Photo from unsplash.com
As May turns into June, a central topic of discussion for Museum Studies and Art Museum and Gallery Studies students is our research topics. It is both fascinating to hear the diverse, meaningful, and specialised areas this year’s students are researching, as well as comforting to share the struggles and triumphs. Over the next few months, we hope to share some of these amazing research questions and experiences in MAGS Mag. To kick things off, here is a rundown of a few of the committee members’ topics. From cemeteries as heritage sites to participatory architecture projects, and from improving the accessibility of collections to communicating climate change messages, this is just a taster of this year’s dissertation diversity.
Would you like to share your research question or write about a research experience? We’d love to hear from you! Send us an email at MAGS_Mag@outlook.com.
...
‘How can extreme participatory architecture-led projects, such as those by Assemble, be sustainably scaled up and utilised in the cultural sector?’
- Alice Whitehead.
I am interested in cultural-led regeneration and cultural democracy, essentially involving communities directly in the creation of new regenerative art projects. I want to emphasise the idea that all citizens should not only have the right but also should have the means and opportunity to participate in the cultural life of their community. Assemble is a London based “multi-disciplinary collective working across architecture, design and art”, and I will use them as a case study to unpick the literature on this topic and analyse ways in which their (often temporary) projects can be scaled up. I will focus on three of their projects in particular: Folly For a Flyover, The Cineroleum, and Granby Four Streets. Their website has an extensive archive of all their projects for anyone who is interested. I am conducting an interview with Assemble which should give me more insight into their working methods and whether they think these methods could be sustainably adopted by other institutions/organisations.
...
‘The importance of portraying multiple ideals of masculinity in museums and art galleries.’
- Laura May Bailey.
I am aiming to understand why showcasing different, non-traditional forms of masculinity is important for overall equality in class, sexuality, and race, as well as gender. In recent years there have been a many new exhibitions de-centring traditional masculinity, directly and indirectly inspired by movements such as #MeToo and the emergence of ‘strong man’ political leaders. I will look at how presenting traditional and marginalised/subordinated men together can open the door for diversity and positive discussion, and promote broader social justice. My research will primarily focus on a case study of the recent exhibition at the Barbican Gallery in London, Masculinities: Liberation through Photography. The Barbican’s exhibition looks at several key themes, including queer masculinity, black masculinity, fatherhood, the patriarchy, and women’s views on men. It offers a surprisingly comprehensive survey of masculinities, which I will expand with examples from Germany, Denmark and Canada.
...
‘How to communicate Climate change adequately in non-science museums.’
- Maria Locke Mortensen.
Climate Change and most environmental issues are usually set in science and natural history museums, and for a good reason. Since climate change is utterly connected to science data, it is pretty straightforward to create a connection. Unfortunately, with the climate change emergency that we live as a civilisation, all museums should (dare I say, must?!) approach this subject. I will be researching effective ways to communicate this global issue, as such a daunting subject comes with various pedagogical challenges. I will also be exploring the diverse curatorial approaches that different types of museums take to climate change. My goal is to look at the gap in humanist and art museums and acquire information on what practices have been successful globally so that more museums can adopt an active role in environmental issues.
...
‘How accessibility can be more effectively included within collections management policies.’ - Madisen Caster.
Often in museums, object accessibility discourse is stifled by the responsibility of collections staff to preserve and conserve artefacts. While this responsibility is necessarily restrictive to certain methods of access, there are also aspects of institutional classism and ableism that perpetuate antiquated professional standards which are often at odds with the current social justice movement within the museum sector. Beyond a literature review that briefly seeks to understand these issues, I also intend to review specific collections management policies at a handful of museums where I will then interview a member of their team to help me understand why the policy is structured the way it is and where there might be opportunities for development. It is my hypothesis that incorporating explicit policies and procedures within a collection’s framework will support its staff to more actively include accessibility in their work while ensuring necessary conservation standards are maintained.
...
‘Cemeteries as Heritage Sites: Identities, Representation, and Cultural Practices.’
- Paige Manning.
Within my research I am developing an understanding of the effects upon identities and cultural practices that can be found within cemeteries when they become recognised as heritage sites, within the UK. Cemeteries are sites of great emotional power that, for centuries, have served their communities in not only the holding of the dead, but for the representation of individuals and the collectives they belong to. For this reason, cemeteries have always evolved with the communities they serve. Heritage can be seen as the preservation and conservation of intangible and tangible histories that hold emotional connections; this can help to build and understand our identities through the exploration of the past. Cemeteries becoming heritage sites can be seen as beneficial as it helps with conservation of the site, however within heritage there is this idea that once something becomes recognised as such, it should remain stagnant as to ‘preserve’ what is there. This comes at odds with the main function of cemeteries which are ever evolving and changing. Within this, there are also arguments of ‘cherry-picking’ representation within heritage for the construction of national identities, that can be seen as in opposition to the fundamental core of what a cemetery is; a place for secular representation for all within death. Through using the Welford Road Cemetery and St Bartholomew’s Cemetery as case studies, my research explores the effects and outcomes when heritage is placed upon such complex sites.
Kommentare