After a long, difficult and uncertain 2020, the new year has finally begun – welcome to the first issue of 2021. The year unfortunately begins as it started, and much of the world is still living under some form of restrictions, and the global economy is still being devastated by the pandemic. We cannot stand back from the issues the world is currently facing – exclusion; racialisation; climate change; economic inequality – and we too are often an expression of systemic asymmetries of power and privilege. So what can we do? First, we can voice our support for those fighting for change, and acknowledge the necessity of actively reflecting on our roles in supporting unsustainable or indefensible practices. Second, we can use our platform to amplify voices and experiences within museums that are under-represented, if represented at all. Third, in addition to producing special issues (such as our issue on Social Justice, and last year’s issue on Climate Change) we can highlight the articles published in our archive that have regained relevance in the current political context, or that shine a light on how we came to be where we are today. For those new to the journal, Museum Management and Curatorship, now in its 36th year, remains one of the world’s leading journals for museum professionals. When the Journal was originally founded it was explicitly intended as a resource for museum practitioners. Museums and museum professionals need high-quality academic research on which to base new projects and inform current practices, and new methodologies to help critically analyse their success or failure. The MMC remains and will continue to remain grounded in museum practice in all its diversity. MMC is one of the few truly international museum journals. It continues to publish contributions from around the world, and is an important platform for scholars and professionals for whom English is not a first language. This issue includes articles from Iran and Syria, as well as a paper by a young museum professional. Future issues will address a variety of aspects of the ways in which the current situation invites us to reflect on our institutions and practices, and the ways we can and should change to better serve our communities. The MMC is not and cannot be a news magazine, but we are grappling, together with the editorial team, with how best to respond as a journal to rapidly evolving situations, while retaining the scholarly rigour of a peer-reviewed journal, which by its nature takes time and patience. We invite all of our readers to contribute to this reflection with their own ideas by writing to the team at [email protected]. Last year’s final issue, guest edited by Joy Davis, focused on climate change and how museums are presenting – and responding to – the challenges of one of the planet’s most urgent crises. I look forward to hearing from you, and to working together to ensure the MMC continues to meet the needs of the entire museum field.
