Four new exhibitions at the Royal Cornwall Museum celebrate the bicentenary of the formation of the Royal Institution of Cornwall (RIC) by a group of Cornish men and women at the County Library in Truro in February 1818.
The group aimed to promote excellence across all fields relating to Cornwall’s industries, which included mining tin, copper, china clay, quarrying slate, Cornish engineering and fishing, but also botany and art. The way that the Royal Institution of Cornwall decided to promote all of these local attributes was through the creation of the museum, which this year celebrates its 200th anniversary.
The exhibitions, titled The Joy of Science; World Wide Wonders; Hireth – A Cornish Landscape; and The Secret Life of Objects, have been curated to augment the dominant themes of the collections, which reflect Cornwall’s main industries and artistic strengths.
I visited the museum on a rainy Tuesday just as it was opening and it did seem quiet considering it was half-term. But there were a few families and community groups enjoying the space and participating in workshops run by the museum staff.
I’m familiar with the venue, having visited it periodically for over 12 years. The entrance hall is linked to the museum through two imposing doors and as I walked into the main gallery it felt as though it was still the same recognisable space. But on second glance I noticed more interactive displays than before, more family-friendly interpretation, particularly around the museum’s memorable horse-drawn carriage that’s on display, which I always remember for its scary “hands off” signs.
The RIC collection, with 3,500 objects, is wide-ranging and demonstrates Cornwall’s worldwide links. The museum holds objects from many cultures across the world including Africa, Asia, America, Australasia, the Pacific, and Polynesia, anything from everyday items and antiquities to weapons. The museum displays reflect key moments in Cornish history forged by the many scientists, inventors and artists that visited, lived or were born in the area.
The newly interpreted spaces (not all the displays have been redone) are marked out by colourful vinyl circles on the floor, but I did not find this very clear exhibition design, and I needed a volunteer to explain.
A sense of place
The Joy of Science exhibition in the reorganised main gallery focuses on inventions, discoveries and journeys in Cornwall. Many of the objects are woven into existing displays and differentiated clearly by the 200-year celebration branding. I learned about the “handsome” Humphry Davy and his innovations through numerous objects, including his notebooks, which are displayed in a case.
The histories and related artefacts of other inventors, plant hunters, botanists and explorers are similarly displayed, with more detailed information about their lives in Cornwall provided by an interactive display. The Prehistoric to Present Day display incorporates objects such as jewellery, arrowheads and other curiosities in a circular timeline; each object is held in a perspex box with adjacent text.
Moving upstairs, there is The Secret Life of Objects exhibition, which appealed to me as a collections manager. Volunteers have chosen the items on display and told their stories. This type of curation offers a different visitor experience as we get to see the object or photograph from their perspective.
It is a clever idea to highlight objects in the collection that are not fit for display as it shows a non-museum audience (and possible benefactors) the works that need conservation and why. Visitors are given a sense of what’s behind the scenes via a large vinyl background showing the museum’s art stores and where these at-risk objects are kept safely.
The first floor also houses the Philbrick Gallery, where I found Hireth – A Cornish Landscape. This exhibition showcases artworks from the Royal Cornwall Museum collection and the Cornwall Council Schools Art Collection. The pieces have been chosen to evoke an emotional response from visitors about Cornwall as a place. The display spans art from the Victorian era to the present day, and is well-curated, with compositional similarities pointed out in the interpretation and groupings of artworks that show no narrative, but complement each other aesthetically.
Citizen curation
I was immediately impressed by the wall of intriguing objects in the World Wide Wonders exhibition in the Treffry Gallery. Each object is interpreted in an interactive touchscreen display where, by touching an object, I could find out more information about it. Other displays had been curated from the Japanese and shipwreck collections. I found the placement of some text panels confusing as they were at a distance from the cases, so I could not cross-reference the display in question. But laminated information sheets under the text panels can be removed and read while looking at the objects.
Another feature in this gallery is the “salon hang”, a seemingly random mixture of contemporary and traditional artworks. I wanted to understand the reasoning behind this curatorial decision but was unable to find any interpretation panel on it. Further information about the artists, artwork and history was provided by another touchscreen display.
I did find a panel that introduced me to the concept of “citizen curators” who have worked closely with the museum’s curators to explore ways in which social media and interactives can reinterpret the displays for a younger audience and attract a new generation of museum enthusiasts. This is an effective approach, with well-researched, informative captions, labels and object-based information presented in a lively and friendly voice.
Marking 200 years of the RIC has been advertised as a year-long celebration of the museum and its collection. These exhibitions are a good representation of the collection and its importance to Cornwall. I thoroughly enjoyed rediscovering the museum and the history of the RIC, but I felt that the interpretation and labelling could have been more accessible. More thought was needed about how the information would be accessed by a wider audience.
I also felt that the spaces didn’t flow well, and that there could have been a clearer distinction between the old displays and the newly interpreted ones.
Hopefully, all this will be unified at a later stage. I am sure this project will be the impetus the museum needs to refresh all its displays, and rationalise the narrative, branding and curation, for an altogether more enhanced experience.
