Most museums will probably have something in their collections that is contentious: a controversial drawing, some inflammatory propaganda, artefacts of a sensitive nature - the questions is should they be kept in store or put on display?
Sharon Macdonald highlighted the protests caused by a planned exhibition of a former slave ship at the Tampa Museum in the US - the exhibition was later cancelled (Museums Journal May 2007, p18). In Belfast opinions are divided about whether the paramilitary murals should be preserved, as a moment in history, or painted over to signal a new leaf?
At the National Army Museum (NAM), we have faced searching questions about whether to display certain objects from our collections. The decision to show the medals of Brigadier-General Dyer was taken with some trepidation.
History has vilified Dyer as being responsible for the 1919 Amritsar Massacre in India, when more than 300 men, women and children were slain by British Indian Army soldiers. Would the NAM want to risk upsetting people by displaying honours awarded to its perpetrator?
Stories of second world war Japanese atrocities inflicted on prisoners of war (POWs) still cause deep feelings of outrage - our mannequin of a Japanese prison guard has suffered several acts of vandalism over the years. A Nazi eagle standard and part of the telephone switchboard from Hitler's headquarters sit prominently in a case. These can offend, so should they be on display?
It is part of a museum's remit to inform and educate. If we shy away from tackling thorny subjects, one of our core strengths, encouraging questions and debate, would be weakened. If we pretend that something negative never happened then what have we learned?
There are no excuses or explanations that could justify some past events but to pretend such atrocities never happened is an insult to those who suffered and serves no purpose in helping society educate itself.
Visitors can be encouraged to engage with exhibitions through comment books. A panel next to distressing images of POWs in a recent NAM exhibition asked visitors to imagine how they would feel faced with a similar situation, thereby changing their role from voyeur to participant.
Context is also important in avoiding the risk of sensationalism. The thought of some Belfast tour guides wishing to preserve paramilitary murals as an 'attraction' is somewhat worrying, as is the fact that some of the younger generation see them as a way of engaging with the 'excitement' of the Troubles.
But if we are able to present objects and events with a non-biased, informative voice, offering space to all those involved, then we might even have a positive effect, and entrenched views, if not altered, might at least be softened.
Nancy Tanner is the curatorial officer at the National Army Museum in London
Sharon Macdonald highlighted the protests caused by a planned exhibition of a former slave ship at the Tampa Museum in the US - the exhibition was later cancelled (Museums Journal May 2007, p18). In Belfast opinions are divided about whether the paramilitary murals should be preserved, as a moment in history, or painted over to signal a new leaf?
At the National Army Museum (NAM), we have faced searching questions about whether to display certain objects from our collections. The decision to show the medals of Brigadier-General Dyer was taken with some trepidation.
History has vilified Dyer as being responsible for the 1919 Amritsar Massacre in India, when more than 300 men, women and children were slain by British Indian Army soldiers. Would the NAM want to risk upsetting people by displaying honours awarded to its perpetrator?
Stories of second world war Japanese atrocities inflicted on prisoners of war (POWs) still cause deep feelings of outrage - our mannequin of a Japanese prison guard has suffered several acts of vandalism over the years. A Nazi eagle standard and part of the telephone switchboard from Hitler's headquarters sit prominently in a case. These can offend, so should they be on display?
It is part of a museum's remit to inform and educate. If we shy away from tackling thorny subjects, one of our core strengths, encouraging questions and debate, would be weakened. If we pretend that something negative never happened then what have we learned?
There are no excuses or explanations that could justify some past events but to pretend such atrocities never happened is an insult to those who suffered and serves no purpose in helping society educate itself.
Visitors can be encouraged to engage with exhibitions through comment books. A panel next to distressing images of POWs in a recent NAM exhibition asked visitors to imagine how they would feel faced with a similar situation, thereby changing their role from voyeur to participant.
Context is also important in avoiding the risk of sensationalism. The thought of some Belfast tour guides wishing to preserve paramilitary murals as an 'attraction' is somewhat worrying, as is the fact that some of the younger generation see them as a way of engaging with the 'excitement' of the Troubles.
But if we are able to present objects and events with a non-biased, informative voice, offering space to all those involved, then we might even have a positive effect, and entrenched views, if not altered, might at least be softened.
Nancy Tanner is the curatorial officer at the National Army Museum in London
