Australian museums in the ‘age of risk’: a case study

ABSTRACT

Balancing the needs and demands of audiences, sponsors and shareholders and making wise curatorial decisions concerning the politics of display in an increasingly risk averse society, are dilemmas many contemporary museums are experiencing. This article utilizes a case study comparing curatorial approaches to ‘risk management’ at two Australian museums (Art Gallery of New South Wales Sydney, and Museum of Old and New Art Tasmania), in regard to contentious and ‘difficult’ topics. Based on empirical data, analysis will consider the role museums play as agents of social change in respect to counteracting prejudices and promoting appreciation of cultural differences through exhbitionary displays. Against the backdrop of the ‘culture wars’ and impact of media reporting, the writings of Ulrich Beck inform discussions surrounding different perspectives of museum professionals and audiences and how displays in the art museum conform to or contradict Beck’s vision of ‘reflective’ modernity in an increasingly ‘world risk society.’

KEYWORDS:

• Risk management
• art museums
• culture wars and media reporting
• audience perception
• reflective modernity
• curatorial decision-making and controversy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Louise Frances Ryan has worked extensively as an educator and researcher in the area of cultural studies, particularly art and cultural development in the museum context. Her recently completed PhD investigated the museum as a contested space, especially the promotion of cross-cultural understanding, identity formation, inclusiveness and belonging. Current projects explore society's relationship with its cultural and natural environments and the perceived value and conflict that these cultural/artistic endeavours generate; cultural exchanges and their role in promoting national identity and a common cultural space; and the role that heritage sites and museums contribute to our understanding and knowledge of migration, colonization and displacement.

Notes

1 For the social impact of museums and their role in developing cultural identity, see Sandell (2002).

2 See Karp et al. (2006, 1) on the link between the museum and other civic institutions and cultural organizations such as schools, galleries, theme parks, fairs, fiestas, expositions and department stores.

3 AGNSW Events, Annual Report 2007-08, retrieved 2 June 2009, <http://www.artgallery.nsw.Gov>. The paragraph in the section of the Community Relations Commission and Principles of Multiculturalism Act 2000 that pertains to cultural institutions is section (f): ‘all institutions of New South Wales should recognise the linguistic and cultural assets in the population of New South Wales as a valuable resource and promote this resource to maximise the development of the State’ (retrieved 24 March 2014, <http://www.crc.nsw.gov.au/legislation_and … /principles_of_multiculturalism>)

4 By its second birthday in January 2012, 3.5 million people had visited MONA, an extraordinary figure considering the population of Hobart is 216, 276 and that of the whole of Tasmania 511,700 (ABC News 2013). Recent figures for 2016 reveal that 335,127 visited MONA in the last year alone and it still remains the second biggest tourist attraction in Tasmania (http://www.tourismtasmania.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/44691/MONA-Visitor-Profile-YE-June-2016.pdf).