Re-Imagining the Museum

Exchanging Memories in the Australian Museum: Migrant Stories and Bonegilla Migrant Centre

“…In fact, new museum practices are expected to negotiate and participate with the groups whose histories they aim to present. As mentioned, unlike those historians working in the broader field of public history, academics in museology, or critical heritage studies have evolved their theories along the same lines as I have outlined above-focusing on interactions and the mutual production of knowledge, and therefore not only on representational practice but also on affective memory and the agency of audiences (Waterton and Watson 2013;Witcomb 2003).…”

University courses on cultural management as educational opportunities for the Catholic Church: some reflections based on teaching experience

“…Valuable insights on the transformation of the museum institution can be found in the Introduction by Roberts (1997). Many references also in Witcomb (2003). Although many museums include in their websites the idea that they tell a story, in scientific literature this approach is not very common.…”

Spekphrasis: writing about lost artworks, or, Mona Lisa and the museum

“…Witcomb, in her book Re‐Imagining the Museum: Beyond the Mausoleum , considers how the image places museums in a negative, unhelpful light: ‘In describing the museum as a mausoleum, this intellectual tradition places museums outside of wider social, cultural and economic contexts. In its most radical form, some of its proponents even call for its destruction.’ She problematises ‘the association of museums with mausoleums, with removal from everyday life’, putting this in such a way that ‘removal from everyday life’ becomes a gloss for ‘mausoleums’ . While in one sense this is literally true, there is more to be said.…”