The changing definition of Museum
Today, I learend about the definition of museum and how it is going to change. I found the role expected of museums was changing to reflect changes in society.
New Definition reveled in ICOM 2019
ICOM (International Council of Museums) is an international NGO for museums and museum professionals. This NGO works to strengthen the role of museums and promote the preservation and utilization of cultural and scientific heritage by facilitating exchanges among museums and professionals around the world, and by developing and sharing definitions and guidelines for museums.
Figure 1: ICOM 2019 Annual Meeting (ICOM Japan)
ICOM presented the new museum definition at its 2019 Annual Meeting The previous museum definition was adopted at the 2007 Annual Meeting. Over the past 12 years, many changes have occurred, including the rise of multiculturalism and a focus on global environmental issues, and museums are now expected to play an active role in promoting social change, rather than simply displaying and preserving heritage. The new definition was intended to reflect this change, but was not adopted due to concerns that the emphasis on social roles would lead to a relative neglect of traditional preservation and research roles, and that concepts such as “social justice” and “planetary wellbeing” could lead to a loss of museum neutrality.
A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment. … ICOM 2007 Museum Definition
Museums are democratizing, inclusive and polyphonic spaces for critical dialogue about the pasts and the futures. Acknowledging and addressing the conflicts and challenges of the present, they hold artifacts and specimens in trust for society, safeguard diverse memories for future generations, and guarantee equal rights and equal access to heritage for all people. Museums are not for profit. They are participatory and transparent, and work in active partnership with and for diverse communities to collect, preserve, research, interpret, exhibit, and enhance understandings of the world, aiming to contribute to human dignity and social justice, global equality, and planetary wellbeing. … ICOM 2019 Meseum Definition
Thoughts
I mostly agree with the social role of the museum ICOM tried to show in 2019. I thought that the attempt to describe the destination of diverse museums around the world in terms of relatively new concepts such as “social justice” and “planetary wellbeing” may have resulted in a backlash because these concepts were yet abstract and have not yet been commonly understood. Not only preserving, but also interpreting and exhibiting helitages have been considered to be an important role for museum since before. The insight gained from preserving, studying, and interpreting heritage is probably diverse from museum to museum, and may even change with the times. It would be good for various museums to be involved in society, each with its own unique characteristics.
Reference
- International Council of Museums Nederland. (2020). The museum definition: a fact sheet. Retrieved from https://icom.museum/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/10-07-29_fact-sheet-museum-definitie_ENG.pdf