum and Library Service 2013 winner Delta Blues Museum, Clarksdale, United States >>European Museum Academy - 2013 Children’s Museums Award Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia, United States >>Art Fund Prize Museum of the Year 2013 William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow, United Kingdom >>EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award 2013 laureate Propylaea Central Building, Acropolis, Athens, Greece >>Museums Australia (Victoria) Award for Large Museums 2013 laureate Australian Centre for Moving Image, Victoria, Australia

>>EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award 2013 winner King’s Cross Station, London, United Kingdom >>European Museum Academy Prize 2013 laureate Europeana Foundation, The Hague, The Netherlands >>UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize 2013 winner Support for Development of Archives and Libraries, Mexico City, Mexico >>Telegraph Family Friendly Museum Award 2013 Horniman Museum and Gardens, London, United Kingdom >>TripAdvisor 2013 Travelers’ Choice - Top Museums of the World, No.1 State Hermitage Museum and Winter Palace, St.Petersburg, Russia >>European Museum Forum / Silletto Prize 2013 Museum aan de Stroom, Antwerp, Belgium >>2013 Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Museums: History Alive! winner Écomusée du fier monde, Montreal, Canada >>Chinese Museum Association - Most innovative Museums Award 2013 Suzhou Museum, Suzhou, China >>Chinese Museum Association - Most innovative Museums Award 2013 Shanxi Museum, Taiyuan, China

MEMBER'S PLAQUE

>>Museums + Heritage Awards 2013 International Award Fram Museum / Sarner International Ltd, Oslo, Norway >>EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award 2013 laureate SOS Azulejo Project, Loures, Portugal >>Japan Foundation for Regional ArtActivities Grand Prize for Museum 2013 Setagaya Literary Museum, Tokyo, Japan >>EU Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Award 2013 laureate Forest of Saint Francis, Assisi, Italy >>ICOM Russia Award 2013 laureate Yaroslav Art Museum, Yaroslav, Russia >>New Zealand 2013 Museum Awards laureate for Art exhibition Christchurch Art Gallery: Outer Spaces, Christchurch, New Zealand

THE EXCELLENCE CLUB

COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF ALL THE EXCELLENCE CLUB MEMBERS WITH PROJECT INFORMATION AND ENCLOSED LINKS TO THEIR WEB DOMAINS IS AVAILABLE AT: HTTP://WWW.THEBESTINHERITAGE. COM/EXCELLENCE-CLUB/MEMBERS/

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MNEMOSOPHIA SERIES1

Some Trends And Tendencies In The Public Memory Domain TOMISLAV S. ŠOLA

The Best in Heritage was founded upon a conviction that, as a survey of excellent practices, it contributes to a profession coming of age. Ever since the appearance of libraries, archives and museums we have witnessed the logical, yet somewhat counterproductive process of endless specialisation. This process turned naturally into all three of them staking a claim for the predominance of their own particular theory (or science as their most adamant protagonists say), their legislation, and (consequently) their profession. In much the same way, the institutional sector of conservation alighted upon a method for saving places and objects of concern for public memory. It became an autonomous institutional system and acquired its own theory based upon conspicuous, indeed, hard practice. By this time, it also gained communicational and organisational qualities as challenges and expectations have risen. Like the other three, this occupation 1 BESIDES THE TEXT OF THE ANNUAL KEYNOTE SPEECH, FROM THIS YEAR ON WE SHALL OFFER A CONTRIBUTION TO THE CONFERENCE. MNEMOSOPHY IS A PROVOCATIVE TERM FOR A POSSIBLE SCIENCE OF HERITAGE OR, TAKEN MORE STRICTLY, OF PUBLIC MEMORY. THE AIM IS TO OFFER A WINDOW INTO THE FUTURE MAKING TENDENCIES AS WE UNDERSTAND THEM OR PERCEIVE THEM PRESENTED AT THE CONFERENCE. THIS TEXT IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE YET UNPUBLISHED BOOK “MNEMOSOPHY – NOTES ON THE SCIENCE OF PUBLIC MEMORY”.

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was faced by demands to serve life in an obvious and effective way, to become a part of development. All four missed realising that they are not professions in their own right but particular occupations within the whole heritage sector. Regarded as divisions of the same “army” this is hardly an underestimate but rather a call for a brighter future. With their ranks so deeply divided, they are now latecomers on the global stage where professions exercise their contributions.

Whether a grand profession or not, these areas of collecting, care and communication of heritage certainly possess the proven capacity of cross-fertilising experiences and share the same basic conceptual and societal objectives. If for a moment we look at ourselves with the eyes of the citizens that we serve, we shall see that they hardly care for our divisions and readily welcome our concerted action.

1. Notes On The Nature Of The World In spite of its divinely rich capacities the world is turning (too much and too often) into an ugly and dangerous place. The end of the Cold War turned into another peril and barely two decades later, the world is probably facing an unprecedented decline in the quality of the human condition. The makers of history, the governing forces of globalisation impose privatisation, deregulation and the pursuit of wealth as the ultimate aim of human society.

Our time is The Age of Great Greed toppled by misusing resources, amassing power in all its perilous forms, be it making wars or turning everything, including culture and heritage, further into marketable goods, until the paroxysm, absurdity. As heritage is about value systems and their selective continuation, we may perceive that the criteria of quality, generally speaking, are endangered.

The post-modern paradigm “anything goes”

The traditional economy and politics proved unsuccessful in providing a balanced development. Once public memory professionals reach maturity, they will be able to negotiate a position for their mission within the scope of a fourth sector, - the very one that poses arguments for rethinking capitalism. “Natural capitalism”2 is a proposal, but still more a sign of a new consciousness that may arise as a new practice even with no name on it. The point is that responsible entrepreneurship is a a possibility. Instead of a fixation on ever-growing profit, the goal is multiple: the positive margin is an objective but on condition that the public interest (safe environment, content workers) is made an equal priority. Work-intensive and low energy economies will be slower but the quality of life must become a priority societal strategy.

What the conventional capitalism-gone-wild achieved was the closest position to global breakdown. It also proved to be fatal to the spiritual sphere and culture as its social practice, by treating it as yet another area of commoditisation. The owners of economic potential, however, have come to realise that business has a paradoxical task to encourage and sustain a spiritual society, - as any other leads to disaster. The irony is that the fourth sector’s value system, the one in which the world will re-integrate, will have to play the role always assigned to ideologies.

It will support the vision of a civil, open society, no longer as a gimmick but as the only reliable reality. The highly globalised society nearly brought us to self-destruction, as communism failed in bolshevism and capitalism sank into speculation and plunder.

Of course, any analysis of the sort remains 2 HAWKEN, PAUL; LOVINS, AMORY B.; HUNTER LOVINS, L. NATURAL CAPITALISM – THE NEXT INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. LITTLE, BROWN & COMPANY, 1999.

subject to a democratic debate and consensus. However, we should (re-)turn to the vision of a spiritual society in which common wealth is the core of the value system and the contribution to it the measure of social (hopefully also individual) success. An active public memory defined in its contents by humanist ethics might decisively help in turning the world into a decent place.

The world in trouble needs its professions, old and newly conceived to match the appearing challenges: efficient, socially responsible, creative and brave. Professions were created as ways of dealing with shortcomings and ideals as they have appeared or developed.

Their autonomy, expertise and status in society have always been the demonstration of responsible development. There has never been a profession that could unite the different institutional facets of public memory, the one used in managing society as a part of its guiding mechanism. Like never before, we face challenges that require synoptic, strategic answers about the proper use of our collective, social and public memory. All that has consequences for any individual.

For the moment, the memory of humanity is arranged, prioritised and manipulated to suit political interests. It is misused to engineer public consent for purposes irrelevant or contrary to the public interest. The false elites fabricate chaos and control societies by an ill-conceived vulgarized process of mass democracy thus preventing citizens from understanding their past and deciding their present. This, of course, greatly exceeds the capacities of the public memory sector, no matter how well conceived or organised it may be or become. But the point is that they do their part. The only way forward is by building a strong, new profession of public memory able to moderate these processes of remembrance, recall and consequent narratives. In the decline of modern THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 127

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(formerly applied to the arts) has been misused to acquire the meaning “nothing matters” (as relating to values).

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society we can be part of the solution. We can also commit a sin of omission, as the result of not doing something as a good understanding of our mission and ethical stance would command. Whether we see only our institution or we perceive the whole, it seems that any form of community or a group possesses its inherent but purposefully built and manageable memory. Once the grand sector of public memory institutions is united into a profession with all its attributes, - the power of its arguments and influence upon developmental processes, will be able to assist the social project and improve the human condition.

