Our museum audience

Playing on my mind today were many thoughts about community engagement and its effects on the design, development and display of exhibitions and subsequently, public programs. We have talked during our field school about strategies for and benefits of community engagement, but there is one community that we have not yet considered in detail. That community is that of our museum audiences. I would like to discuss the effects of community engagement on our audiences and raise some discussion points about our relationship with this very valuable museum community.

I have learnt and seen over the past few days that community engagement can have many benefits, including the ability to give life to museum objects as I discussed in my previous blog post. A snapshot of some of the other benefits that we have discussed over the past week include:

• ·       capturing and sharing intangible cultural heritage,

• ·       adding authorative and personal voices to an exhibition,

• ·       providing a platform for to spark conversations and debate,

• ·       increasing the relevance of museums,

• ·       increasing the accessibility of museums,

• ·       increasing and diversifying museum audiences,

• ·       acknowledging and making relevant the stories of different peoples,

• ·       and the use of the museum space for social justice and social activism.

It is without a doubt that community engagement is extremely valuable. One of the most memorable benefits that we have discussed this week is that community engagement can empower a community. It does make me think hard each time Graeme asks us this question ‘can museums develop better communities?’ – I want to say a big ‘YES’ but I also want to carefully consider my answer before making such a bold statement. I think museums can provide many skills and resources to a community and can also act to bring a community together – if community engagement is done well. However, this is beyond the scope of my blog post today, I want to focus on the effects of community engagement on our museum audiences.

The question I want to ask is are our museums audiences equipped with the skills, abilities, knowledge and experience to understand our museums and outcomes of our community engagement? In the same thought is the question, do our audiences understand the idea of multiple narratives, juxtaposed objects, conflicting stories and engagement platforms? I ask these questions because we have discussed that museums have transformed from ‘being about something to being for somebody’ (Weil, 1999). If museums exist to serve the public, are we providing them with the exhibitions, objects, activities, narratives and knowledge that they can interpret, connect with and understand?

It is not my intention at all to downplay the competency of our audiences, but rather to start a conversation about the intentions of our community engagement and the outcomes reflected in our museums. I am sure we have all had museum fatigue at some point, and although curators can get very excited about their exhibitions, if they don’t hit the right chord with our audiences they can be misinterpreted, confusing and/or overlooked.

Museum audiences connect with exhibitions and objects that they can develop a relationship with. The initial trigger of this relationship starts from a personal connection, a familiarity with and prior experience of an aspect of the display. It is from this point that a relationship can build to incorporate new understandings and even to challenge the viewer. The important point we need to consider is our ability to ignite this relationship with enough fuel to trigger a lengthier connection than just one glance.

I want to propose that we place a greater emphasis on considering our audiences in our community engagement discussions. It is not only important to consider the expectations and outcomes for our museums and for the communities we are working with, but also to understand the outcomes of this work for our most valuable community, our audience.


Weil, Stephen. "From being about something to being for somebody: the ongoing transformation of the American museum". The MIT Press 128(3) (1999): 229.

Vietnam, Nationalism and Community

Vietnam, nationalism and community

Whirlwind tour of Hanoi is now complete – my mind is filled with so many thoughts and images that it will take a while to sift through them. What struck me most was that as an Australian/Westerner I can never ever understand Vietnam as a Vietnamese person does. This makes it very hard to comment on the museums we have visited this week. We can put our slant on them, we can critique methods and exhibitions but we will never fully understand where they are coming from. Politics and history feature here, in everyday life, in a way that is quite unfathomable to us. We have a certain understanding, but I feel that we do not come even close.

Be that as it may, one thing was abundantly clear to me. All who spoke about their museum, be they from the National Museum of History or the Museum of Fine Arts right through to the Vietnamese Women’s Museum, were conspicuously proud of their museums and its achievements. National pride shone through at every turn and was contagious in its enthusiasm. It was palpable. I certainly felt like cheering when we watched the red lights finally take over the green lights and the little flag popped up at the end of the battle of Dien Bien Phu at the Vietnam Military History Museum.

