New week, new episode of the series “New Practices and Culture, a short look to professionals in Culture” with Céline Salvetat, Head of the Public to Museon Arlaten (Arles), museum in renovation since 2009.
Introduction:
– Museon Arlaten, ethnography in Arles museum was founded by Frédéric Mistral in 1899, closed its doors October 26, 2009 for a renovation of eight.
– Céline Salvetat shows her daily work in a museum renovation and changes that implies:
How was received this renovation?
This renovation Museon Arlaten reflected from 1993 by the current director but closed to the public-which took place one year before the start of work to empty the museum of its expôts- took place October 26, 2009! This renovation was really something expected by the crews of the museum thing. Everyone was receiving every day more strongly, the inadequacy of the museum-which has never changed since its inception in 1899- with the times. So there was a real desire and tremendous energy from all the teams for this renovation.
Unlike other museums, the decision to partially close the museum to keep an access to the public has not been made. Indeed, in addition to security issues, which had motivated the partial closure of the museum until 2009, this option requires a lot of energy because you have to maintain and live public areas but also think and act for the parties under renovation. Certainly this would have required too much energy and has potentially the risk of harm to the two-or at least not well enough. Also, and this is not an item to be neglected, a closed museum has little or no pressure from its territorial officials. Contrary to an open structure, there is little pressure, obligation rendering numbers. This will complete the renovation of more serene.
What this renovation has changed within the team?
The first thing is the arrangement of teams: the physical distribution of services is not the same, there has been a dispersal in different buildings. And obviously this has an impact on the communication between the teams … but not what we believe! Indeed, it was set up “cafes info” and internal seminars precisely to address this lack. Celine noted that the people who had never had this type of “appointment” requiring regular speaking different topics and ideas, that changes everything: Now there is a real habit of communication between teams of different services . The downside is that these meetings are informative and creative (with the introduction of brainstorming), we must formalize the meetings that despite everything, the subjects are understood and agreed by all, that where the links between colleagues are a little looser de facto agreement between services remains.
Another element that renovation upset: the trade of some professionals. As much as possible, it was decided to do things internally and with the museum staff. This had a particular impact for host agents, having no reason to exist during the eight years of closure to the public, have been reclassified as assistants collections management, or holdings, especially during moving the huge collection, which is now nearing completion. This conversion has allowed these professionals to stay as close to the heritage and was so well lived that some wonder whether they will become home agents. This, however, seems clear to everybody in the museum: it can not be a strict back by older models. This renovation is truly an adventure that changed-and continues to do- trades and ways to design the museum. This will require thinking differently the role of these agents, as will be the case for other colleagues.
In addition, management must be open to the outside of the museum (especially with all matters of partnerships, relationships with territorial makers, …), it was observed some responsibility for services as full and constituent parts of the museum, seconding and supporting management.
The extramural is often used by museums renovation: what’s your view of this tool?
“Gypsy style”, extramural exhibition of Museon Arlaten, © Museon Arlaten
Many external people at the museums world think that as there is more public museum, it remains only curators and administrators; other museum professionals being laid off. Obviously, this is wrong but it is certain that the job is not exactly the same. The extramural is one of the most used services by public and other professionals trained to continue to support the museum during its closure, outside its walls tools. Céline had interviewed a number of her colleagues who had experienced a renewal of their school and who had extramural. It concluded that it was all a matter of dosage. Indeed, the extramural allows for extra-ordinary things, because the frame is new, teams dare easier for new experiences so much more important that within the museum open. Thus, mediation actions to measure, for target audiences prior minority can be mounted without the participation rate is the primary endpoint. New ways to mediate were invented, with partners in the field, because the “out the walls” of Museon becomes “inside the walls” of partners whose working methods are the inspiration for the museum . One can see the rest of the interesting actions performed. But attention to their density and not to get sucked! It needs time to support the public to think its action, its new target audiences but also to continue to work and enrich the project (s) (s) renovation.