First, we have to understand the world of today and the needs of its people. Then we must be able to produce counter-active impulses to lessen the threats, correct the wrongs and adapt to changes. We must become part of the solution for modern society, a reliable friend, partner and support in hard times. Our relevance to the troubled world will decide whether our institutions will survive as a public service and, consequently, what will become of our great mission in society. When isolated we may see clearly the mission of our particular institution, but the point is that it ultimately makes sense as a shared project of all the institutions and actions in the domain of public memory. It is about the concerted beneficial influence that we can exercise upon the world we exist for, - whether we define it in terms of cultures, communities, groups or the individuals we serve.

Alas, the reality is testing our credibility and vision like never before. As the unbridled economy is channelling wealth towards a dissolute oligarchy, and the cultural domain becomes disregarded or ignored3, some insti3 ALISSANDRA CUMMINS, CHAIRPERSON OF THE UNESCO EXECUTIVE BOARD HAS TOLD OUR AUDIENCE AT THIS CONFERENCE IN DUBROVNIK IN 2013 THAT “CULTURE 128 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

tutions will be increasingly commercialised, privatised, forced into selling collections and assets, while others will be gradually reduced to inert, impoverished vegetation and abandonment. Once pushed into resignation, we shall be reducing the public services to a level when we become inefficient and unnecessary. Of course, a conscientious, great and strong profession (composed of diverse, specialist practices in its particular occupations) will resist the processes of disintegration and decadence. Such will be able to impose its own standards of scientific relevance, ethics and humanism, using knowledge as a means to wisdom. In brief, though the prospects are grim, the challenge is greater and the means are available to fight the risks to heritage occupations as well as to the society we stand for. This conference has been demonstrating for the last 12 years that we can respond to the challenges in a brave and creative way4.

Of course, examples abound and we are not fighting a lost cause5. Some museum exhibitions in The States have caused fierce public debates, as the scrutiny once reserved for artists and theatres has now expanded to museums and the ideas they represent which is a sign of the significance public memory acquires.

2. Some Trends In Museums We should readily listen to all sides, and share the information and achievement both of practitioners and theoreticians of all memory occupations. Much of the concerns IS INCREASINGLY CONSIDERED A DIRTY WORD”, EXPLAINING LATER IN A DISCUSSION THAT UNLIKE CULTURE, “EDUCATION STILL HAS A CHANCE”. IT MIGHT MEAN THAT THERE IS AN ATMOSPHERE OF ACCEPTING WHAT CAN BE LECTURED RATHER THAN WHAT OPENS UP THE MIND AND LIBERATES THE SPIRIT. 4 HTTP://WWW.THEBESTINHERITAGE.COM/ PRESENTATIONS/2013/ 5 DUBIN, STEVEN, C. DISPLAYS OF POWER: CONTROVERSY IN THE AMERICAN MUSEUM FROM THE ENOLA GAY TO SENSATION NYU PRESS, 1999.

2.1. MUSEUM FUNDING FROM FEDERAL AND STATE SOURCES, PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS HAS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED

Besides being a truly restrictive occurrence, receiving less money from weakened states and their declining administrations is an aggravating moment in financing heritage institutions that will hit Europe and other similar systems still harder8. Without the great 6 THE ABBREVIATION STANDS FOR ALL THE MEMORY OR HERITAGE INSTITUTIONS SUCH AS MUSEUMS, LIBRARIES, ARCHIVES,VIRTUAL MUSEUMS, CONSERVATION INSTITUTIONS AND SIMILAR OTHERS AS THEY RELY ENTIRELY OR PARTLY UPON THE WORKING PROCESS ARTICULATED AROUND COLLECTING, CARE AND COMMUNICATION.I HAVE BEEN WRITING EXTENSIVELY ON THE SUBJECT. 7 WALHIMER, MARK. FUTURE OF MUSEUMS MUSEUM PLANNING - MUSEUM TRENDS. MUSEUMS AND THE RECESSION HTTP://MUSEUMPLANNER.ORG/CATEGORY/MUSEUMTRENDS/; I HAVE CONSULTED THE AUTHOR FOR SOME CLARIFICATION BUT IN VAIN, SO SOME OF HIS THESES ARE SHORTENED TO SUIT MY UNDERSTANDING; ALTHOUGH THE DIRECT REFERENCE IS MADE TO NORTH AMERICAN MUSEUMS, THEIR EXAMPLE IS USUALLY VERY INSTRUCTIVE AS THAT COUNTRY IS SETTING MANY TRENDS AND MAY SERVE IN MANY WAYS AS A REMINDER OF OUR OWN FUTURE; 8 AS THE WORLD IS INCREASINGLY LAYERING, IT IS BECOMING HARDER TO ASSERT EVEN SCIENTIFIC CLAIMS FOR THE COUNTRIES PUSHED INTO OVERALL DESPERATION, - THE FORMERLY SO CALLED UNDERDEVELOPED WORLD WHICH WE NOW CYNICALLY CALL „EMERGING ECONOMIES“. SO, WE MUST FORGET FOR THE MOMENT THAT THEY FIGHT TO PRESERVE

tradition of private sponsorship, the lack of culture increases from its foundations, with scarcity and restraint in the economic realm, - culture is already being seriously deprived, receiving less support from budgets9. On the positive side, it will make heritage institutions and their employees re-think all their qualities and drawbacks to become a more attractive partner to potential financiers.

Theory can also advise a wise strategy for the sector and practical tactics for each institution towards new solutions and synergies10.

2.2. MANY MUSEUMS HAVE DECREASED STAFF, DECREASED OPEN HOURS OR CLOSED

Indeed, increasingly so. When there is no ready remedy for financial scarcity, cuts are the first measure. In the case of decreasing staff one would imagine that, often, especially in some countries where the state is still jauntily financing its institutions, such a measure is more then necessary. But it is the young that part their ways first, sometimes the restless and creative ones too, or those that are unprotected by connections and lobbies. That is also our problem: the profession is not there, not strong enough to manage the crisis in its own way. But as a rule, fewer hands mean fewer jobs done. Combined with the decreased hours of opening or the damaging image of an institution closed on what would generally be considered normal working times, it generates still less stringency and starts the circulus vitiosus. We simply must be better and more ready to cope with the problem, “outsourcing” part THEIR LIVES AND MEMORY, SOMETIMES EVEN FROM AGGRESSIVE DESTRUCTION. 9 FROM THE ROUGHLY 1% OF GDP WHAT IT CLAIMED USUALLY, CULTURAL SECTOR IN CROATIA HAS FALLEN IN 2014 TO THE MERE 0.49 %, CAUSING MAJOR DECREASE IN NUMBER AND QUALITY OF THE PROGRAMMES. THIS TENDENCY IS REALITY EVEN IN EU LET ALONE AREAS OF THE WORLD MORE EXPOSED TO THE RECESSION. 10 ŠOLA, TOMISLAV. VIRTUES AND QUALITIES, A CONTRIBUTION TO PROFESSIONALIZING THE HERITAGE, PROFESSION. THE BEST IN HERITAGE CONFERENCE PUBLICATION, PP.10-21. DUBROVNIK, 2011.

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and projections in the domain are shared and cross-fertilizing. Museums may serve as instructive examples being the most communicational and publicly exposed of all public memory institutions (PMIs)6. The tacit complaint is that theoreticians invent their theories and theses. Because that may be often the case, I will rely upon a list of trends of an experienced, regular practitioner out in the museum field7, which should be taken as a pragmatic and credible reminder. I take these ten theses (bolded text, bellow) as a challenge, adding to them my own explanations in an attempt to combine the practical experience they contain and a wider theoretical insight.

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of our job with volunteers and alliances, but the solution will always be in the well understood as marketing. Unlike what is taken for by the majority, marketing is less about successful selling and more about producing goods, needed products. Unfortunately, the closing of museums (once unthinkable) will become familiar news. As a profession we do not have ready answers and procedures to counteract or comply.

2.3. MUSEUM ADMISSION PRICES HAVE RISEN TO COVER OPERATING COSTS (ALTHOUGH SEVERAL MUSEUMS HAVE TAKEN A DIFFERENT APPROACH OF FREE ADMISSION AND BECOME MEMBERSHIP BASED)

Rising prices are bringing us closer to the obligatory self-financing mechanism and in the cultural domain that is wrong. Culture gives more than it is measurable and obvious so this attitude is generally dangerous for a society. The fine tissue of a value driven society is literally destroyed by the usual metrics increasingly imposed on all. We usually measure our success by the number of visitors we have attracted. It is good to be so perceived (as with the snobbish musts like, say Andy Warhol’s travelling exhibitions) but our primary aim is to turn our public wiser and nobler. How is that appraised? Only a good profession can impose its own measures11. Priests and theatre people have almost the same problem, and yet we all have to work towards our ideals. A hard-working, compassionate, noble, modest and creative musician is hardly worth a fraction of the “value” of a successful, self-absorbed, aggressive, relentless, intemperate and skilful stock exchange speculator, a so called “businessman”. What is then the crowd’s or mass media’s public value of a curator, librarian, archivist, conservator…?12 In brief, 11 THIS IS WHAT WE DEMONSTRATE HERE IN DUBROVNIK AS WE EXPOSE THE WORK OF DOZENS OF COMPETENT JURIES. 12 BY THE WAY, WHOEVER IN ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND OTHER SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS MUSEUMS HAS MADE AN EXHIBITION UPON THE VALUES OF PEOPLE AND THEIR 130 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

- culture, PMIs included, cannot be judged by the measures of economy, specially not the one that is entirely alienated from the process of creating values, from work itself.

