Forsking i fellesskap- Workshop 3 February 25th 2015 All images © Grant Museum, UCL unless otherwise stated Ziv Ayal Allochtoon Museums as provocateurs for debate and dialogue Mark Carnall Curator of the Grant Museum of Zoology UCL

Research jointly ( FIF ) - a national project involving the six university museums in Norway with the aim to look at new ways of thinking about research, dissemination and institution building . This is the third workshop in mediation and succeeds about interdisciplinarity and the audience forfeiture . In this workshop we will focus on the exhibition space, on the sensual and how a conscious awareness of this can reinforce the interaction between the exhibition content and audience and how we can create space where the public can meet, think ahead and innovate.

Summary The Grant Museum University Museums Research at/Research by the institution? Research at the museum/research of the museum (object research diagram) Focus groups Mediation- Issues expectation (our own fault) Object focus (triangle expertise, visitors, objects) Qrator/Micrarium (sensory) Research Impact- Exhibitions/Impact/Programmed events/Student engagers

The Grant Museum 1828 University Museum- For the university a teaching collection. Lost the original ‘niche’ at UCL. It was feared it was disposable like so many other university zoology collections in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Unremarkable collections compared to other natural history museums. Adapt or die! 1996 became a public museum.

University Museums Strengths Weaknesses Use of collections Neglected collections Access to the University Little protection (in the past…) Links to academia Teaching collections (casts, models) Better support (pay etc.) Academic responsibilities Diverse roles and purview Broad responsibilities Public engagement agenda Multiple reporting structures Risk taking Low profile

Research at/by the institution? Are your curators researchers or research facilitators? UCL- Facilitate and support researchers but don’t undertake out own research unless ‘bought out’ NHM London- Split into curatorial and research staff Oxford/Cambridge- Academics who undertake fieldwork and teach

Research at the museum/research of the museum Politics Aesthetics Biography Preparation Production Historicity History of science Design Material culture studies Museum studies Curatorship History of teaching Cultural geography Material science Law Touch Health and wellbeing Learning theory Interpretation Communication studies Digitisation Anatomy Alpha taxonomy LDUCZ-No number Gorilla gorilla skeleton

Object focus AUDIENCE EXPERTISE COLLECTIONS

Object focus AUDIENCE EXPERTISE COLLECTIONS

Object focus AUDIENCE EXPERTISE COLLECTIONS

Object focus AUDIENCE EXPERTISE COLLECTIONS

Models of communication Authoritative- traditional and still prevalent for most museum visitors. Mediated- focus group work resource heavy, small audience vs expectation Crowd sourcing and dialogue enabled by technology- the exhibition beyond the physical space © UCL, Grant Museum and Matt Clayton

QRator Developed with researchers from digital humanities and Bartlett school of architecture at UCL. Solving research problems and improving interpretation in the museum. Keeping objects core to the story www.qrator.org

QRator Forefronting issues of the museum collections not issues represented by the collections. © UCL, Grant Museum and Matt Clayton Can we lie about what a specimen is or where it came from? Is it irresponsible for museums to allow object handling? How do we balance the needs of our specimens and the desires of our visitors? Is it ever acceptable for museums to use replicas?

QRator Engaging with difficult topics typically avoided © UCL, Grant Museum and Matt Clayton Do you think people today should perform dissection as part of their learning? Should we only be conserving things that have a potential human benefit? Is ecotourism an answer to local environmental and biodiversity conservation? Should British red squirrels be protected when they are common in Europe?

Breaking with Tradition Most exhibitions are very formulaic- beginning, middle, end. Objects and labels. Very academic. A ‘text book or catalogue on the wall’. Now perceived to be prohibitively expensive in larger museums. Only using a fraction of the collection- <1% in natural history museums. Museum für Naturkunde Berlin Museo di Storia Naturale Venice

The Micrarium at the Grant Museum

The Micrarium at the Grant Museum Source http://www.culture24.org.uk/science-and-nature/art422965

Research On Display

I didn’t know museums did this kind of thing? Events Programmes We need to get much better at creating a legacy for our events and exhibitions Think of exhibitions of all scales as a form of publication (UCL research profile). Using digital to make more of our ‘happenings’. I didn’t know museums did this kind of thing?