I recently read an article by Financial Times journalist Simon Kuper about the demise of big ideas.
Whether it is the leftwing theories that have taken a battering by the collapse of communist regimes or rightwing concepts about the benefits of the free market that have been discredited by the recent global financial crisis, many of the last century’s grand concepts seem to have failed spectacularly.
The article got me thinking about the value of big ideas for museums and galleries.
In this issue, we have Jon Alexander, the director of the New Citizenship Project, discussing how individuals are moving from being consumers to citizens (p14).
He argues that this change could mean a “new golden age” for museums as people start to define themselves not by what they buy but by who they are, where they are from and what they value.
Alexander shared a platform at the recent Museums Association conference with Miguel Amado, a curator at the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, which is developing the concept of a “useful museum”.
The aim is to show that the arts, museums and culture are fundamental in the development of a healthy society. On a global scale, we have recently seen lots of emphasis on “soft power”, the idea that museums are part of international networks that promote cultural change and empower citizens. This is seen as a potentially significant diplomatic and economic tool.
The new citizen, the useful museum and soft power are all clearly big ideas, but the article in the Financial Times argues that “we have entered a new age of evidence-based small ideas”.
It is true that small ideas don’t sound very exciting, but they are probably easier to implement, prove and learn from than grand concepts that try to be all things to all people.
Museums Change Lives, the ongoing Museums Association campaign to show how the sector can increase the positive impact it has on society, probably falls into the big ideas category.
But the evidence that museums can changes people’s lives for the better often comes from lots of small, community based projects where the impact is easy to see.
Maybe this is where the future lies – in big concepts that are realised by lots of small-scale projects with obvious outcomes.
Simon Stephens, editor, Museums Journal
simon@museumsassociation.org
www.twitter.com/simonastephens
Whether it is the leftwing theories that have taken a battering by the collapse of communist regimes or rightwing concepts about the benefits of the free market that have been discredited by the recent global financial crisis, many of the last century’s grand concepts seem to have failed spectacularly.
The article got me thinking about the value of big ideas for museums and galleries.
In this issue, we have Jon Alexander, the director of the New Citizenship Project, discussing how individuals are moving from being consumers to citizens (p14).
He argues that this change could mean a “new golden age” for museums as people start to define themselves not by what they buy but by who they are, where they are from and what they value.
Alexander shared a platform at the recent Museums Association conference with Miguel Amado, a curator at the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, which is developing the concept of a “useful museum”.
The aim is to show that the arts, museums and culture are fundamental in the development of a healthy society. On a global scale, we have recently seen lots of emphasis on “soft power”, the idea that museums are part of international networks that promote cultural change and empower citizens. This is seen as a potentially significant diplomatic and economic tool.
The new citizen, the useful museum and soft power are all clearly big ideas, but the article in the Financial Times argues that “we have entered a new age of evidence-based small ideas”.
It is true that small ideas don’t sound very exciting, but they are probably easier to implement, prove and learn from than grand concepts that try to be all things to all people.
Museums Change Lives, the ongoing Museums Association campaign to show how the sector can increase the positive impact it has on society, probably falls into the big ideas category.
But the evidence that museums can changes people’s lives for the better often comes from lots of small, community based projects where the impact is easy to see.
Maybe this is where the future lies – in big concepts that are realised by lots of small-scale projects with obvious outcomes.
Simon Stephens, editor, Museums Journal
simon@museumsassociation.org
www.twitter.com/simonastephens