Though uniformity is never the face of truth, generally speaking, the public memory sector should be prevalently publicly financed and perceived as fulfilling the right for culture. Therefore, free admission is an ideal goal for a secular civil society in a constant striving to become also a spiritual one. Bearing in mind that an entire culture spends hardly ever more than 1% of GDP, the PMIs participate in it with a fraction of overall expenditure. Economising public resources on such an expenditure is rather cynical, itself a result of excessive materialism and the hypocrisy of the present world. The practice of free admission in the UK demonstrates the awareness that the profits generated by PMIs are the least at their box office and are widely spread in their spin-off effects, with sometimes spectacular economic efficiency (Bilbao, Liverpool, Glasgow and many others)13. There is hardly any logic that mankind should develop towards increasing its dependence upon the priorities of any rich individual or corporation. In an inverse world the inversed logic appears a lamentable end of a long history of fighting for an equitable, noble society.

Some “official” organisations are also relying upon the most vibrant part of civil society, but guided by excellent professionals. This is a salutary blend of power represented by civic OCCUPATIONS AND PROFESSIONS IN SOCIETY? I KNOW THAT IT WOULD BE WELL VISITED. IT IS SURELY EASIER TO MAKE STILL ONE MORE ON SOME POOR DEVILS FROM OCEANIA WHO ARE FAR ENOUGH AWAY TO BE ONLY EXOTIC, THEIR DESTINY IGNORED AND THEIR OBJECTS TAKEN AWAY FROM THEM AS STILL ANOTHER POSH CURRENCY OF THE BLASÉ.

13 THE SO CALLED „CREATIVE CITIES“ HAVE SPREAD ACROSS THE PLANET WITH DOZENS OF CITIES PROVOKING IN VARIOUS WAYS THAT THE SYMBOLIC VALUES CAN BE TURNED INTO SOFA POWER AND EVEN CULTURAL DIPLOMACY TO TURN THOSE CITIES INTO SUCCESSFUL AND CONVINCING ENTERPRISES.

Outsourcing, when done out of logic, is having part of the job done where it costs less or is even better executed. When controlled well by a self-conscious profession (which is not the case now) outsourcing may happen also because of admitting the lack of an appropriate workforce or the lack of quality, especially in specific, specialist research. The new awareness of the nature of the working process, labour division, and higher efficiency will finally prevent so many relatively small museums still having permanent posts for a photographer, draftsman, PR or marketing matters15 , or designer, not to mention the claims of some curators that they, though working in a small museum, consider themselves scientists.

2.4. MUSEUMS ARE NOW DOING MORE WITH LESS INCOME, INCLUDING OUTSOURCING FORMER STAFF ROLES

2.5. MUSEUM AUDIENCES ARE NOW MORE DEMANDING

This is the circumstance which will not change but only become more evident and pressing. Better performance is one of the natural consequences of imposed restraints.

This is why the training in museums has gained so much importance and will eventually become obligatory albeit shorter and more compressed than some believed. If the “tsunami” of privatisation and impoverishment of the state leaves time, we shall also witness the birth of conceptual education, in the philosophy of the wide, mega-profession, including the mission, planning and proper understanding of the basic concepts that the public memory functions upon. It will propose and assure the apprehension of axioms of the new situation: museums are processes of transfer of the collective and public experience; most have the form of institutions but not necessarily all; most objects are intangible (in their meaning) but some take a physical form.

14 HTTP://WWW.ENGLISH-HERITAGE.ORG.UK/UPLOAD/ PDF/ANNUAL_REPORT_AND_ACCOUNTS_0708.

PDF?1247903125

Maybe practitioners see it differently, but the fact that audiences are more and more demanding has been a clear case for decades.

Yet, indeed, it is happening with less and less funds allocated for specific purposes: the state administration either lowers its expectations, demonstrates less interest in sponsoring particular projects or finds other ways than public memory institutions to satisfy them. Besides, the public is now spoiled with expectations by money driven cultural and heritage industries and expects to be entertained and flattered. It is a dangerous trap as responsible, (prevailingly) publicly financed institutions will never be able to compete in exalted attractiveness with these industries.

In the long run, the world will desperately need the credibility and reliability of public, professionally run institutions. In forming their narratives, be they individual or community, in forming opinions and establishing a world view, people will increasingly need 15 THERE, THE LITERATURE IS EXPLICIT: MOST PROBABLY ONLY AFTER SOME 70 TO 100 THOUSAND VISITORS PER YEAR A MUSEUM INSTITUTION SHOULD CONSIDER EMPLOYING A FULL TIME PROFESSIONAL FOR MARKETING AND PR. THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 131

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activism and good, professional governance - towards the strategic objectives of society.

English Heritage14 has 1.2 million members who pay 45 pounds a year. The organisation however, has over 1500 employees in various statuses, and 75% of the budget (the total is about 220 million Euros) is the government’s money but they also realise about 25% of their budget as their own income. They maintain and care for 400 sites, visited yearly by 12 million visitors (roughly, half paid and half free visits) plus some 10 million on-line visitors. This heritage network is an advanced structure compared with separate institutions, very much a membership-oriented entity and with a popular, attractive image, - a firm basis for a good future of heritage.

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their public memory sources. The research and experience show high levels of public trust and positivity in museums16 but also, unsurprisingly, a reluctance for museums to expand out from their core roles.

2.6. MUSEUMS ARE REQUIRED TO BE COMPETITIVE WITH EACH OTHER FOR FUNDING

…and for public attention, one should add.

Well, we have done it for a long time. In the late 80s with the appearance of science centres it was obvious that by mere metrics nobody could stand the competition. First the natural history and technological museums and then the cultural history museums considered themselves as being endangered17.

The money was the same, the users more numerous and yet, some armed with arguments of impressive metrics. The situation was settled in the meantime, but the reason the competition becomes again an issue are the new restrictions in budgets while more and more institutions (and activities) compete for the same funds roughly earmarked for culture/heritage. This will be a continuously aggravating trouble. As ever the only solution is the quality of the programme.

This conference from its beginnings 15 years ago dwells upon the ambition of institutions to gain recognition for the quality of their achievement. Though not directly aimed at competing, getting a prestigious award for professional excellence is a way to acquire a better position in negotiating the budget or applying for sponsorship. Since the late 80s marketing was entering the sphere of culture and heritage to suggest that we need to conceive our product with the greatest care, to respond to the needs (not wants!) of our natural audience. It did say also that our relationship with the community (of users) can 16 HTTP://WWW.MUSEUMSASSOCIATION.ORG/ NEWS/03042013-PUBLIC-ATTITUDES-RESEARCHPUBLISHED 17 I HAVE BEEN INVITED INTERNATIONALLY TO LECTURE UPON THE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO THIS PROBLEM SINCE LATE 80S. 132 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

be carefully planned and maintained as a sort of fair, decent exchange. It has been superficially taken as a miraculous managerial technique instead as a call to re-think your business, starting by creating an excellent product.

2.7. MUSEUMS NOW USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO ENGAGE AUDIENCES AND DRIVE TRAFFIC TO “BRICKS AND MORTAR” LOCATIONS

Social media are “websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking”18.

Well, we hoped to spread there and affirm it as our new territory. It was seen as our new realm. With rising restraints, the competition in its own ranks and still further, - from cultural industries (including the heritage industry too), we (museums, heritage, archives libraries, conservation and other public memory institutions) increasingly use social media in attracting attention to, paradoxically, our physical premises. On the other hand, using any medium to promote oneself is only natural, while at the same time revealing what is evident, - that real places are, - real.

Museums may be places without objects but only rarely, if ever, can they be non-places.

