When it was established in 1955, the National Museum of History in Taipei, Taiwan, was the first public museum to open in the country after the second world war. It has witnessed the development of the relationship between museums and audiences, and their interest in Taiwanese history.
Before closing for a three-year renovation in July 2018 the museum organised an experimental programme, called See You Again in a Promising Future, to discuss new issues, new approaches and new relationships between the museum and its audience in the new era.
We chose to focus on three new target audiences that were previously outside of the museum’s scope: students from outside the formal education system (teenagers), those who make up the workforce in society (millennials), and elderly caregivers (older people).
We worked with professional consultants to organise the programme in an attempt to respond to the audiences’ current situations, and to develop innovative connections with them through the practice of co-curation.
Through this work, we have collected evidence in the form of observations, surveys, notes and film recording. The information we gathered can be divided into the personal and the emotional: for teenagers, they enjoy the interactions with museums and mention a sense of accomplishment. For millennials, they appreciate the dialogue through new connections to works of art, and feel a sense of relaxation. For older people, they feel connected and find a sense of intimacy.
All participants had a new experience in the museum. Their impressions of the venue have changed, and we have helped participants to co-create the vision of the museum during its renovation process in creative ways.
My advice is for museums to put co-curation into practice by focusing on the connections that exist between people and the museum. When people feel connected, it allows the museum to become an essential part of them and their cultural lives.
Chun-Hui Wang is a research assistant at the National Museum of History in Taiwan
Before closing for a three-year renovation in July 2018 the museum organised an experimental programme, called See You Again in a Promising Future, to discuss new issues, new approaches and new relationships between the museum and its audience in the new era.
We chose to focus on three new target audiences that were previously outside of the museum’s scope: students from outside the formal education system (teenagers), those who make up the workforce in society (millennials), and elderly caregivers (older people).
We worked with professional consultants to organise the programme in an attempt to respond to the audiences’ current situations, and to develop innovative connections with them through the practice of co-curation.
Through this work, we have collected evidence in the form of observations, surveys, notes and film recording. The information we gathered can be divided into the personal and the emotional: for teenagers, they enjoy the interactions with museums and mention a sense of accomplishment. For millennials, they appreciate the dialogue through new connections to works of art, and feel a sense of relaxation. For older people, they feel connected and find a sense of intimacy.
All participants had a new experience in the museum. Their impressions of the venue have changed, and we have helped participants to co-create the vision of the museum during its renovation process in creative ways.
My advice is for museums to put co-curation into practice by focusing on the connections that exist between people and the museum. When people feel connected, it allows the museum to become an essential part of them and their cultural lives.
Chun-Hui Wang is a research assistant at the National Museum of History in Taiwan
