Twelfth International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

There is one position in museums, which had received little attention so far: museum guards. Museum guards merit attention because they are non-professionals with regard to cultural mediation, but nevertheless they are quite involved in interactions with visitors. We focus on museum guards as an intermediate position between cultural offerings and visitors and ask which functions are assumed by them. Based on our mixed-methods research project (Federal Ministry for Education and Research) we show the complexity of their work, which also includes conflicting tasks, e.g. creating a friendly atmosphere while disciplining the visitors at the same time. Furthermore, we are interested in organizational contexts and related processes of (de-)legitimization. The question is: Are museum guards allowed to impart knowledge? Is this another kind of knowledge as the one represented by professionals, and can it have more inclusive effects? On this basis, we would like to discuss three questions in particular. First, which different museum guard-visitor-interactions take place in different genres? To what extent can they be understood as parts of inclusive museums, e.g. to attract new or diverse groups of visitors? Second, what are the power effects and boundary making processes between professionals and non-professionals? Third, how do the visitors perceive the museum guards? What do visitors expect and what are the implications for inclusion processes? In the discussion we are systematically confronting the challenges resulting from a hierarchical and boundary-drawing organizational structure on the one hand and the imperative of inclusion of marginalized groups on the other.