Being the temple of spirituality of civil society and the forum of the open society, they are focused on accomplishing their mission in real time and the real world. Increasingly, heritage or public memory institutions understand themselves as the decisive partners of other agents within the societal project. Without their massive contribution to their respective communities and society the sustainable development risks remain just a hypocritical phrase (into which it has mainly turned). We will have to return meaning to it mainly by explaining and spreading the simple wisdom of quality of life for all. With rising profits the quality of goods and services steeply rises, but only for the chosen few of 18 HTTP://WWW.OXFORDDICTIONARIES.COM/DEFINITION/ ENGLISH/SOCIAL-MEDIA

2.8. MUSEUMS NOW USE CROWDFUNDING TO FUND PROJECTS

Crowd-funding is “the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet”19. This practice is one of the euphemisms for the troubled position of the culture, heritage or even creative industries. One is tempted to see it as admitting to a sort of begging in the place of offering one’s programme to state funds and endowments. This invention, however, speaks less of the ingenuity of marketing experts (as is often suggested) as of the logic of crisis caused by the imposed austerity measures. The good thing about it is often a new sensibility for the needs of the users through face to face contact as we try to persuade the very users and not the administrators, why we deserve to be financed. But, again, pleasing the crowd at any cost, just to prove that money can be obtained may lead to the inferno of worthless kitsch. Neither public memory institutions, nor culture in general, are meant to be exposed to the criteria of the mob, - as the crowd or the masses (as bolshevism preferred) are already not encouraging this direction20. In brief, it would be good if, from time to time we have projects that by nature comprise the total en19 HTTP://WWW.OXFORDDICTIONARIES.COM/DEFINITION/ ENGLISH/CROWDFUNDING 20 EXCESSIVE PRIVATISATION OF SCHOOLING SYSTEM, HEALTH CARE AND MEDIA, IN SPITE OF CLAIMS MADE MOST OF THEM BUT THE MONEY MAKING ENTERPRISES, HAS EXPOSED THE PUBLIC SECTOR TO THE SIMILAR EXPECTATIONS OF THE CROWD, CAUSING THUS A LOT OF TROUBLE FOR THE PROFESSIONAL QUALITY SERVICES.

gagement of the community, even through the funding process.. Yet, some democratic, socially conscious option would suggest that the place of the public is at the other end: on the side of enjoying our programmes custom-cut to their needs but leaving the worries of their production to the professionals.

2.9. MUSEUMS NOW USE CROWD-SOURCING TO INVOLVE AUDIENCES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF EXHIBITIONS

Crowdsourcing is “the process of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people, and especially from an online community, rather than from traditional employees or suppliers” 21. It is there that we now have to place the rising numbers of volunteers and members of the public when they contribute their own time and knowledge to our institution. But it makes sense to add to the understanding that “sourcing” in the compound actually comes from “outsourcing” which then together means that we let the members of community do the job we otherwise would not be able to do. Ecomuseums, at their start in the early 70s, claimed their democratic nature, by involving members of their community to influence their management and programmes. That was a democratic opportunity as this one may be too to an extent, but crowdsourcing is blurred by the trouble that inspires it. It is not the new philosophy of community-based and defined museums, but a new trouble and its possible solution. Any proud, experienced professional would feel offended if trying to seek solutions to professional problems from amateurs, while never denying that it can be an inspiring and useful experience. And, to avoid misunderstanding, it has to be said that professionals always have contact with an array of creative individuals and institutions whose experience and opinion is consulted as a matter of zestful experience in sharing 21 HTTP://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/CROWDSOURCING THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 133

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the false elites. Everyone else experiences a downfall in some aspect of quality of life, as their values turn into illusions, their water, air and food into poison and their freedom into freely manipulated consumerism. The PMIs can document, explain and affirm these circumstances well, but it is the suppliers of funds who will decide what we should do.

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the same fascinations while accomplishing the mission..

2.10. MUSEUMS ARE NOW PART OF A MOVEMENT OF OPEN AUTHORITY

When people from the community become part of our working process, their contribution to it (a phenomenon now often called open authority), does sound to a heritage thinker as a revelatory, democratic exercise.

It does generate a possibility that we finally gain more from our social environment in terms of collective memory, the one otherwise scattered, in flux and unstable, but, however, constituting finally a part of what, at the end, we may call public memory. It sounds good being part of an open authority movement, and thus obtaining access to crowd-wisdom by taking into account the opinions and reflections of many among local groups and communities. Mixing expertise with discussions and the insight of the crowd is a valuable perspective, in some cases even applied as a model of functioning (economuseums). But, again, one may wonder if this chance will be used properly, not to lower the level of the institution but to lift the one of the outside participants. Besides, like when working with volunteers, the process does not happen without additional effort of professionals in the institution. So, a conservative view would claim that these mixtures are actually part of a welcome burden for the working professionals, - not so much the assistance. One has to bear in mind that this openness to questioning and discussion should never blur the scientific obligation of the staff which is to raise the level of decision making and insight within the given community. The PMIs are the tools of democracy, becoming ever more important. They do become opinion makers and serve as a well trusted source of scientifically supported unbiased information.

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er holders engineer public consent. If open authority is pushing the participation of institutions and broad audiences to a point of new quality, where sterile, scientific objectivity and stiff academic discourse change into relevant science, good taste, and lively happenings, that is the authority we want to be: accepted, respected and loved, like wise and charming uncles when compared with stern and frowning fathers. The crowd cannot be a bearer of excellence. It can be brought to the state of recognising it or supporting it.

3. Some Wider Tendencies In The Heritage Domain 3.1. PROFIT, COMPETITION AND THE SOCIAL PROJECT

Traditionally founded heritage occupations have rarely seen the danger of the competition, ignoring largely the growing new context of the heritage industry, and destination and entertainment industry, but that privilege has now expired. Formed upon omnipotent profit heritage as a marketable good may just become an unavoidable feature of future development, devouring the non-profit institutions in the process of the commoditisation of public memory. That would be the end of culture, not only of public memory.

Some institutions have a great task in the social contract as they have to produce a public response to the threat: the loss of quality in the transfer of collective experience endangers the quality of the contract itself. The public memory sector will have to propose arguments for their unquestionable autonomy that will convince decision makers and provide wide popular support. It may be discouraging that old, big professions like education and health care succumb to profit, but even that is not final. We see that the crisis of the public sector is not a matter of its lack of quality. Its position and structure in society is weakened by political strategies, the type of development and the governing value systems. As a coexistence of private and public

3.2. PUBLIC MEMORY, PRIVATISATION AND THE NATURAL HUMAN STRIVE

We live in a dilemma whether we need a deregulated liberal society with a prevalence of business and profit priorities or a pluralistic, multicultural, communitarian society built upon social, democratic values. Is it common wealth or wealth for the few and chosen that we envisage? Formed in innumerable variants according to the particular situation, these apories will increasingly inundate the heritage domain of public memory, the heritage communicated with an aim of cultivating particular sets of values or, at least, particular platforms for some to be weighted one against the other. The privatisation of museums is our reality. It will start as a concession of management then penetrate the ownership structure of the property and move towards the right of disposal of collections: all in the name of effective management tackling real or provoked, or otherwise non-existent problems.

When heritage faces the ultimatum of privatisation that will mean that the state is unwilling to admit public memory institutions into the not-for-profit sector. That time has already come to certain countries and will advance proportionally to the perverted speculative nature of the economy. The lack of financing (very much helped by the inertia and lack of professionalism of the sector) pushes the institutions first to divorce from the state. This is a good warning as the sign is clear: the professionals in charge will have to assume full responsibility for the effectiveness of these institutions: their product must be based upon the same principle as that of profit-run companies: value for money. Their

task is to offer convincing explanations for their interpretation of profit (as social, cultural and psychological) and of its specific contribution to development. They should be advertising new econometric methods which clearly show that a successful heritage project may measurably increase the motivation for visiting certain destinations, or increase the general visibility and image of a certain place. All that is calculable revenue. There, the sector should firmly stop, take a stand and explore the potential of its inherent nature in the public domain. Common wealth and the advance of the human condition cannot be achieved through exclusive private ownership, the least of all spiritual values. Anybody can contribute to the common good but the terms can only be publicly determined. That is part of a basic democratic agenda.

If the new professionalism is not to ensue from long consideration and new challenges, - able of overcoming the phase of divorce from the state by a proper response, - then financial trouble will gradually render public memory institutions into the hands of private companies. The same process is happening in Europe and elsewhere with the privatisation of higher education, a new practice rather puzzling, specially to those newly arrived in the EU with a long experience of public services in a state-run economy. Without the pressure of social ideology, indeed, ownership may not be so central an issue, but the purpose and economic structure. A private business of any sort can be, like was often the case in a developed and socially balanced capitalism, a sort of social enterprise22. Relieving the enterprise from the tyranny of profit and turning it into a mis22 SLADOJEVIĆ ŠOLA, TOMISLAV. JAVNO PAMĆENJE. ZAVOD ZA INFORMACIJSKE ZNANOSTI, FILOZOFSKI FAKULTET. SVEUČILIŠTE U ZAGREBU, 2014. 245 STR. ; THE MATTER DESCRIBED IN THE TEXT IS TREATED AT SOME LENGTH IN THIS BOOK ON PUBLIC MEMORY. THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 135

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is possible, it remains important to negotiate a social contract in terms of democratic values, equity and impartiality, - if possible by making leaving strategic societal decision with the professions, but not in their name.

