The Mini Museum, St Thomas' Hospital, London
Technology is developing so fast these days that museums often have a problem knowing what to do with all the redundant 'things' that society creates. Curators are asking whether there is room for all of these items to be stored in museums.
New initiatives, such as loan boxes, handling collections and travelling exhibitions, have tried to alleviate the problem, as have schemes to display exhibits in corporate environments. But the Arts Programme of Guy's and St Thomas' Charitable Foundation has gone one step further and not given its collection of artefacts to a museum at all. Instead, it has employed the Axiom Design Partnership to create a capsular 'Mini Museum', actually in St Thomas' Hospital.
Rather than create a separate museum space, the foundation decided to set up its display in a corner of its central communal space - a large atrium at the foot of the main staircase normally used for bring-and-buy sales, piano concerts and corporate entertaining. It is the point where four main corridors converge and has long been a showcase for the hospital's artistic highlights, including a bronze statue of Florence Nightingale.
The display is a robust and streamlined concertina of interlocking screens, with inset glass cases and mini-architectural conceits. It is brightly coloured and aesthetically pleasing, with an excellent mixture of multimedia imagery and 3D objects, and a good balance between text and pictures.
The exhibition is thematic, rather than chronological, and is divided up into sections entitled Laying Foundations, Life on the Ward, and Knowledge and Invention. There is no clear 'route' through the display, but one can dip in and out of it like a magazine and always pick up the thread - I noticed that most visitors interacted with the displays in this way. The exhibition also includes a timeline, which enables visitors to orientate themselves if necessary.
Laying Foundations traces the site changes of St Thomas' Hospital and its relationship to Guy's Hospital, as well as telling the story of its founders and patrons. The artefacts shown are strikingly un-medical - commemorative trowels and beadle's staffs are mixed with objects from throughout the ages.
I was impressed that the text pays attention to the decoration of these items - a coat of arms on a chapel cushion is disseminated for its symbolism, for example. I was also pleased that the display mentions the future plans for the development of St Thomas', including architectural drawings for the new Evelina Children's Hospital.
Life on the Ward is concerned with nursing, hospital food, hygiene and facilities, but the subject matter is too big to cover with a couple of panels. This is reflected in the 'bric-a-brac stall' appearance of the accompanying glass case, which contains a set of 1960s dolls modelling nursing fashions throughout the ages, a sister's uniform, a hospital menu, some catheters and the recreation of a chapel.
The Knowledge and Invention section is concerned with pioneering doctors who have worked at the hospital, and showcases some ancient surgical equipment and peculiar medicines. It also details the advances in medicine pioneered at the hospital up to the present day.
This self-congratulation is a recurring theme throughout the Mini Museum. The text is often punctuated by 'St Thomas' firsts' sections - each containing a little boast about something St Thomas' did before any other hospital thought of it. The overall message to visitors is that they, and their loved ones, are in safe hands.
The Mini Museum is robust, self-sufficient, and designed to eliminate the need for staffing. The disadvantages of this approach became apparent during my visit, as there was no one to inform that the video-player was broken, or that an alarm was beeping for an entire hour.
Other minor gripes were that 'this case is alarmed' signs sometimes obscured the exhibition text, and that some labels were very small or poorly lit. I also objected to the amount of bending and stooping I had to do in order to read many of them, but perhaps it is only fair that text should be at various heights.
Overall, I think that the St Thomas' Mini Museum is a resounding success. Its low running costs, combined with its guaranteed passing trade, would make many museum staff green with envy.
Abbi Lock is a registrar currently studying for an AMA
Technology is developing so fast these days that museums often have a problem knowing what to do with all the redundant 'things' that society creates. Curators are asking whether there is room for all of these items to be stored in museums.
New initiatives, such as loan boxes, handling collections and travelling exhibitions, have tried to alleviate the problem, as have schemes to display exhibits in corporate environments. But the Arts Programme of Guy's and St Thomas' Charitable Foundation has gone one step further and not given its collection of artefacts to a museum at all. Instead, it has employed the Axiom Design Partnership to create a capsular 'Mini Museum', actually in St Thomas' Hospital.
Rather than create a separate museum space, the foundation decided to set up its display in a corner of its central communal space - a large atrium at the foot of the main staircase normally used for bring-and-buy sales, piano concerts and corporate entertaining. It is the point where four main corridors converge and has long been a showcase for the hospital's artistic highlights, including a bronze statue of Florence Nightingale.
The display is a robust and streamlined concertina of interlocking screens, with inset glass cases and mini-architectural conceits. It is brightly coloured and aesthetically pleasing, with an excellent mixture of multimedia imagery and 3D objects, and a good balance between text and pictures.
The exhibition is thematic, rather than chronological, and is divided up into sections entitled Laying Foundations, Life on the Ward, and Knowledge and Invention. There is no clear 'route' through the display, but one can dip in and out of it like a magazine and always pick up the thread - I noticed that most visitors interacted with the displays in this way. The exhibition also includes a timeline, which enables visitors to orientate themselves if necessary.
Laying Foundations traces the site changes of St Thomas' Hospital and its relationship to Guy's Hospital, as well as telling the story of its founders and patrons. The artefacts shown are strikingly un-medical - commemorative trowels and beadle's staffs are mixed with objects from throughout the ages.
I was impressed that the text pays attention to the decoration of these items - a coat of arms on a chapel cushion is disseminated for its symbolism, for example. I was also pleased that the display mentions the future plans for the development of St Thomas', including architectural drawings for the new Evelina Children's Hospital.
Life on the Ward is concerned with nursing, hospital food, hygiene and facilities, but the subject matter is too big to cover with a couple of panels. This is reflected in the 'bric-a-brac stall' appearance of the accompanying glass case, which contains a set of 1960s dolls modelling nursing fashions throughout the ages, a sister's uniform, a hospital menu, some catheters and the recreation of a chapel.
The Knowledge and Invention section is concerned with pioneering doctors who have worked at the hospital, and showcases some ancient surgical equipment and peculiar medicines. It also details the advances in medicine pioneered at the hospital up to the present day.
This self-congratulation is a recurring theme throughout the Mini Museum. The text is often punctuated by 'St Thomas' firsts' sections - each containing a little boast about something St Thomas' did before any other hospital thought of it. The overall message to visitors is that they, and their loved ones, are in safe hands.
The Mini Museum is robust, self-sufficient, and designed to eliminate the need for staffing. The disadvantages of this approach became apparent during my visit, as there was no one to inform that the video-player was broken, or that an alarm was beeping for an entire hour.
Other minor gripes were that 'this case is alarmed' signs sometimes obscured the exhibition text, and that some labels were very small or poorly lit. I also objected to the amount of bending and stooping I had to do in order to read many of them, but perhaps it is only fair that text should be at various heights.
Overall, I think that the St Thomas' Mini Museum is a resounding success. Its low running costs, combined with its guaranteed passing trade, would make many museum staff green with envy.
Abbi Lock is a registrar currently studying for an AMA
Project data
Cost: £40,000
Funder: Guy's and St Thomas' Charitable Foundation
Exhibition design: Axiom Design Partnership
Cost: £40,000
Funder: Guy's and St Thomas' Charitable Foundation
Exhibition design: Axiom Design Partnership
