Thursday, Panel 2, AUDITORIUM 14:30 - 16:45
OUTREACH & AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT
All presentations in this panel:
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The power of making together, Sanna Valoranta-Saltikoff, The National Museum of Finland, Helsinki, Finland
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Bringing Museums Close to the Elderly, Lila Heinola, Museum Centre Vapriikki, Tampere, Finland
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Beetle on a Needle – authentic objects in children’s engagement, Karsten Madsen, Mia Lindegaard Pedersen, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
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“Come, grab a cup of coffee” - The story about lucky accidents, Jelena Marković, Art district, Kraljevo, Serbia
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Takeover – Street Art & Skateboarding: Opening the museum to playful interactions, Christine Koblitz, Wien Museum, Vienna, Austria
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The magic bike which brings art to the very young, Stéphanie Masuy, Ixelles Museum, Brussels, Belgium
The power of making together
Sanna Valoranta-Saltikoff
The National Museum of Finland, Helsinki, Finland
Keywords: the right to one's own culture, power of making together, giving power to decide to the children, accessibility through hybrid format events, joy of making together
Why it is – not only important – but joyful to give the power to decide to children? The National Museum of Finland started collaborative process – a totally open-ended format – with Sámi school class which led to the Sámi National Day celebrations in hybrid format that reached almost 10 000 people around Finland and Europe. The National Day celebrations consisted of one-hour live-stream celebration hosted by the Sámi class pupils, excursions to the exhibition for the entire comprehensive school’s 650 pupils and video greetings by pupils and the Minister of Education in Finland. The project strengthened the participation of young people in cultural heritage and supported the cultural identity of Sámi children living outside the Sámi area. The event helped the National Museum reach school children and their families who, despite a distance of only 3 km, had never visited the museum. The project brought children pride of their own culture, joy and enjoyment for the children and their families, but also to museum staff. The Sámi National Day celebrations was on the one hand one small micro program inside of the Mäccmõš, maccâm, máhccan – The Homecoming exhibition program on the other it was enjoyment and accessibility! It was from children to children, from Sámi culture to the whole world – no matter who or where you are. The National Museum of Finland opened exhibition Mäccmõš, maccâm, máhccan – The Homecoming in cooperation with Sámi Museum Siida in 2021. The National Museum of Finland returned over 2,000 Sámi artefacts from its collections to the Sámi community and Sámi Museum Siida. The exhibition celebrated this repatriation. The Sámi are the only indigenous people within the European Union Area. The Sámi Area called Sápmi, is the Northern region the Sámi inhabit within four countries. The National Museum of Finland is in Helsinki. The worlds southernmost Sámi school class is in Pasila just 3 km from museum.
Presentation Sanna Valoranta-Saltikoff
Bringing Museums Close to the Elderly
Lila Heinola
Museum Centre Vapriikki, Tampere, Finland
Keywords: outreach, elderly people, engagement, interaction, wellbeing
In Tampere Museums we have 10 years of experience of producing outreach museum services for elderly people and how they affect the elderly. I´ll demonstrate our highly designed products by practical examples and colorful photos. The products are museum packages for lending out (especially Sound Museum), Car Trunk Museum and Museum Moments via video calls. We have produced museum packages for lending out and marketed them well. They bring variety and increase interaction at care homes. Sharing memories together reinforces a sense of togetherness and safety among the elderly. We have compiled several themed packages from the handling collections and photo archives. The elderly are interested in local history and old photos, changes to professions, old coffee cups and textiles, public art and a woman’s purse in the 1960s. Our most popular products are the Sound Museums and the Moment in Nature. These materials are packaged in briefcases, and they contain sounds of animals, nature and human activities, music, the voices of Finnish radio hosts and actors. The Car Trunk Museum Exhibition is our specialty. We assemble exhibits from the items of handling collection and photos and place them in the trunk of a car. Each year we go on a tour and visit the yards of elderly care homes across the city. People are delighted by the special visit and share memories with each other. We produce Museum Moments directly in the homes of the elderly via video calls. During the Museum Moment the participants discuss and share thoughts with each other. We utilize museum exhibits and items from handling collections. The experience of participation and interaction with other humans is important for people of all ages, and with the museum moments we strive to specifically reduce the feelings of loneliness and detachment in the elderly.
Beetle on a Needle – authentic objects in children’s engagement
Karsten Madsen, Mia Lindegaard Pedersen
Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
Keywords: Children’s enjoyment, Use of authentic object, Use of scientific methods
Beetle on a Needle – authentic objects in children’s engagement At the Zoological Museum (a part of the Natural History Museum of Denmark) we display a small part of the museums extensive collection. The specimens are often, displayed out of reach and behind glass, to keep them safe. Sensory and hands-on experiences is a key part when children become interested in a subject, there for a visit without these experiences can be a barrier for children’s enjoyment and learning at the museum. Beetle on a Needle is an example of an activity at the museum where children use real specimens (beetles) and authentic methods in mounting, identifying, and displaying to experience the sensory thrill of handling insects and becoming collection managers. By bringing home their creation a link is formed between museum, research, and the everyday experiences of children. We will present the Beetle on a needle concept and the several layers of enjoyment experienced by the participants, and how this activity contributes to their curiosity and understanding of the scientific process and role of the museum. At the Zoological Museum we use “Beetle on a Needle” as an integrated part of the Birthday Expedition the concept aimed at children aged 6-12.