I began to understand the driving force behind the first museums we visited. There has been a need for a nationalistic slant particularly since the end of the American war. Invasions have been such a long part of Vietnamese history that affirmation of their nation’s resistance and resilience have taken priority. 

Modern museology seems to be filtering in at a rate that has to sit comfortably with the Vietnamese people. The more modern museums such as the Museum of Ethnology and the Vietnamese Women’s Museum are fine examples of modern museology in practice. Our focus on community engagement and involvement in this field school is very much in evidence in these two museums. Indeed where would the vibrancy and energy of the Museum of Ethnology be but for the direct physical involvement of the many ethnic communities. This includes events such as festivals, water puppet shows, craft displays, dancing , right down to groups of workers coming to the museum to repair their particular community’s  house in their local methods. This is inspirational stuff.

The Vietnamese Women’s Museum is in a class of its own with its emphasis on social justice and of highlighting women’s issues. Their desire to connect to contemporary society was successfully demonstrated with their impressive list of temporary exhibitions. I particularly liked the description of the “Street Vendors” exhibition which not only gave the public an understanding of a particular marginalized women’s group but also gave these women a voice and established the museum as a trusted place for them - so much so that when the police were harassing them they used it as a sanctuary. Now there’s community involvement!

I think it will take time for some of the national museums in Hanoi to change and grow, especially with regard to community development, but I do believe that it will happen sooner rather than later. The museum staff I have been involved with this week are truly inspirational and seem eager to embrace change. There will come a time when multiple narratives are accepted, where people who have never had a voice will be heard and where national pride will sit comfortably with new ideas.

Bring on Week Two…

Reflection on the first week

The first week provided me with much knowledge and valuable case studies about working in communities currently being used in museums both in Vietnam and the world. I can see that working with communities is a remarkably challenging but also exceptionally rewarding task. The story told by Dr. Van in Vietnamese Women’s Museum (VWM) about their exhibitions on woman street vendors, how it gave voices to a mostly neglected group, and the appreciation the Museum received back from this community, was really inspiring to me.

Throughout the week, we also took part in a variety of activities which highlighted the importance of multiple narratives. When used correctly, it can offer many benefits and experiences for the visitors and the institutions. The Vietnam Museums of Ethnology (VME) could be a good example of success in this aspect, as illustrated during Dr Thieu’s presentation. The food festive held by the VME created an impressive cuisine and cultural immersing experience for the visitors and helped the Museum build a good relation with different villages in the region.

Photo courtesy of VOV 

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Obviously, my biased favourite place of the week is the Vietnam National Museum of Nature. It was nice to catch up with my colleagues in the Vietnam National Museum of Nature (VMNM) who must have been working very hard trying to fit 4 billion years of evolution into a gallery only as big as a normal meeting room for 50 people! It was also great to receive much supportive comments from people participating the field school. Nevertheless, much work involving communities could be done and planned more thoroughly for the Museum in order to fulfil its goal of disseminating knowledge and appreciation about our amazing natural heritage, as well as promoting life-long learning. While VNMN is receiving quite a few visitors, our current offerings are limited to the gallery tour and a quality 3D theatre. With many exciting discoveries happening every day, how can this museum of natural history keep up with and bring them to the audience? As our expansion to a bigger space of immersion and discovery will not happen until 2025, it is crucial that we spend the efforts to build our core audience as well as reach out to other communities. This week field school have helped me bring about some ideas to realise this aim, such as travelling exhibitions which the Museum of Fine Arts (FAM), VME, and VWM all have organised with quite successful results

All in all, what an exhausting but productive week! I felt really lucky to be involved with the ‘community’ of museum professionals who are contributing and leading many exciting changes in the museum sphere in Hanoi and its diverse communities. It was really exciting to participate in the activities which require a more analytical and critical look at museum exhibitions, and observe the different ways people from diverse backgrounds approach the same topic of museums and communities. I am looking forward to learn more about strategies I can apply to my museums and the opportunity to collaborate with other institutes to adopt a sustainable relationship between the Museum and communities.