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sion driven organisation is a somewhat idealist but plausible formula. The forced privatisation will bring unforeseeable troubles23 specially in many countries where the public domain was traditionally maintained by the state (perceived as a mechanism of common good): their vulnerable position would yield them even more vulnerable. A public-private partnership is a realistic possibility but a very demanding challenge. If the public part is defended half-heartedly and reluctantly by public servants as is prevalently the case, the more aggressive, personally interested other part will undoubtedly prevail and impose its own agenda.

3.3. PROFESSION BUILDING AS A WAY TO QUALITY SOLUTIONS FOR THE HERITAGE SECTOR

Unexpected exaggerations in strategic decisions are due to aggressive particular interests involved in creating further imbalances in development. The professions are the only pools with the power of scientifically supported arguments. Their exclusion from corruption or belated rise (like in the domain of public memory) cause damage. Our chances grow with the provision of professional training and a higher status in society. Very few strong and convincing public institutions could otherwise respond to the challenges imposed on the world. The economy in difficulties is a ready excuse for many for a concession to a particular interest group already, - often to the detriment of the public good. Consequently and in spite of promises (easily offered) and contracts with flexible, conditional changes, the heritage sector can become yet another soft value industry.

How and by whom will that process be recognised, and how should it be handled? Theory can help. Will it be persuasive enough to prove to the heritage profession(s) that they 23 A PART OF A LETTER TO NEW COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES (2013) AS A COMMENT UPON A DARING, CONTROVERSIAL, SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT OF PROFESSOR A. C. GRAYLING. 136 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

are responsible for collecting, storing and communicating value systems, maintaining high criteria in a world surrendering itself to ephemeral illusions and profit making schemes in a cultural or artistic disguise?

3.4. USING GLOBALISATION AS A REMINDER TO BE UNITED IN DIFFERENCES

To do anything about globalisation (which is inevitable but also negotiable), we have to know what we lose and what we gain; it will always be a matter of our dealing with specificity and diversity, - keeping them as a richness alive and self-perpetuating. Traditional museums (for example) may prove a trap, a sort of minimal deal allowing us to create distant, rare islets of a protected (non-existent, dead) identity while leaving the entire reality of our inner and outer environment to ruthless developers.

We inhabit this Earth as human beings aspiring to spiritual advancement. Though corporations, led by a short-sighted strategy may prefer us as serf-consumers in the neverlands of Mouse Planet or Planet Hollywood.

Back in the Eighties while Europe was still holding on to its identity and general values, we would have laughed at these syntagms as defamatory and grotesque, but since, we have become part of the planetary process unifying all cultures at the level of the lowest and the meanest common denominators.

Globalisation is a natural process, as old as mankind, - an unavoidable exchange and cross-fertilising of cultures as communication increases. As a way of building a common, noble destiny of humankind on a tiny Planet, it does make sense but in no way would it comprise the entropic chaos. Internationalisation is a closer way of describing the richness of diversity united by the general criteria. There is hope, necessarily.

What has been a wrong practice of governmentalism has to turn into serving society

3.5. THE HERITAGE PROFESSION IN MAKING A STRATEGIC RESPONSE TO THE CHALLENGES

ring, insecure, unhealthy, ugly and uncomfortable. The world is turning into a state of permanent conflict, the circumstances ideal for the marauding raids of global bankers and corporations. The sad evidence confirms that the profit of three centuries of rationalism and brilliant technological advancement will turn into the ability of having perfect recall, into total memory, gigantic in size, ironically, but never so unstable, fragile, manipulated and, - useless.

One can rightfully be inclined to believe that we are soon to witness the birth of a heritage mega-profession and a rising engagement of the population in a way that will change the position of public institutions. The latter will unite with the ecologically conscious to engage in a permanent campaign, a movement, for the survival of inherited richness, - not only natural, but also a civilisation and a cultural environment. There have been enough of self-indulging scientists who are often dangerously close to foolishness.

Great knowledge can propose that the future of humanity is in finding another planet to live on but wise minds cannot. The popular press speculates rightfully how many hundreds shall be able to pay for the trip. Who would the “lucky” ones be? Whoever will explain how impossible it is to travel the 30 or 60 light years necessary (as optimistic estimates hesitate to claim is the vicinity of some possible planet)? People are embarrassed by the lack of serious clues to these speculations. Why would anybody ever think of leaving the planet? What if conquest as a dominant Western concept of development has its limits? Both this “vision” and the conquerors’ nature of western civilisation will in future be developed into grand exhibition projects and as many tiny ones as possible. Public memory institutions can help us to understand and appreciate decent knowledge usable in ennobling our existence.

The perfect memory is not yet turning into a global conscience, into a sort of functional global mind. The mnemosphere, where this ennobling change could or should happen has to turn knowledge into wisdom. There might have existed philosophers of the Ancient world who were, due to the art of memory, at the same time giants of knowledge and of selection, - the wise men. Shall our public memory sector be there in time to serve the Good? A pathetic phrase, some will exclaim, but some eccentrics will know when the time comes by rather banal changes in our reality: when Versailles turns into a different museum, the one that will show all its meanings and exceptional features perhaps under the name “Museum of Power – the faces of rule”, - some will know that we stand a chance. Of course, many of those faces will be about beauty and creativity but they will not be the only ones. By that time the Louvre, magnificent institution in more than one aspect, will have a part of a permanent exhibition on history of looting other countries and other cultures, to bow to them and admit that the French state is only in charge of what belongs to many. As a consequence, both the contents and outreach programme of the Louvre will change.The Musee du Quay Branly24 will hopefully become a place where, on Saturday evening, you will be looking to meet

As recent events show, the result of the Age of Great Greed is the suffering Planet: war-

24 WHAT A CYNICAL WAY TO AVOID ANY OBLIGING IMPLICATION IN ANY OF THE POSSIBLE NAMES DEPICTING THE CONTENTS! THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 137

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in an obvious and pragmatic way. A society that offers culture and self- reflection as a free service to its citizens is not a socialist ideological invention but a consequence of devastating elitist models, therefore pertaining to the very idea of civil society and democracy.

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a friend from Benin, Peru or Tahiti, living in Paris: it should have become their place, not yet another of ours talking about the exotic them. Instead of deriving from the mentality of conquest, heritage institutions will be returning what they have gathered only to overcrowd and congest their storerooms. The grand re-distribution will be a new division of offices and exchange of custodies so that this time the logic of communication re-arranges collections or creates a function of all sorts of pools and agreements on common cumulative acting. Sometimes “returning” will mean literally that: a bust of the founder of the first regional school belongs in a public place and not in the darkness of the the store: they have dozens of the same or similar ones that will never enter the permanent exhibition. A renewed theory will not mystify the risk of the gentleman’s face losing the tip of his nose if placed in the school’s lobby.

While continuing to work for the good reputation of the region and standing for the big social victory for education he will be, naturally, exposed to risks. We have to take risks in returning to life. In the increasing number of occasions heritage will turn into direct action, on the spot, site-specific and centred, with site specific creations connected to its site inspirations. Hic et nunc, the old call for efficiency n,here and now will be the motto of many innovations. A new self-confident and assertive professionalism will be able to deal with improvisations producing transportive and site immersive projects of mixed media.

Some new professionals will be producers, a sort of responsible facilitators, while present occupations like curators will be directors, much like in film projects. Curating a project will grow further in importance. One of the reactions is the rising individual, non-corporate and non-governmental initiatives which avoid the stiffness and corruption of the wider scene. Unlike “privatisation” and mercantilisation, that is the positive challenge the new profession will hopefully meet with goodwill 138 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

and anticipation. Creating public narratives from memory will become so popular that all sorts of guerrilla curating will happen. Some of it will be done by restless professionals while the rest will be done by devoted amateurs. One could say, - public memory will descend to the street but also that collective memory will seek its legitimacy and ways of public expression. This sort of public memory process “institution” or, more likely, the way of public memory reaction to the world around, - should be the subject of books to come, whoever writes them.

Globally, the majority within heritage occupations resists change. Again, the positive elite makes it only more obvious. That majority does not trust common sense thinking, especially if done in rather an uncommon way. Curiously, this is exactly the tactics they should appropriate when performing their public paid jobs in changed circumstances.

The great convergence will hopefully change everything; giving instead of taking will mean that a great re-distribution of collections may take place: to other institutions, to real owners, to public places, to the new, common institutions. Armed with experience, needs, organisation and ICT, we shall be able to return with new efficiency to the (lost) totality of heritage and to integrated communication.

The age of museums, a triumph that Germain Bazin was cautiously exploring, - seems to be over. A knowledge society was thought to be the solution to most of the problems of modern society. The modern museum institutions were presenting omnipotent science for a hundred odd, or even two hundred years, changing from scientific to (prevalently) communicational institutions.

