Five years ago, the Museums Association’s (MA) Empowering Collections report was published, with 11 recommendations to enable more empowering, relevant and dynamic collections.
We’re now revisiting it, to measure its progress and relevance. We know we’ll see mixed results. There have been huge inroads in decolonisation in museums, for example, and the MA has produced guidance to support this. We’re also seeing more collections approaches that centre communities to maximise social impact.
The Museum Data Service and projects such as DiSSCo encourage the sharing of collections data, but to work smarter, we need more collaboration. The potential for AI and other digital solutions in collections documentation is also yet to be fully explored and museums are likely to need support to harness this.
We have an updated toolkit for collection rationalisation, enabling greater flexibility in the transfer of objects to museums and community organisations where they might be better used. However, in the context of cost-of-living and climate crises, and increasing inequality, the need for collections to be relevant and sustainable has never been more important – and there is a lot of work to do.
To contribute to the review, check out the call for evidence on the MA website or contact me.
Sarah Briggs is the grants manager at the MA