A Week in Retrospect

Eight museums in five days. Each one different but all telling the stories of a proud nation. Similarly, the approach taken varies from subtle to direct. In the case of the National Museum of History, the Museum of the Revolution, the Citadel and Museum of Military History, they are there to tell the stories of the "under dog" taking on the might of the invader (China - 10th Century; France and USA - 20th Century) and winning. Interestingly, no mention is made of the more recent conflicts with Cambodia in 1978 and China in 1979, where the outcomes and resulting consequences were not as straightforward. Similarly, I noted little about the effects of the Japanese invasion during World War II. At times, it seemed there was no history before 1945 when Ho Chi Min declared Vietnam an independent State.

To me, the Museum of Fine Arts was an art gallery that showcased a range of objects, paintings and sculptures from the 4th Century BC to the present that had been made by Vietnamese artists throughout the eons. Nice to look at but with little soul. Again, in the post 1954 gallery, the art work and sculptures present the image of the birth of a strong nation through adversity imposed by the invaders and their subsequent defeat.

Although the majority of the Museum of Nature's objects showcased a variety of specimens, it presented them as an art form, particularly, the smaller, more colourful objects.

The National Museum of Ethnology told a story of 54 ethnic groups melding together as one nation, in which the minority groups are giving regular opportunities to showcase their traditions and artistic talents to all. While the engagement of these communities fosters a greater understanding to others, does this automatically result in the minority groups having any influence on the direction of the nation as a whole?

The Vietnamese Women's Museum highlights the importance of women in Vietnamese society, both at home and in their various roles in securing Vietnam's place in the world. It also isn't afraid to take on the Government in supporting contentious issues that face women; be it as a single mother or loosing family income due to the introduction of "western style" urban developments such as shopping complexes.

The museums visited have highlighted the rich history of Vietnam but also presented an underlying strength of the people, particularly in the last sixty years.

Multiple Narratives in Vietnam Museums

The first week in Hanoi has demonstrated how museums employ different museological approaches to national history, minority communities and Vietnamese women. In some cases, we have learnt how museums use a combination of different approaches to focus on communities using varying narratives forms and modes of representation. Both the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology (VME) and the Vietnamese Women's Museum (VWM) are cases in point.

The VME employs a predominately anthropological discourse common to such museums throughout the world. Galleries are organised around anthropological categories of religion, everyday, household, textiles etc as well as ethno-linguistic groups, demonstrating minority groups. In some cases, key objects are named, with short biographies of makers or former owners of these objects. The individual and personal framing of key objects is a technique to bring visitors closer to minority cultures, and to emphasis the part/whole relationship -- that life narratives or biographical approaches to one person could stand for any and all of people in the society under focus.

The new South East Asia Wing of the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology

The VWM employs two main approaches to its galleries. An anthropological narrative is used in the three main galleries of the museum while a community-focussed approach is evident in the temporary exhibition spaces. A reason for this is that, as the director Ms Bich Van explained, community work takes time and resources, and is invariably a risk. 

Other museums in Vietnam use different museological approaches in subtle ways. The Museum of Nature was a case in point. The new displays followed a familiar pattern of human evolution and insect classification (incorporated brilliantly to aesthetic effect). But I wonder how many noticed the nationalist message incorporated into the model of the Earth?

Vietnam Museum of Nature

The first week has demonstrated how curators use many approaches to exhibitions in Vietnam. And it has shown how, through an analytical approach to voice and narrative, we should be observe, question and so learn about how the museum communicates messages, as authority, inviting participation, or as activist. And it emphasises how the approach shifts, used in combination, to different effect.