Archives opened up and “stepped down” to serve the wider community. Libraries realised that they form a collective memory and shape public opinion. Understanding their job as a common civil society project they re-

Be it a general theory of heritage, an overlapping level of all the heritage occupational theories (museology, librarianship, archivistics), or (finally) the new science25, - it will influence the mind of the new mega profession. This wide conceptual approach is an invitation to the other colleagues from the public memory sector to appropriate a common underlying philosophy and unite in a common strategy. The new great profession will leave the autonomy of any specialist theory and practice, and at the same time integrate memory occupations around the common societal project. Generally or in particular occupations, the aim will remain how to study, select, preserve, care for our heritage and enable the transfer of the noble human experience for the sake of harmonious development.

3.6. THE REDEFINITION OF HERITAGE

The redefinition of heritage which has allowed that any heritage is accountable, be it material (as we have long practised) or intangible, released the unattended energy but opened new dangers. Museums were able to use their mixture of science and public mission to dominate the domain. Once widened so vastly the matter surpasses their reach.

25 IN 1982 I HAVE PROPOSED THAT MUSEOLOGY BE RENAMED INTO HERITOLOGY TO DENOTE A POSSIBLE, NECESSARY SCIENCE OF HERITAGE. LATER ON (1987) THIS CONCEPT WAS ELABORATED BUT ALSO CHANGED TO MNEMOSOPHY, BOTH TERMS OFTEN USED TO PROVOKE CONSERVATIVE COLLEAGUES AND INCITE SUITABLE CHANGES. THERE CANNOT BE ANY SCIENCE PLACED UPON ANY INSTITUTION BUT INDICATING A CENTRAL CONCEPT PROPERLY CAN LEAD US TO A USABLE FUTURE.

The museum has thus become not a mere institution but a process. An implied consequence is that many others, whoever are willing to recognise the importance of it, are bound to give attention to the process in a way they find suitable. The proper response can be reached only by a united effort from all the public memory institutions. Only by a concerted effort will there be sufficient guarantee that commodification will not take over what was once regarded as a public domain.

3.7. HERITAGE GROWINGLY PERCEIVED AS BUSINESS ASSET

Heritage has always been an asset. UNESCO’s lists of intangible heritage are also a signal of their asset value. Unlike with material heritage, it creates a certain right of ownership and will, on the one hand stiffen natural exchanges and cross-fertilizing which always happens among cultures and identities and on the other might become the matter of legal disputes or sales. A company or corporation may offer the owner financial assistance in exchange for concessions and other compensations. Released from any legal or cultural restraint, the business will penetrate into any facet of public or private lives. What has been rightfully accepted as the heritage industry (our contribution to the creative industries) may not be our only contribution to the business sector. Our position has to be regarded as that of capital for soft power, with all the care and precaution the capital deserves. Living culture and heritage have to be excluded from the speculative nature of the profit-obsessed present economy: they will always yield the most and the best in the so called spin-off effects and not in direct exploitation.

The incessant greedy pursuit of profit ushers private enterprises into our ranks and trade.

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tain specificity and acquire new importance.

Together they articulate the age of heritage in which knowledge is refined into developmental wisdom: peaceful prosperity in a preserved richness of the world. The perspectives that change civil society into a spiritual one will become the context of the new role of public memory in the destiny of the world.

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vestors, - only to produce a devastated cultural landscape of ghost towns on a crowded Planet of the homeless. This is but one of the worries hardly peculiar to Mediterranean countries.

3.8. FESTIVALISATION OF CULTURE

All values are under attack and what we have is an undeclared war on culture and heritage. It takes many forms. One of them, is festivalisation26. As a short cut in the strategy of cultural industries, (at their best) festivals derive their power from the identity and heritage of their place. They often exploit rather superficially local values. While history and heritage demand (even humbly) a long and deep attention span of profound and repeat visits, festivals and similar happenings exhaust the values they thrive on in a rather wasteful and arrogant manner.

They are most content if they compress the entire identity into a narrow brand package with all the few strong stereotypes it usually contains. They eat up public money and public attention. This world-wide development is making the life of heritage institutions more delicate.

Though the past is our ploughed land, we are here to make the present world a better place for our users. The ruling groups of contemporary society have advanced decisively in their aim of destroying societal ideologies which provided some quality coherence in society. They have produced a lonely and selfish citizen with an attitude of wanting all and now as a substitute for any ideology, an attitude that makes a sustainable development world view an impossible task. The expected impact of the professions is undermined by the manipulation of post-modern freedom into a karaoke attitude of the masses, - a growing disregard for professionalism 26 RICHARDS, GREG; PALMER, ROBERT. EVENTFUL CITIES: CULTURAL MANAGEMENT AND URBAN REVITALISATION. ROUTLEDGE, 2010.

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and quality. The false elites’ imposition slows down or obstructs the professions in maintaining the social body in a state of spiritual and biological homeostasis. Harmony, the ultimate expression of all human ambition has been turned into an obsolete word with romantic claims. The culture of illusions makes it appear that all the fads and desires created for the crowd to obsessive dimensions, - are within reach. On the other hand, the culture (of values), whether in business, public, private life, practical or spiritual life, cannot offer but a reality with all its risks and temptations. Ours is a situation of great expectations that can be fulfilled only through public confidence, respect and credibility.

The institutional discourse of public memory institutions depends directly upon which societal interest group has a control over their financing and decision making. The basic quality and objectivity of their product can be guaranteed due to public financing, relying upon science and by professionalism.

In most countries (undeveloped, developing, transitional) it is the state administration that has effective control. Science is taken in its conservative capacity while professionalism hardly exists. The mightiest of guarantees for an excellent product is professionalism, as it comprises every other quality. It remains the practical objective and strategic aim of our effort.

3.9. HERITAGE MOVEMENT AS A PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR YET ANOTHER GLOBAL ISSUE

Contrary to festivalisation which is a process (though much in our concern) under the control of the cultural industry, as it capitalises on the mass need for entertainment, - there are contours of a wide public support for the effort of public memory institutions to perpetuate the selected values of the past. As in the time when the survival of the Planet was clearly perceived through ecology, we now

The heritage movement is there when the crowd, in an organised effort, performs regular activities to promote heritage and attain an ever higher level of its protection and care. It is also a conscious practice of some elements and values of professional procedures concerning heritage or, in its wider social role, public memory. A movement always results from a collective striving and an attitude built up through a long, continuous effort of heritage professionals. Every profession boasts of its systematic efforts to spread the literacy relevant to its trade and its domain of public activity. This ostensible sharing or concession is not a sign of weakness but of strength and integrity: only with the wide support stemming from understanding can support be created.

Heritage, like music, is not a forbidden practice: on the contrary. The more people who are music or heritage literate, the better.

The more they practice it in their private circles or even as part of wider demonstrations the better. The real amateurs, unlike snobs who can be only useful, respect and support professionals. And yet, the profession is aware that their real mission leads us back to life. So in the myriad of places and situations an educated public has an opportunity to apply the basics of any heritage art. It is not monuments that we museumise, document, research or put back into life but literally everything bearing a certain quality that merits continuation. Public memory institutions have limited resources so they have to prioritise their activities on the most valuable and indispensable heritage. The point is, indeed, how to spread their practice so that it permeates the entire society. So the heritage literate population is a blessing. They solve the first level of any relationship to heritage, be it communal or their own. Their

literacy will ensure that they will seek out professionals of a higher status. Equally, in music, the relevant development is not karaoke but musical literacy, - even high levels of it so that music becomes an inextricable part of (if possible) everybody’s life, practised privately and enjoyed publicly. It is so charmingly demonstrated by El Systema27.

Imagine that in any country we could have 12 % of the population, all of them children up to the teens, organized in orchestras, actively playing classical and other music. Imagine if an open authority movement ensured public memory institutions achieved 12 % of the population of our countries, all children, practising some sort of organised heritage based education and activity. What a public and what support would we have with such a stable basis! In France, for example, there would be 750 000 little heritage curators as a guarantee that the Louvre would be a decorative, symbolic flagship of a mighty fleet of French identity that could fearlessly sailing into a global(ist) ocean.

Fortunately, part of the public sector in an unexpected way are also the activists, representatives of an otherwise silent or suppressed majority. They are a natural and beneficial response to the terrible fix in which the public sector finds itself. Civil society, in spite of all the misunderstandings and manipulation, is a complement and corrective to the institutional sector, especially that of the state. Heritage is not the best example, but it is precisely because of that it very well illustrates the potential: the largest heritage association of civil society in the world, 27 EL SISTEMA IS A STATE FOUNDATION WHICH WATCHES OVER VENEZUELA’S 125 YOUTH ORCHESTRAS AND THE INSTRUMENTAL TRAINING PROGRAMMES WHICH MAKE THEM POSSIBLE. THE ORGANIZATION HAS 31 SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS, AND BETWEEN 310,000 TO 370,000 CHILDREN ATTEND ITS MUSIC SCHOOLS AROUND THE COUNTRY. 70 TO 90 PERCENT OF THE STUDENTS COME FROM POOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUNDS. HTTP:// EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/EL_SISTEMA THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 141

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see that many see heritage as an issue worth their continuous support.

