Village News

Museum as Series

  • Gary Dyck, Blog Coordinator
  • Executive Director, MHV

A series on the roles of museums…

Last week the International Council of Museums met in Kyoto, Japan to discuss a new definition of museum. The proposed definition is a major change in content and style from the current one of the past half-century: “A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment.”

This is the new definition that the executive proposed: “Museums are democratising, inclusive and polyphonic spaces for critical dialogue about the pasts and the futures. Acknowledging and addressing the conflicts and challenges of the present, they hold artefacts and specimens in trust for society, safeguard diverse memories for future generations and guarantee equal rights and equal access to heritage for all people. Museums are not for profit. They are participatory and transparent, and work in active partnership with and for diverse communities to collect, preserve, research, interpret, exhibit, and enhance understandings of the world, aiming to contribute to human dignity and social justice, global equality and planetary wellbeing.” Now that is an executive that likes to eat Campbell’s hearty soup. I’m not sure if I should use a fork or a spoon to work through this definition.

To begin with I had to look up the definition of ‘polyphonic’ even though if you look at it, it should simple enough to understand. It means having two or more tones/voices within a musical composition. This is something we are growing in at the Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV). In the past we have mostly talked about the 1870’s Mennonites and the good they have done. Increasingly we are adding other tones, tones that intersect, bringing harmony that needs to be heard to bring nuance and at the same time greater fullness to the music. In this time of greater mistrust and disunity we want to be a welcoming place of open and wise dialogue between Mennonites and others.

Just this afternoon, Senior Curator, Andrea Dyck, and I had a great discussion about where we see MHV in ten years. Even museums cannot be static. This autumn our column Village News will host a series on the role MHV and museums have in our society. Like the definition above, you will be surprised about all the different roles museums like MHV can fill.

In the meantime, the voting international museum body felt the new definition was too ideological and needed more consideration. Typical museum leadership right? In their defense, it is important to consider our definitions well; where we have come from and where we should be going. Changes should not be taken lightly. There is wisdom in our past culture. What is your definition of museum, what do you see ‘museum as…’? Email me your thoughts at: garyd@mhv.ca.