From where I’m standing
Real community involvement should start at the top
The Class is a French film based on a real event where a schoolteacher is tested by a class of underprivileged pupils. One of the main things that struck me about the situation was the pupils’ presence at disciplinary board hearings for their peers.
How open and refreshingly democratic, I thought. OK, it was a chaotic and challenging experience for the board but the will to allow new voices in and to take a risk was important.
I am in the camp that says museums primarily exist for people rather than the objects themselves. And with our smaller and local museums, that means, firstly, the community around them.
Not only should an outreach manager be on the senior management team, but also a representative from a community partner should join them at board level. These people are the lifeblood of museums and should be treated as such.
I already sense the fear at this suggestion in some museums. But I think fear should be reserved for the damage being done and lack of progress within our institutions.
It concerns me that, according to the Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s recent report Whose Cake Is It Anyway, community involvement is still on the periphery of core museum work mainly because of short-term funding but also resistance at senior management level. Add to this the slashing of outreach posts and we are left with even further community non-engagement.
The findings in this report are sadly nothing new. What the report does is to place a glaring light on the soiled landscape – cementing the fact that things aren’t changing.
How the foundation will take things forward to activate organisational change will be known early in July. I hope there is a recommendation for community engagement at governance level.
But there must be a caution here. Don’t elect the community partner whose voice chimes with the museum. Instead, insist on those with strong voices who see things differently. With the right ground rules in place, it really could make our museums a better place.
How open and refreshingly democratic, I thought. OK, it was a chaotic and challenging experience for the board but the will to allow new voices in and to take a risk was important.
I am in the camp that says museums primarily exist for people rather than the objects themselves. And with our smaller and local museums, that means, firstly, the community around them.
Not only should an outreach manager be on the senior management team, but also a representative from a community partner should join them at board level. These people are the lifeblood of museums and should be treated as such.
I already sense the fear at this suggestion in some museums. But I think fear should be reserved for the damage being done and lack of progress within our institutions.
It concerns me that, according to the Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s recent report Whose Cake Is It Anyway, community involvement is still on the periphery of core museum work mainly because of short-term funding but also resistance at senior management level. Add to this the slashing of outreach posts and we are left with even further community non-engagement.
The findings in this report are sadly nothing new. What the report does is to place a glaring light on the soiled landscape – cementing the fact that things aren’t changing.
How the foundation will take things forward to activate organisational change will be known early in July. I hope there is a recommendation for community engagement at governance level.
But there must be a caution here. Don’t elect the community partner whose voice chimes with the museum. Instead, insist on those with strong voices who see things differently. With the right ground rules in place, it really could make our museums a better place.