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National Trust28, England, which has 3.5 million members, 52,000 volunteers (who in the year 2007 / 8 gave 2.3 million hours of work), while “their” three hundred historic buildings, 45 industrial heritage monuments (and forests, lakes, wetlands, villages ...) are visited by 12 million visitors a year. They are a strong partner for everyone in the sector and a witness to the fact that there is an enormous amount of positive energy that wants to work. That is quite an achievement for such a movement.

4. Concluding Remarks When the world again realises the value of giving in place of the fascination with taking, we have a reason to hope. The natural reactions to threats will mobilise human society once more towards sustainable solutions.

Our great sector, to which this conference is devoted by offering an annual cross-section of innovative excellence has demonstrated for years that there are lot of good solutions that amount to trends and make obvious the tendencies that reveal (part of ) the changing zeitgeist – the spirit of the time.

We shall see the multiplication and rise of activist heritage units29, particular, brisk, economic, spirited and sprightly quasi- institutions that will react to interesting heritage issues. In some cases they will make up part of a larger system but in advanced practice, - they will be independent and autonomous reactions to the challenge, a sort of activist museum, - but less burdened with terminology. The term “museum” has become an issue of fashionable play with its possible meanings.

28 HTTP://WWW.NATIONALTRUST.ORG.UK/MAIN/W-TRUST/ W-THECHARITY/W-THECHARITY_OUR-PRESENT.HTM 29 ŠOLA, TOMISLAV. ROLE OF MUSEUMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. VARANASI: BHARAT KALA BHAVAN HINDU UNIVERSITY, 1989. PP. 24 (JAWAHARLAL NEHRU MEMORIAL LECTURE) 142 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

The private and public sectors in a civil society will remain a dangerous partnership. It responds to the weakening public sector as it takes up the challenge or its troublesome insecurity and ineptitude when it needs a tutor. However, once the state becomes a less generous source of finances, the private museums will win more arguments. The name “museum” is not protected. There are more than 400 private museums in China already and they now seem to demonstrate the trend best. The private initiators of museums have not yet realised the full potential of museums and handle the matter in a rather conservative, amateurish way but not for long.

The rising number of rich individuals and corporations will have the resources and want the prestige of controlling the life of a privately owned and yet (by proposal and programme) public institutions. It will be changing the world. Should it all happen without us, trained or experienced professionals?

The concept of publicly owned public institutions will suffer a challenge that can be survived only with different mindset, - as a profession with self-assurance.

As things change, there will not only be a rising of demand on the part of the public, but there will be a crisis of perception about museums: people will increasingly project their fancies into private enterprises that will serve them the way a film industry does.

Advancing the heritage industry, private museums, theme parks, and the entertainment industry that uses heritage as its subject etc.

The entire public heritage domain will have to survive without becoming a second rate version of their challengers, without yielding to a euphoric programme, itself a sort of static festival. Euphoria in PMIs would be a very unprofessional response to temptations imposed by the heritage and entertainment industry though private partners or private sponsors would demand it.

PROFESSOR TOMISLAV SLADOJEVIĆ ŠOLA

He finished Art History in Zagreb, Museology in Paris, and made his PhD in Ljubljana. Starting the career as a museum curator he then became director of Museum documentation centre in Zagreb.

He became Chairman of the National Committee and later on member of Executive council of ICOM. He occupied the position of Head of Department of Information Sciences, held the Chair of Museology at the University of Zagreb and was regularly teaching at seven universities abroad. He was a member of jury of EMYA and is actual Council member and head of a Jury at Europa Nostra. Professor Šola lectured about 320 hours internationally and wrote eight books, chapters in nine books and about 250 articles. He founded “The Best in Heritage” conference.

Generally, we have to return to a constant search and support for quality working for some projection of the ideal society; without this “ideological” vision we are doomed to fragmented improvisation and will fall an easy prey to the aggressive agents in society. We are already living in a curated world: every quality of it is being managed as spontaneous or natural processes have lost pace in competing with the variety and speed of change. Actually, the world in peril is losing its organic ability of gradual adjustment and conservation of its best generative features.

To this dying heart of identities we have to be not a substitute but a pace-maker; we are part of the solution.

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MNEMOSOPHIA

If brave and creative, if self assured and professional to the point of fighting for their mission, heritage institutions may appropriate also the taste already there, but only just developing, - of a communication so creative and coherent in its potential and abilities as to present a new form of applied art, that of heritage communication. It will have to happen in a new alliance with artists of all sorts. The curators, archivists, librarians, conservators, all heritage / public memory curating occupations will have to get together but, more than that, - will have to realise that their united profession is decisively defined by communication. Like artists on their side, they will have to renounce some of their pride and vanity to allow for a lavish interplay in which science merges with arts to form a unique memory theatre. Like any art, it will have but one reason for existence: to make the world better.

A WORD FROM OUR PARTNER

Join Europa Nostra Be a guardian and an advocate of Europe’s heritage For 50 years, Europa Nostra has been the voice of the civil society committed to the safeguarding and promotion of Europe’s cultural and natural heritage. Covering 42 countries, our vast network is comprised of 250 heritage NGO’s, with a combined membership of several million people; 150 public bodies or private companies; and 1200 individual members.

Europa Nostra is today recognised as the most influential heritage network in Europe.

In 2014, Europa Nostra has received a major three-year EU grant from the Creative Europe programme to support its network’s activity on “Mainstreaming Heritage” in Europe.

Much has been accomplished, but there is still much more to be done in response to the many challenges which our heritage is facing. That is why we seek to strongly engage and further enlarge our network of members, associates, benefactors, partners and supporters in Europe and beyond. Saving and enhancing our shared heritage is a vital mission that we can only accomplish together!

Why do we need your support?

LOBBYING FOR HERITAGE AT EUROPEAN LEVEL:

With its extensive network of heritage stakeholders who are active at various levels (local, regional, national and European), Europa Nostra focuses on securing adequate support for cultural heritage in various areas 144 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

of European policy-making and funding. Over the years, we have built a fruitful relationship with the Council of Europe, UNESCO and increasingly with the EU Institutions. More recently, we have initiated the creation of the European Heritage Alliance 3.3. In 2014, Europa Nostra welcomed the adoption in May by the Council of the European Union of the far-reaching Conclusions on Cultural Heritage as a Strategic Resource for a Sustainable Europe and also the adoption in July by the European Commission of the ambitious Communication “Towards an Integrated Approach to Cultural Heritage”.

HELPING SAVE EUROPE’S MOST ENDANGERED MONUMENTS AND SITES:

Collaboration between various stakeholders is vital to ensure that the treasures of our past are preserved for present and future generations. Through ‘The 7 Most Endangered’ programme, run in partnership with the European Investment Bank Institute, and with the support of the Council of Europe Development Bank, Europa Nostra seeks to mobilise local, national and international public and private partners to rescue the most threatened landmarks in Europe. The 7 Most Endangered monuments and sites listed in 2014 are: the historic stage machinery of the Bourla theatre in Antwerp in Belgium, the neighbourhoods of Dolcho and Apozari in Kastoria in Greece, the citadel of Alessandria in Italy, the carillons of the Mafra National Palace in Portugal, the wooden churches in southern Transylvania and northern Oltenia in Romania, the Colour Row Settlement in Chernyakhovsk in Russia and the synagogue in Subotica.

HONOURING THE MOST OUTSTANDING HERITAGE ACHIEVEMENTS IN EUROPE:

Every year, Europa Nostra and the European Commission recognise excellence and dedication of professionals and volunteers involved in cultural heritage. Established in

A WORD FROM OUR PARTNER ≥ DENIS DE KERGORLAY, EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT OF EUROPA NOSTRA, ANDROULLA VASSILIOU, EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR EDUCATION, CULTURE, MULTILINGUALISM AND YOUTH, REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PROJECT WHICH WON THIS YEAR’S PUBLIC CHOICE AWARD (THE RESTORATION OF THE 17TH CENTURY FRESCOES OF THE DRAGOMIRNA CHURCH IN SUCEAVA IN ROMANIA), MAESTRO PLÁCIDO DOMINGO, PRESIDENT OF EUROPA NOSTRA, AND SNEŠKA QUAEDVLIEGMIHAILOVIĆ, SECRETARY GENERAL OF EUROPA NOSTRA, DURING THE EUROPEAN HERITAGE AWARDS CEREMONY AT THE BURGTHEATER IN VIENNA ON 5 MAY 2014.

