Reposting my brief rant from here:
"Anti-BP group has sticky protest at British Museum"
Errrgggh. I knew BP’s sponsorship of the British Museum would spark some controversy, but this pisses me off no end. I am no supporter of BP and the mess they’ve made - there seriously has to be a better way to protest than by going in to possibly do damage to museum objects.
Step the fuck back from the objects, people. It’s a rule. Stick to it.
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
BP & The British Museum
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
National Museum of Australia could get a breath of fresh air
Out of museum and into history for culture warriors - three Howard-era appointees to the museum's council are out out out: They are John Howard's biographer David Barnett, his former speechwriter Christopher Pearson and former Liberal Party federal president Tony Staley.
Considering the troubles the NMA had in its blossoming years, I can't help but think this is a good thing - especially considering the following: Objections to the museum's displays ranged from serious to high farce. Mr Barnett, in particular, became a vocal critic. In a scathing report he referred to a stolen children exhibit as a "victim episode"and described the museum as full of "claptrap" and "Marxist rubbish".
I shall reserve judgment until I hear anything in the next couple of years, though. Changes like this aren't going to impact on anything immediately - but honestly, having had the new PM apologise to Australia's Indigenous population means that it's fairly likely anyone that's going to be put into the NMA council now will at least be a little more balanced when it comes to representing Australia's best interests - all of Australia's best interests. The job of a National Museum is not an easy one, and the NMA had a particularly rocky start, plagued with political issues. As a now established institution and with a changing management like this, I think they can really step up and provide something fresh and new and all-encompassing (possibly like parts of the Melbourne Museum but on a larger, more up to date scale).
I've never been to the NMA - I wish i'd had the chance now, just for comparison's sake - but I look forward to making the effort to visit whenever I return to Australian shores.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
A Night at the Museum - film and reality
Just a few grabs from recent news:
Thousands visit Natural History Museum after Ben Stiller movie.
New York's American Museum of Natural History has seen a 20 percent jump in attendance over the holidays. And museum officials say it's due in part the new Ben Stiller comedy... But the museum's president says the increase in attendance can also be pinned on a spike in New York City tourism.
Don't forget your sleeping bag! American Museum of Natural History launches sleepover program.
"A Night at the Museum" monthly sleepover program officially begins Saturday, but word-of-mouth has spread quickly -- it's booked through March.
Suddenly, this museum is hot!
Attendance at the American Museum of Natural History, in Manhattan, soared higher than a T-rex skeleton over the holidays — thanks in large part to the popularity of the new kid-oriented comedy Night at the Museum.
Fake Museum Increases Attendance at Real Museum
To respond to the increased attendance and frequent movie-related questions of museum visitors, the AMNH "scoured the movie" (pity the poor intern with that duty!) so they could "tell visitors what was here and what wasn't" according to AMNH director of visitor services Brad Harris.
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I pretty much figured this would be the case; the presence of any museum in the media (generally visual) will always mean an increase in interest, whether it's been seen via advertising or something like a film such as this. More often than not it will give a lot less than 100% of an idea of what the museum is and what it entails. (We get countless people phoning my work with little to no idea of what the museum/sciencentre actually are and what's in them.)
So with something like this, where you have a movie ostensibly set in a museum where it's really a set of a museum, there's going to be confusion, along with excitement. It's really, really awesome that the movie (which is fun and terrific, by the way) is making people enthusiastic about heading along to the AMNH again or for the first time (or heading along to any museums at all!). I can imagine it must be overwhelming for the staff and management somewhat - although I do wonder if they somehow wrangled it in their favour, to lend their name and facade to the film.
However! As the last quote highlights, folks are getting mismatched ideas between movie museum and real museum - of course people are going to be expecting the dioramas (&c) they see in the film - if i'd not been anywhere near the AMNH (as I haven't), i'd expect a reasonable amount of similarity - after all, the sets were magnificent. It's a real pity that the popularity of the museum has been such a boon for its popularity, but is in some ways also sabotaging its reputation, via the creation/enhancement of people's expectations.
I hope that the streak of popularity continues throughout the year and well beyond for the AMNH, but I also hope that it's because they have a strong enough presence (maybe even 'brand', if you like) and exhibitions/public programs interesting and enthusiastic enough to keep people entertained and coming back, regardless whether they've seen A Night at the Museum or not.
Friday, January 05, 2007
A slight frivolity..
