Collection, display, reception
and societal engagement
The history of museums’ collections, exhibitions and display; the visualisation of exhibitions spaces; identity and social change; exclusion narratives and inclusion practices (including disability and gender)
Introduction
This strand brings together three interlinked areas of expertise:
- Co-curation and display (Lorenz, Rawlinson, Wang):
We are interested in the spatial display of different artefacts (material culture, photography, natural science) and the archival organisation of data. We are also interested in the possibilities of audience interaction with data (co-curation) e.g. social tagging and 3D printing.
- Audience engagement, cultural leaders marketing (Bao, Carletti, Nazar-Chadwick, Pacey, Pearson, Powell):
We offer strong expertise in educational content for cultural visiting and the augmentation of the visitor experience through new media and technology. We are interested in enhancing on-site and online engagement; this includes a focus on how different social and cultural groups use media.
- Culture-historical and heritage engagement (Chang, Dauncey, Neher):
We are interested in the history of and engagement with individual collections from antiquity to today. We focus on Western perspectives on Chinese heritage with regard to the impact of different political climates on collection policy, presentation and culture.
Partners
Culture and heritage organisations of interest to this group include:
- Ningbo Museum
- China Art Museum, Shanghai
- Shanghai History Museum
- Shanghai Urba Exhibition Centre
- Shanghai Natural History Museum
- Institute of World Religions, Beijing
- Beijing Summer Palace
Case studies
Design for Change in Museums (Jonathan Hale):
D4CiM aims to train a new generation of museum designer-researchers in the theoretical, methodological, practical, and entrepreneurial skills required for future European competitiveness in the emerging area of ‘interpretive museum design’ - an approach which moves beyond the singular application of specific design disciplines such as graphics, interiors, lighting or architectural design and instead works to create fully immersive embodied experiences which respond to the specific characteristics of museums as spatial media.