PHOTO: ORESTE SCHALLER

2002, the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards promotes the best practices and stimulates creativity and innovation through the power of example. Almost 400 remarkable heritage projects and initiatives from all over Europe have already been awarded.

This prestigious Awards scheme has been actively promoted at the ‘The Best in Heritage’ conference since 2009. For the 2014 edition of this international event, five winners, including the laureate of the Public Choice Award, will present and discuss their outstanding heritage achievements.

Europa Nostra has been one of the main partners of ‘The Best in Heritage’ for six years and has contributed significantly to the success of this major event. In 2013, Europa Nostra, together with the International National Trusts Organisation (INTO), launched a new initiative - the Global Heritage Forum with the aim of mobilising senior representatives from European and international heritage organisations to discuss a global agenda for heritage.

What can you do?

There are many ways to get involved with Europa Nostra and to help us match our resources with our ambition.

BECOME A MEMBER/ASSOCIATE >>

>>

>>

If you are a heritage NGO based in Europe (e.g. association, foundation and museum), you can become a Member Organisation: min. annual contribution of €200; If you are a heritage NGO based outside Europe or a public body (e.g. regional or local authority, governmental agency, education or tourism body), you can become an Associate Organisation: min. annual contribution of €200; If you are an individual from Europe or beyond, you can become an Individual Member: min. annual contribution of €80.

TO FIND OUT MORE VISIT WWW.EUROPANOSTRA.ORG THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 145

ICOM

ICOM, Speaking The Language Of Museums The International Council of Museums (ICOM) is the world’s leading organisation in the museum and heritage fields, counting over 32,000 members in 136 countries, representing a unique community of museum professionals and experts. In pursuing its core missions of ensuring the promotion, protection and conservation of cultural goods, ICOM has established standards of excellence, notably in terms of museum ethics, and developed a number of tools and programmes to benefit the global heritage community. Alongside these ongoing activities, every year sees a multitude of new projects and initiatives by ICOM and its network of National and International Committees, Regional Alliances and Affiliated Organisations.

A highlight of the annual cultural agenda worldwide, International Museum Day has met with unprecedented success over its past two editions, consistently involving some 35,000 institutions around the world for celebrations around the themes of Museums (memory + creativity) = social change (2013) and Museum collections make connections (2014). The event continues to demonstrate the dynamism and involvement of the museum community in far-flung corners of the globe, with workshops, conferences, guided tours, concerts and other creative and participatory activities for visitors of all ages. IMD 2015 will feature the theme Museums for a sustainable society.

ICOM’s commitment to fighting the illicit traffic of cultural goods was reinforced in 146 › THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014

2013 with the publication of two new Red Lists, for the Dominican Republic and Syria.

These vital tools classify endangered categories of cultural goods in vulnerable areas of the world in order to prevent their illegal sale or exportation. Red Lists for West Africa and Libya are in preparation and will be published in the first half of 2015. Furthermore, ICOM’s International Observatory on Illicit Traffic in Cultural Goods, whose website was launched in 2014, serves as a permanent global cooperative network involving international organisations, law enforcement agencies, research institutions and other stakeholders.

In order to enhance expertise and knowledge in the museum sector, 2013 saw the launch of the ICOM International Training Centre for Museum Studies, located at the Palace Museum in Beijing, China. This initiative aims to foster exchange among professionals on an international level through weeklong participatory training sessions held twice a year. In keeping with the mission of promoting knowledge and skill-building, in January 2014, a seminar on the role of museums in the context of a crisis was held in Bamako, Mali for West African museum professionals.

As the voice of museums and museum professionals worldwide, ICOM is seeking to move ahead into the future with the help of its substantial and ever-growing expertise, multiplying its accomplishments in the years to come.

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GOOD REASONS

© Ningbo Museum / ICOM 2011

INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL TO JOIN THE OF MUSEUMS

BE PART OF THE INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM COMMUNITY CONNECT with 32,000 world-class museum experts BUILD a strong international professional network in every museum-related speciality

BROADEN your horizons with over 200

conferences organised yearly around the globe

PARTICIPATE in the extensive programme at the Triennial General Conference

BENEFIT FROM ICOM SERVICES GET INSIGHT ON trends and innovation in museums

thanks to ICOM News, the magazine for museum professionals, and monthly electronic newsletters

SEARCH more than 2,000 publications by ICOM's Committees through the online publications database

GET INVOLVED IN INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS SHAPE the future of the museum profession ADVOCATE museum standards of excellence and museum ethics PLAY A ROLE in the fight against illicit traffic in cultural goods

COOPERATE in emergency preparedness

and response actions in museums worldwide

SUPPORT museums in fulfilling their missions

H NEFITS WIT OTHER BE AND MANY IP H S MEMBER t YOUR ICOM evelopmen fessional d ro p d an ng Traini es y pass opportuniti ational entr : your intern d ar C M O IC e s worldwid ps and to museum useum sho m l rates to Preferentia publications te k the websi ation, chec rm fo in re o For m .museum http://icom

STAY CONNECTED with ICOMMUNITY, ICOM's brand-new interactive online platform

JOIN any of ICOM's 31 International Committees

and make your voice heard

SETTLE your art and cultural heritage disputes through the ICOM-WIPO mediation procedure

THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 147

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A winning concept, a depth of content and precise orientation to the target group identify EXPONATEC COLOGNE as Europe’s leading communications platform for the museum, preservation and restoration sectors. With 186 exhibitors from 15 countries and over 4,000 international trade visitors, EXPONATEC COLOGNE, which took place in November 2013, was clearly a big success.

Institutions and companies from the diverse industries and service sectors of the cultural market presented the trade public with new products, solutions and concepts related to the themes exhibition, restoration and cultural heritage. An ambitious conference programme including lectures and discussion forums underlined the importance of EXPONATEC COLOGNE as the central platform for dialogue and discussion.

The clear profile of EXPONATEC COLOGNE will again attract international market participants and representatives of cultural

EXPONATEC COLOGNE

All Roads Lead To EXPONATEC COLOGNE

activities to Cologne in 2015. The successful co-operations with Best in Heritage, the Deutscher Museumsbund (German Museums Association), and Europa Nostra will continue in the coming year. The Best in Heritage Excellence Club” will stop in Cologne in 2015 for the sixth time already and present the best exhibition projects of the years 2014 and 2015. The special platform and audience magnet EXPOCASE, with its creative show which uses a three-dimensional format to visualize display designs of the future, will also be returning. EXPOCASE is particularly popular with designer studios, exhibition organizers and students. Lectures and discussion forums will accompany the EXPOCASE presentations.

EXPONATEC COLOGNE PARALLEL TO COLOGNE FINE ART 2015 WWW.EXPONATEC.COM SAVE THE DATE

18 to 20 November 2015 THE BEST IN HERITAGE 2014 › 149

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The Best in Heritage in partnership with Europa Nostra under special patronage of ICOM

The world's only survey of awarded museum, heritage and conservation projects MAIN PARTNER

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THE BEST IN HERITAGE © EUROPEAN HERITAGE ASSOCIATION

based in Zagreb is non-governmental, non-profit organisation, member of Europa Nostra, dedicated to promoting every aspect of professional excellence in heritage professions and doing it “by power of example”. The Association is tiny and will grow only through its own programme and those who assist it. "The Best in Heritage" conference, "Excellence Club" and "Global Love Museum" being our foremost activities.

SECRETARIAT:

org.secretary@thebestinheritage.com European Heritage Association / The Best In Heritage Trg kralja Petra Krešimira IV, No.7 HR - 10000 Zagreb, Croatia DIRECTOR:

Professor Tomislav Šola director@thebestinheritage.com Tel / Fax: +385 1 455 04 24 mobile phone: +385 98 468 158 PROJECT MANAGER:

Mr Luka Cipek pm@thebestinheritage.com Tel / Fax: +385 1 77 88 248 mobile phone: +385 91 525 04 77 www.thebestinheritage.com

ADVISORY BOARD:

Mr John Sell, United Kingdom, Chairman john@sellwade.co.uk Mr Willem De Vos, Belgium, Member wim.vmv@hotmail.com Ms Goranka Horjan, Croatia, Member goranka.horjan@mhz.hr Mr An Laishun, China, Member als@ciae.com.cn Mr Claude Faubert, Canada, Member cfaubert@technomuses.ca Mr Vladimir Ilych Tolstoy, Russia, Member yaspol@tgk.tolstoy.ru Mr Stephen Harrison, Isle of Man, Honorary member heritage@manx.net PUBLISHED BY

European Heritage Association / The Best In Heritage Trg kralja Petra Krešimira IV 7, Zagreb, Croatia EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Professor Tomislav S. Šola EDITOR

Luka Cipek LANGUAGE EDITING:

Nigel Chew FRONT COVER

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