Posters
Art of the Americas: Art Exhibition to Rethink Cultural Diversity and Equality
Poster/Exhibit Session Shikoh Shiraiwa
Although the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) does not have a museum per se, UCO’s Max Chambers Library organizes collaborative art exhibitions throughout the year by utilizing its own significant art collections. An exhibition entitled “Art of the Americas” is scheduled to open at the Max Chambers Library in the spring of 2018. This experimental exhibition will display works of art from North, Central, and South America, with dates ranging from the ninth century to the twentieth century. The exhibition will emphasize the cultural diversity of the Americas and illustrate how each culture has equally contributed to the larger cultural identity of the Americas. In addition, this exhibition will question conceptions of “fine art,” and ask “Who decides what belongs in an art museum?” The exhibition will also raise the question “Who decides what anthropological objects are and what belongs in an anthropology or natural history museum?” “Art of the Americas” will shed light on the long-standing ethnocentric biases that have shaped the concept of “others” in America. By suggesting that most of the cultures that we know in the present day are cross-cultural, transnational, and trans-historical products, the exhibition will encourage people to reexamine their conceptions of culture.
Methodology to Evaluate the Level of Suitability of Hygrothermic Conditions on Heritage Displays: The Case of the Historic House of Independence Museum in Tucumán, Argentina
Poster/Exhibit Session María Silvana Zamora, Lilian Prebisch, Raúl Fernando Ajmat
The damage caused to the collections shown in museums has resulted in the search for a balance between the architecture of the building, the use of space, and the environmental requirements that favour the conservation of heritage. This goal is difficult to achieve when the museum lacks a system to regulate environmental conditions. The proposed methodology evaluates the hygrothermic suitability between the use of space and the material sensitivity according to current norms. Hygrothermic measuring was carried out in July 2017, for twenty-four consecutive hours, in a museum house that received thousands of daily visitors, to analyse the levels and its fluctuations. The results indicated that the tendency is to follow the external behaviour maintains the nocturnal temperature at four degrees above the external one. The temperature was in keeping with the exposed material but not the humidity, especially during the opening of the museum. This was probably due to the excessive number of visitors. Daily humidity fluctuations exceeded the limits 80% of the time and the hourly fluctuations were not significant. In winter these are less harmful than in spring-summer so the recommendation is to increase ventilation and limit visits in order to minimise the effects on the heritage.
Pushing Out the Boat: Participant Agency in the Working Museum
Poster/Exhibit Session Vaelrie Burton
The Winterton museum curates and transmits knowledge of wooden boats in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), a place where the historic fishery has all but vanished as a result of an ecological disaster; the collapse of cod stocks. The museum set out to provide a population experiencing displacement and cultural rupture with something other than a pointing-at-objects repository. Throughout the season it invites the public to construct a traditional boat in the company of an accomplished builder. Leaving its out-of-town premises in winter, it recruits a workshop on the university campus. The poster, reflecting on my participation in the winter 2018 course, encourages a critical dialogue about embodying specific historical and local concerns in museum activities. I mobilize a professional critique of the reconfiguration of curatorial agency in the museum, but I do so as a maritime historian and educationalist, and not as a museum professional. The composition of the group was material, particularly its multi-generational demography. The museum structured informed conversations; first by arranging for the master boat-builder’s apprentice to join us, and second by scheduling visits from the museum’s folklorists. But, above all it was our method of working that allowed for genuine interpersonal connection. Ready to launch in Spring, our vessel will join other small boats and their family “crews” in the brief, non-commercial, fishery. Standing out amongst the fibre-glass and inflatable craft, this punt (or wherry) is the vessel to take NL’s past into the future.
When “Others” Become “One of Us”: Reflecting on Representation of Immigrant Cultures in Museums
Poster/Exhibit Session Chen Hsiao Chai
Representation of different cultures and re-contextualization of material cultures in museum exhibitions have been central to anthropologists’ museum studies. In this paper, the author will present three case studies regarding South East Asian (new immigrants) cultural performances which she organized in the past in order to explore how museums can serve as venues for representation of foreign cultures and the possibilities of re-contextualizing foreign cultures in museums. Historically, Taiwan has been known as a pluralistic immigrant society. The waves of immigrants had contributed to the demographic features of Taiwan’s population and transformed Taiwan into a culturally and ethnically diverse country. In this paper, the author will discuss three South East Asian cultural performances and exhibitions which she designed for Taiwan’s National Museum of History. They are: “Treasures of Southeast Asia: Folk Artifacts of the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia” in 2007, “Welcome to the Museum, New Residents!” in 2015, “Old Collection, New Connection: A Joint Program of NMH and NER” in 2017. The author will examine how these cultural events created opportunities for participants to view “others” as “one of us.” She will also explore how museums and “new residents” can engage in collaborative partnerships as they focus on “people” rather than artifacts, “co-curation” rather than passive participation, “co-creation” rather than assistance.
Visitor Behaviour and Circulation in the Archaeological Museum of Taranto
Poster/Exhibit Session Selene Frascella
Visitors' knowledge is the starting point for defining a museum's educational policies, museographic approaches and communication choices. This study does not necessarily aim to increase participation, but rather to improve the quality of service and experience offered. In collaboration with the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto in Italy, the project aims to analyse behaviour and usage models within the museum space. The research involves the use of a questionnaire to detect the demographic and social characteristics of the public and a summative evaluation, through an observing analysis (timing and tracking), done unobtrusively, where the visitors are not aware they are being observed. The observation makes it possible to identify the visit paths, the communicative referents (exhibits, single objects, panels, labels, multimedia applications) of greater and lesser importance for the visitor (attraction index and holding-power index) and the junctions, points of the visit path in which the visitor chooses alternative transit solutions not considered in the design phase of the exhibition. The collected data leads to greater understanding of the impact of the exhibition choices on the visitors and the effectiveness of the interpretative apparatus, providing museums with valuable insights for museological and museographical planning as well as for marketing strategies.
Inclusive Communication Strategies for People with Special Needs in the Context of Museum
Poster/Exhibit Session Marilina Mastrogiuseppe, Elena Bortolotti, Patrizia Clementi
This project focuses on inclusive processes and accessibility as drivers to generate knowledge and well-being for people with Special Educational Needs (SEN). In particular, the study takes care of the accessibility of information, proposing adaptations to the information that can be used by people with intellectual difficulties. The main aim is to implement a series of educational actions aimed at improving the experiences of museum communication (e.g. introduction of strategies to facilitate reading; Augmented and Alternative Communication). Through a mixed-method study design we will evaluate the impact of these educational actions on learning and socialization processes. The study contributes to our understanding of communication, learning and socialization needs of people with SEN in the context of museums. It also enables wider access to cultural heritage by increasing the inclusion of user communities.