Thieves beware: museum curators are after you
LONDON. Faced with the prospect of dissolution, the Art and Antiques Unit of the Metropolitan Police has come up with a new idea—to recruit curators and art historians as special constables. The scheme, dubbed Art Beat, is set to start in April. This is the first time the police has attempted to recruit such specialist volunteers.
Detective Sergeant Vernon Rapley told The Art Newspaper that the scheme was devised after the Art squad was told by the Metropolitan Police Authority that it could be disbanded if it did not become 50% self-financing by 2008.
Art Beat Special Constables are being recruited from museums such as the Victoria & Albert and the British Museum, universities, insurance companies and other cultural organisations. After four weeks training in police procedure as well as specialist art squad techniques, volunteers will be sponsored by their employers to work as Special Constables for 200 hours a year or one day a fortnight. They will be uniformed and will have full police powers.
“The aim is to build bridges between the police and the art world and maintain a high visibility presence in areas with a high level of art sales,” said DS Rapley. “This could include patrolling antiques markets like Bermondsey or areas with clusters of art dealers like Kensington Church Street, Bond Street or Camden Passage, or undercover intelligence work.”
The Art and Antiquities Unit currently consists of only four full time officers. “At the moment we are not receiving as much information as we would like from the art trade,” said DS Rapley. “We have tried to recruit from areas with the kind of specialist knowledge that will benefit from our work.” So far the police have recruited archaeology and antiquities experts, and hope to have 14 constables trained by April.
Well, I will be looking for work in London later in the year... But seriously, i'd much rather be some kind of superhero-esque type, striving for vigilante justice in the blackmarket artefact trade world. There would be capes! I could be Super Curator! Really.
*primps her resume*
Friday, November 17, 2006
[News] Proposed merger for Austrailan Museum and Powerhouse Museum
Museum merger sparks international concern (ABC Science News)
It appears as if the NSW Government is looking to integrate the Australian and Powerhouse museums under one board, and at a "functional" level - basically, to try and save the government some money. As someone who's visited both these museums enough times, it's simple for me to recognise this is a bad idea from not only a visitor's perspective but also a behind-the-scenes perspective. Looking at the responses in the article linked above, it seems like the major concern is the possible loss of scientific research at the Australian Museum (in addition to people being concerned that a merger just wouldn't work because of the different histories of the museums and their vastly different collections). I've visited both museums a number of times, not only when I was growing up, but also in recent memory. While it's true that the AM could benefit from the quality and turnover that the PM displays, I don't think that this would be a result of the two museums merging - rather, that existing resources would have to be shared and stretched, more than likely not improving the AM's chances at all.
I visited both museum's websites to take a look at their vision statements and whatnot - here's what they are currently:
Australian Museum
Our Purpose
To inspire the exploration of nature and cultures.
Our Vision
A beautiful and sustainable natural world with vibrant and diverse cultures.
Our Values
As the Australian Museum, we strive to embody distinctly Australian values and qualities. We seek to be:
* egalitarian and fair minded
* willing to use humour and not take ourselves too seriously
* inquisitive and explorative
* creative
* outgoing
* respectful of the rights of others
Powerhouse Museum
Mission
The Powerhouse Museum develops collections and presents exhibitions and programs that explore science, design and history for the people of New South Wales and beyond.
Vision
The Powerhouse will further its reputation as a museum that celebrates human creativity and innovation in ways that engage, inform and inspire diverse audiences.
Values
The Museum believes in engaging its diverse audiences, promoting scholarship and presenting its collections and programs in ways that captivate the intellect and challenge the human spirit to excel. We place high value on nurturing the abilities of staff and volunteers, and fostering community partnerships.
On the whole, I don't think their values differ too much - they're worded a little differently but are in the same spirit. However, when you compare the purpose/mission and the vision statements it's apparant that it would take a restructure of one or both museums to have a merger work at an even basic level. These are the things that inform the way the museum operates and what it provides and does - the Australian Museum is a very typical natural history/anthropology type museum while the Powerhouse has a focus on society, design and physical, rather than biological, sciences. What I gather the government is doing my proposing a merger is aiming at downsizing the amount of staff and operational costs - I doubt that the spirit and aims of both museums would be untouched and uncompromised.
If there's a positive way for this merger to happen, i'd love to see it. However, these are two large museums with niche research and exhibition objectives - I don't think a plan for unified board and operational structure is taking this into account. It'll be very interesting to see where this goes - and if it does happen, how they'll manage it practically.
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