Presentation Karsten Mdasen and Mia Lindegaard Pedersen
“Come, grab a cup of coffee” - The story about lucky accidents
Jelena Marković
Art district, Kraljevo, Serbia
Keywords: Audience engagement, Intergenerational knowledge transfer, Mediation, Analog approach, Hospitality
This presentation shows the pains and gains of planning and executing the workshop "Come, have a cup of coffee" in the National Museum Kraljevo in May 2019. that will be revived in September 2022. This workshop targeted high schoolers aged 15 to 18 to explore the nature of young people's attitudes towards heritage so it could prevent losing the connection with it as well as create a new bond. The initial idea was simple, design an inclusive, enjoyable, safe space for exploring the youth's thoughts. The coffee culture in Serbia seemed like a suitable context that the youth could fit into without feeling pressured to attend. The author of the workshop created a usable collection so that the participants could have a tactile experience during the workshop. The author tried to get participants to feel welcomed, get them in a relaxed homelike state, and ease the knowledge transfer process. They would grind the coffee, brew it in the "Balkan way," drink it and eat traditional homemade cookies. The workshop's topic was the origins of coffee consumption in the Balkans, what behavioral patterns it creates, and how it affects our day-to-day life. However, participants gradually opened different topics, such as conversations about applied arts, feminism, religion, and even the economy. Through the lucky mishap of having the workshop within the exhibiting room, museum personnel and visitors felt invited to come over for a chat or a cookie, so participants had an opportunity to hear some unique stories. Inspired attendees from the Highschool of Economics in Kraljevo backed up this observation by recreating the entire workshop independently, without any help from the museum, for the students and active and retired professors. Which showed the potential of this method for bridging the gap between the youth and tradition and the generational gap among museum visitors, leaving an open space for knowledge transfer in an enjoyable and informal setting.
Takeover – Street Art & Skateboarding: Opening the museum to playful interactions
Christine Koblitz
Wien Museum, Vienna, Austria
Keywords: participation, interactive, open space, audience engagement
When the old Wien Museum opened its doors for the last time in summer 2019, the galleries had been emptied for the renovation and expansion project, affording unprecedented opportunities for interaction. More than 20,000 ft2 were turned into a playground for street art and skateboarding – two subcultures that appropriate unused areas and challenge our understanding of participation in public space. We invited prominent protagonists to transform the museum, allowing everyone the opportunity to discover the scenes in entirely new ways. The building was split into two zones: on the ground floor, it was DIY; on the first floor, there was a "Hall of Fame." Vienna was the focus. More than 30 artists – all stalwarts of Vienna’s Street art scene – took possession of the museum’s walls. Old exhibition furniture was turned into a skate park using concrete. There was much to discover and much to do – from guided tours to workshops on various street art techniques to concerts, breakdancing, art-fairs and lots of other events. It turned out to be a unique experience and huge success. Located right in the city center it became a meeting place for senior citizens and young people alike. Children dragging their parents to the museum, groups enjoying painting sessions and artists constantly adding new pieces to the walls. Being neither a typical exhibition nor an abandoned space, but an urban playground for creativity. https://www.wienmuseum.at/en/exhibitions/exhibition-archive/detail/takeover-street-art-skateboarding
Presentation Christine Koblitz
The magic bike which brings art to the very young
Stéphanie Masuy
Ixelles Museum, Brussels, Belgium
Keywords: Playful educational project for young kids, Outside the museum walls, Co-creation guides and dancers, Multisensorial approach of art, Crowdfunding
You’re never too young to gaze in wonder! That’s why, during its closure due to renovation works, the Ixelles Museum’s (Brussels, Belgium) guides are getting in the saddle and heading to nursery and primary classes (3- to 7-year-olds) with Wheelie, the museum’s electric cargo bike. Its box is full to brimming with fun things, like games, musical instruments and reproductions of works from the collections. A range of five educational activities related to five different artworks have been designed to give children a varied introduction to art. The little ones are invited to discover the collections of the Ixelles Museum with a mix of wild dances, mysterious magic formulas, colorful and intriguing paintings.... The animations were co-created by guides and dancers and emphasize a multi-sensory approach. This project is also a good way to reach teachers who are not so familiar with museum visits to encourage them to return when the institution will reopen. Its realization was supported by a successful crowdfunding campaign.