Graeme Were

Museum Playgrounds

Museum Playgrounds

An analogy asserted by Dr Thieu at the National Museum of Ethnology has been circling my mind ever since he delivered his informative lecture discussing notions of community and strategies for working with minority groups in Vietnam. Simply, Dr Thieu paralleled the museum space to a playground. 

This equivalence left me perplexed as I felt endless monkey bars, colourful slides and annoying gravel stone trivialized the traditional museum processes of research, documentation, commemoration and learning. 

But what is a playground? It is an exploratory space, often in a public place, that caters to different abilities, achieved by the design of obstacles and challenges of varying levels of difficulty. A visitor to a playground, regardless of age, is able to explore their innate sense of curiosity and wonder either independently or in a group. When leaving a playground, the visitor takes with them a new experience or personal achievement. Some visitors may leave exactly the same as when they arrived to the playground space. Regardless, the service of the playground is social, where people gather and interact.

Dr. Thieu’s reference to playgrounds reminded me of Ray Oldenberg’s concept of the ‘third place’ and how museums as a third place offer “experiences and relationships afforded there and nowhere else” (Oldenberg 21).  Following a week of exploration and reflection about how museums engage with numerous communities in a Vietnamese context, I feel that Oldenberg’s view of the museum as a ‘third place’ provides many opportunities and potential for Vietnamese school children.

From discussions with members of the Vietnamese museum community, I have started to learn about the education curriculum in Vietnam and how it tends to be too loose and too general. As noted in Revisiting the Primary Education Curriculum of Vietnam after 5 Years of Reform, there have been significant steps made in reforming the education curriculum in Vietnam; however, rote learning and a focus on knowledge tends to be the norm for Vietnamese students. In saying this, I feel museums have real potential as third places to foster critical thinking and questioning for Vietnamese students, who I understand to be quite reticent to actively engage and inquire beyond set knowledge outlined in a textbook. Therefore, students can learn how to learn (active) in a museum rather than just obtain knowledge (passive) in the classroom.

As discussed in the various forums and lectures of the UQ Field School in Vietnam, museums thus provide a platform for discussion and become living forums of debate. The activist museum can potentially be the channel that exposes learners, of all ages, to twenty-first century skills of critical and creative thinking, ethical understanding, intercultural understanding and personal and social capability (Australian Curriculum). Too, the museum can serve the education community as an equaliser for access to learning environments between all levels of schooling, be it public or private.

The museum is a place of discovery, self-discovery, just like a playground. By building partnerships with individual schools and passionate educators in both public and private contexts, educators and museum professionals can motivate a shift in pedagogy to guide students to gain valuable critical and creative thinking skills required in the twenty-first century. Immersive and experiential education programs in The Fine Arts Museum or the National History Museum are stepping stones to promote interactivity and participation between lifelong learners and the museum. Museums can motivate learners to take risks in their self-guided learning in an environment where a plurality of perspectives and voices in society is celebrated. 

In reflection, the challenges regarding the initiation and application of public programs, finding stakeholders, and applying multiple perspectives in the museum transcend geographic borders and political systems. All museum professionals share common challenges in their efforts to engage and represent communities in museums, particularly with school groups. This is a positive challenge and illustrates how current museological practice is being debated, shared and reflected upon in being of service to the community for which museums rely and are a part.

Reference:

Australian Curriculum v7.3. General Capabilities Overview. 2015. Web. http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Overview/general-capabilities-in-the-australian-curriculum

Baker, J. Frederick and Rosalie Giacchino-Baker. Lower Secondary School Curriculum Development in Vietnam. 2002. Web. http://www.cpp.edu/~jis/2003/Baker_Baker.pdf

Ministry of Education and Training. Revisiting the Primary Education Curriculum of Vietnam after 5 Years of Reform. 2007. Print.

Oldenburg, Ray. The Great Good Place. Cambridge: Da Capo, 1997. Print.