In reality, the role of the curator has a lot to do with the mission and
customer base of the museum. If 90% of the museum audience visits for
educational leisure time activities (i.e. exhibits and programs), then
collecting will be co-equal or of secondary imnportance. Completing
taxonomic series or series from given cultures or manufacturers will be
secondary to exhibits or programs. Curators facilitate the development of an
educational storyline that drives exhibits and programs. They also serve in
evaluative committees. Japanese quality circles, Total Quality Management,
"think tanks" and other management philosophies in business have trickled
down to museums.
If the audience consists primarily of students, scholars and enthusiasts,
then collections usually have primacy. Exhibits and educational programs
have traditionally served as aids to teach sequences and differentiation.
The primary effort has traditionally been expended on completing and
refining taxonomic sequences, manufacturers' runs, and cultural sequences.
Funding is usually not dependent on gate admissions or political popularity,
although the latter is an increasing consideration.
Most museums (including the one I am restructuring now) began as
collecting-focus institutions, then turned to interpretation. Having worked
in both worlds, I prefer an interpretive focus with a "think tank" approach.
It worked for Lockheed in the development of superior aircraft (read up on
Kelly Johnson's "Skunk Works"), and it works for museums. An evaluative
approach such as follows has ben very helpful:
* Curator - evaluates content and availability of artifacts to illustrate
storyline. Weighs the cost of borrowing pieces against the cost of
acquisitions. May take the lead in suggesting exhibit concepts.
* Education Director - evaluates educational "value" and logistics for
developing accompanying educational materials, training sessions, school
materials. Reviews scripts for appropriate comprehension levels and impact
on various audiences. Suggests options for interpretive directions. Asseses
success or failure of exhibits after completion.
* P/R and Marketing - Evaluates what it will require to "sell" the show or
program to the various markets and how to frame its premier. In the case of
sensitive exhibits, provides an evaluation of possible ramifications among
specific groups or the media and develops methods of handling them.
* Curator of Exhibits - Evaluates the logistics and cost of staging an
exhibit or program and the design challenges.
*Curator of Collections - Evaluates the impact of the exhibit or program on
the collections, and evaluates the logistics and expense of acquiring,
transporting and handling loans required for the exhibit.
*Business Manager/Development head/Director - Gauges potential for fund
raising and impact of fund raising on overall development goals. Determines
financial feasibility of project.
*Director - Final review and permission to schedule and proceed with project.
Suggestions for exhibits can, and should come from all internal and external
sources. A custodian at one museum I served at suggested a very viable
concept for an exhibit that no one else had considered and the exhibit was
ultimately very successful. The public can often be very canny about
spotting holes in your interpretive sequences.
This process usually works best if each division provides written
evaluations of their concerns and assessments.
----------------------
Byron Johnson, Director
Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum
P.O. Box 2570
Waco, Texas 76702-2570
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
------------------------------
"...Unless a people are educated and enlightened it is idle
to expect the continuance of civil liberty or the capacity
for self-government."
Texas Declaration of Independence, March 2, 1836.
|
