The term was invented by Hugues de Varine Bohan, then Director-General of
the International Council of Museums (ICOM), in 1971 for community-centred
museums with a strong sense of involvement with the natural and historic
environment, of the kind that had been pioneered by the founder of the
pioneering Musees Des Arts et Traditions Populaires, Paris, Georges Henri
Riviere from the 1940s onwards.

Perhaps the most succinct and elegant summary of the difference between a
traditional museum and a "new museum" or "ecomuseum" is that of Rene
Rivard of Quebec Province:

Museum  = building + collections + serving visitors

Ecomuseum = territory + patrimony + serving a population

In this definition:

TERRITORY means the defined geographical area of interest and study of the
museum  - from an single archaeological or natural site through to a whole
province or nation in the case of a national museum with the ecomuseum
approach.

PATRIMONY means the whole of the heritage of the defined territory,
whether inside or outside any museum building, not just the museum
collections

POPULATION means that the aim is to serve the whole population of the
defined territory, present and future, whether they are museum visitors or
not.

The two founders of the movement have offered various definitions over the
years including:

1. Georges-Henri Riviere, 1985. The ecomuseum - an evolutive definition.
Museum (UNESCO), no.148.

An ecomuseum is an instrument conceived, fashioned and operated jointly by
a public [eg. local] authority and its local population.  The public
authority's involvement is through the experts [staff], facilities and
resources it provides; the local population's involvement depends on its
aspirations, knowledge and individual approach.


It is a mirror for the local population to view itself to discover its own
image, and in which it seeks an explanation of the territory to which it
is attached and of the populations that have preceded it... It is a mirror
that the local population holds up to its visitors to be better understood
and so that its industry, customs and identity may command respect.

It is an expression of humankind and nature.  it places humanity in its
natural environment.  It portrays nature both in its wilderness and as
adapted by traditional and industrial society.

(UNESCO translation, revised by Patrick Boylan)


2. Hugues de Varine, 1986. "Nouvelles Museologies", Editions W. /M.N.E.S.,
Macon, France;

A few simple principles: the objective is the service of humankind and not
the reverse; time and space do not imprison themselves behind doors and
walls and art is not the sole cultural expression of humanity.

The museum professional is a social being, an actor for change, a servant
of the community.  The visitor is not a docile consumer, regarded as an
idiot, but a creator who can and should participate in the building of the
future - the museum's research.

(Patrick Boylan's translation)


You can find other museum definitions on our web site at:

        http://www.city.ac.uk/artspol/

The definitions file is /artspol/mus-def.html

Patrick Boylan

==========================================================

On Thu, 5 Mar 1998, Wilson, Linda wrote:

> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Ecomuseum sites
> Newsgroups:   bit.listserv.museum-l
>
> Sandy,
> How do you define ecomuseum?  There are lots of natural history museums,
> nature centers, park sites and the like with ecological messages, but
> I've never heard your term before.
>
> Linda Wilson
> Visitor Studies and Evaluation
> Shedd Aquarium
> Chicago, IL 60605
> [log in to unmask]
>