How this renovation and extramural actions have changed your perception and the way you work?
First, a renewal request a very upstream reflection of what will be several years. That is to say, think in the abstract, elements of the scientific and cultural projects ranging from public policy to the number of sinks, electrical outlets or internet access while some technologies are so few or less known. This abstraction will completely factual impact … but in several years. And this is a challenge!
New frameworks, new proposals! Example of an ethno-tour, picture by S. Norman/Coll. Museon Arlaten
Moreover, Celine was confronted with a very different and new as much about the temporality of actions that the pace of work temporality. “When you think about it, a closed museum is an aberration! “; it therefore requires creativity, a lot of organization, a detailed analysis of its public and listening. Indeed, it is not the audience that comes to the institution, that is up to her to get them-and not just the regulars. The renovation also allows searching of said remote and imagine new things public; the different actions then become much experimentation. However, these efforts must be conducted with the teams; so you have to listen to them and assayed. For example, the museum depends on the department, the actions of the team of mediators are happening all over the county -this territory that involves a lot of traveling.The notion of physical fatigue was much less present in an open museum but extramural, it is necessary that these actions are happening in different places away. This then implies to pay attention to its teams, pay attention to their level of fatigue, put them in pairs so that they support each other. We must therefore every effort but also their moral dosing carefully the successes and failures of these experimental events.
Céline arrived in 2006 Museon Arlaten, that is to say with an ever open to the public, but turned to museum renovation project. This renovation, Celine wanted to live because, as she says, a renovation is a great opportunity that only happens once in a career. After the party the museum is closed to the public where each department had its time to present its actions, the renovation has rightly allowed to reconsider her profession and her actions, interacting with colleagues. This thinking led to more Celine listen to colleagues noted but also to present a different way from the rest of the institution -it how she is now involving other colleagues than those it was used. The renovation of Museon Arlaten last eight years, which is the fifth (!) Of a career. During those eight years there reflections, reconsiderations, experiments, discussions, … sure, after this renovation things will not return as before.
So much so that after all these adventures, some at Museon wonder if they will continue after the museum reopened. Can we stay in the same place after having lived so? Do not to others to carry the torch?
Some links (in French)…
– Museon Arlaten website
– The mediation project “Sharing memories Gypsy” is conducted with the combination Petit à Petit and methodologies used in the social sector. The object was to train young people and women the tools of ethnography collecting imagine, sounds, objects, … This led to the publication of a book and a radio programme, a webdocumentary and an exhibition “Gypsy style” (visible in 2013 in Marseille and Arles, in the context of Marseille Provence 2013)
– Two texts on the Scientific and Cultural Project (PSC in French) : Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication and a lettre from OCIM
– Some other examples of extramural actions:
- By the late 1990s, the Villette builds on the work of the Great Hall to “launch” what would become the extramural phenomenon with various meetings. Here, rencontres de 2004 à Limoges sur les « violences dans la culture »
- Professional meetings about extramural museums (les Musées hors-les-murs), 2010
- Musée Galliera (Paris), even still closed they organised some extramural exhibitions like here at the Docks
- The Musée Toulouse-Lautrec (Albi) it is open but proposes extramural actions to the public “distant”
- Some museums have opened a sizable loan policy, often with the aim to spread their subject (science, history, …). In this case, these museums do not hesitate to communicate it; in the case of the Museum of Arts and Crafts (Paris) and the Musée de la Grande Guerre (Meaux)
- Other solution was found: make virtual exhibitions; solution chose by the musée des Confluences (Lyon)
- The extramural solution is also found in other cultural or museum structures. That was the case of the Forum des images during the works (courses and projections) or théâtre Jean-Vilar (Bourgoin-Jallieu) whose extramural programming seems the only thing that continues to live the institution-including the building was burned in 2010 but still not rebuilt. Regional Fund for Contemporary Art also have long used the extramural solution as shown in these two examples: the FRAC Alsace and the FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais
[translation by Google translate]
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