Natalie Rigby is the collections manager at Falmouth Art Gallery, Cornwall
Main funders DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund; Arts Council England; Cornwall Council; Creative Kernow; British Museum
Exhibition design In-house
Graphic design 20/20; Autograffiti; X-Graphica
Lighting Chris Watts Design
Display cases Armour Systems
Exhibition fitout Parc Signs; TEE
Admission Museums Association members go free
The group aimed to promote excellence across all fields relating to Cornwall’s industries, which included mining tin, copper, china clay, quarrying slate, Cornish engineering and fishing, but also botany and art. The way that the Royal Institution of Cornwall decided to promote all of these local attributes was through the creation of the museum, which this year celebrates its 200th anniversary.
The exhibitions, titled The Joy of Science; World Wide Wonders; Hireth – A Cornish Landscape; and The Secret Life of Objects, have been curated to augment the dominant themes of the collections, which reflect Cornwall’s main industries and artistic strengths.
I visited the museum on a rainy Tuesday just as it was opening and it did seem quiet considering it was half-term. But there were a few families and community groups enjoying the space and participating in workshops run by the museum staff.
I’m familiar with the venue, having visited it periodically for over 12 years. The entrance hall is linked to the museum through two imposing doors and as I walked into the main gallery it felt as though it was still the same recognisable space. But on second glance I noticed more interactive displays than before, more family-friendly interpretation, particularly around the museum’s memorable horse-drawn carriage that’s on display, which I always remember for its scary “hands off” signs.
The RIC collection, with 3,500 objects, is wide-ranging and demonstrates Cornwall’s worldwide links. The museum holds objects from many cultures across the world including Africa, Asia, America, Australasia, the Pacific, and Polynesia, anything from everyday items and antiquities to weapons. The museum displays reflect key moments in Cornish history forged by the many scientists, inventors and artists that visited, lived or were born in the area.
The newly interpreted spaces (not all the displays have been redone) are marked out by colourful vinyl circles on the floor, but I did not find this very clear exhibition design, and I needed a volunteer to explain.
A sense of place
The Joy of Science exhibition in the reorganised main gallery focuses on inventions, discoveries and journeys in Cornwall. Many of the objects are woven into existing displays and differentiated clearly by the 200-year celebration branding. I learned about the “handsome” Humphry Davy and his innovations through numerous objects, including his notebooks, which are displayed in a case.
The histories and related artefacts of other inventors, plant hunters, botanists and explorers are similarly displayed, with more detailed information about their lives in Cornwall provided by an interactive display. The Prehistoric to Present Day display incorporates objects such as jewellery, arrowheads and other curiosities in a circular timeline; each object is held in a perspex box with adjacent text.
Moving upstairs, there is The Secret Life of Objects exhibition, which appealed to me as a collections manager. Volunteers have chosen the items on display and told their stories. This type of curation offers a different visitor experience as we get to see the object or photograph from their perspective.
It is a clever idea to highlight objects in the collection that are not fit for display as it shows a non-museum audience (and possible benefactors) the works that need conservation and why. Visitors are given a sense of what’s behind the scenes via a large vinyl background showing the museum’s art stores and where these at-risk objects are kept safely.
The first floor also houses the Philbrick Gallery, where I found Hireth – A Cornish Landscape. This exhibition showcases artworks from the Royal Cornwall Museum collection and the Cornwall Council Schools Art Collection. The pieces have been chosen to evoke an emotional response from visitors about Cornwall as a place. The display spans art from the Victorian era to the present day, and is well-curated, with compositional similarities pointed out in the interpretation and groupings of artworks that show no narrative, but complement each other aesthetically.
Citizen curation
I was immediately impressed by the wall of intriguing objects in the World Wide Wonders exhibition in the Treffry Gallery. Each object is interpreted in an interactive touchscreen display where, by touching an object, I could find out more information about it. Other displays had been curated from the Japanese and shipwreck collections. I found the placement of some text panels confusing as they were at a distance from the cases, so I could not cross-reference the display in question. But laminated information sheets under the text panels can be removed and read while looking at the objects.
Another feature in this gallery is the “salon hang”, a seemingly random mixture of contemporary and traditional artworks. I wanted to understand the reasoning behind this curatorial decision but was unable to find any interpretation panel on it. Further information about the artists, artwork and history was provided by another touchscreen display.
I did find a panel that introduced me to the concept of “citizen curators” who have worked closely with the museum’s curators to explore ways in which social media and interactives can reinterpret the displays for a younger audience and attract a new generation of museum enthusiasts. This is an effective approach, with well-researched, informative captions, labels and object-based information presented in a lively and friendly voice.
Marking 200 years of the RIC has been advertised as a year-long celebration of the museum and its collection. These exhibitions are a good representation of the collection and its importance to Cornwall. I thoroughly enjoyed rediscovering the museum and the history of the RIC, but I felt that the interpretation and labelling could have been more accessible. More thought was needed about how the information would be accessed by a wider audience.
I also felt that the spaces didn’t flow well, and that there could have been a clearer distinction between the old displays and the newly interpreted ones.
Hopefully, all this will be unified at a later stage. I am sure this project will be the impetus the museum needs to refresh all its displays, and rationalise the narrative, branding and curation, for an altogether more enhanced experience.
Natalie Rigby is the collections manager at Falmouth Art Gallery, Cornwall
Project data
Cost £220,000Main funders DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund; Arts Council England; Cornwall Council; Creative Kernow; British Museum
Exhibition design In-house
Graphic design 20/20; Autograffiti; X-Graphica
Lighting Chris Watts Design
Display cases Armour Systems
Exhibition fitout Parc Signs; TEE
Admission Museums Association members go free
