Margaret Hayon wrote re ecomuseums relevant to this project.
Dear Margaret
I am very interested in your endeavours and although I cannot answer your
specific request re ecomuseums, I have a project part-completed which may
be of interest.
I was working with memebers of the Tasmanian Aboriginal community to
develop a new model of relationship between them and traditional museums
that met the needs you outline, ie to 'enable communities to learn about
themselves and their needs, and to act upon that knowledge', for a museum
that might act as 'a mediator in the process of cultural transition',
reflecting that which is of importance to that community rather than to a
mainstream museum.
Most crucially, I had to recognise that this generally very low-income
community had so little significant (in both their and my terms) material
culture, their 'wealth' being largely in intangibles, and that its
significance was on-going and most meaningful where it was, ie in people's
houses, that we had to find a way to protect and preserve such things
without removing them from the community. Elders also wanted to educate
younger members of the community in its significance.
We hoped to build up a database of the material heritage, using community
volunteers, whom I would train in basic exhibition, conservation and
storage practice so that they could look after stuff and keep track of it
when people died or moved away from Tasmania, and develop exhibitions on
their own heritage, which might or might not have taken place at the
Museum.
Unfortunately, I left Tasmania before I could do more than begin the
recruitment of volunteers, and I gather it has lapsed now. I wrote a paper
on it for a Museums conference which I could send you if you are
interested.
All the best
Julia Clark
Independent Curator & Interpreter

Julia Clark
Independent Curator & Interpreter