Ann Curtis, MUSEUM INSIDER
Ann Curtis is the Editor of MuseumINSIDER, the source of market intelligence for the museums and heritage sector. With 2020 providing multiple challenges for this sector, we decided to tap into Ann’s broad insight into how the sector is approaching 2021 and beyond.
GA: Ann, we recently joined Museum Insider and we are loving it. Everyone at Greenway Associates was so impressed that you had hundreds of opportunities on the site, in the UK, Europe and US, which are all areas we enjoy doing projects in. Please tell us about Museum Insider Ann. How did it come about? And how do you manage to stay on top of publishing all of these opportunities?
Thanks for those kind words! And we’re delighted to have you as a subscriber.
How did we come about? Well, I was a supplier to the UK museum and heritage sector for over fifteen years. And in those days, even though I believed we had good knowledge of possible new work, my deepest fear was that I might miss a big one while I was busy delivering projects myself. I wondered if other companies might feel the same, and some years later, after a few years outside of the sector, MuseumINSIDER was born!
And how do we do it? Well, I am so lucky to have a talented and committed research team working with me, who scour the globe every day following up new business leads for our subscribers. These can be tenders that are out to bid right now, or plans for a new museum or visitor attraction, anywhere in the world. By knowing plans in advance, it gives our subscribers a chance to get their foot in the door early.
GA: Looking at 2021, and in the spirit of recovery, are there any other things that you think practices can do to service the industry well?
Yes. Be agile, flexible, and a true partner to your clients. Help them think through the challenges they are facing and help them think through ways of dealing with them now, in six months, and in the years ahead.
GA: Museums up and down the country are likely looking to launch new collections and galleries that show they are responsive to the social justice issues that were spotlighted all over the world in 2020. In your opinion, what does it mean for a museum to responsibly display a historical item?
The museum sector in the UK, started in the 1850’s, and our great national museums were a product of British Empire and conquest. Now, I think many of the National Museums, English Heritage, the National Trust are more aware that there are a number of ways of doing this. One way is to look closely at whose story you are telling.
Whose stories are you not telling? What point of view are you looking at this object from? Whose history is this? Who has the agency to tell this story?
GA: Can you give us some examples of institutions that are successfully updating galleries to meet visitor demands?
Actually, this year we did some research on this. We looked at the over 700 new and expanded museum and heritage projects we’re tracking and asked ourselves, how many of these projects are addressing social justice issues in a major way? Looking at this group of over 700, we found 41 of them were focused on social justice topics and 25 of them were in the United States…with budgets totalling $2 billion! That was a surprise! Here is a map of the United States to show you where these projects are located, and what subjects they are focusing on.
GA: How do you think these new museums will better address social justice issues?
First of all, they will get the stories of these underrepresented communities out into the open, unearthed from the historical footnotes and into the public consciousness. So many of these stories were known to marginalised communities, but not to most citizens of the USA. For example, a new $20 million museum and history centre is set to open next year in Tulsa, Oklahoma, called the Greenwood Rising History Center. It will commemorate the 1921 riot by the white citizens of Tulsa that killed an estimated 300 black residents and destroyed the prosperous neighbourhood and local businesses once known as ‘Black Wall Street’. It is hoped that the museum will open in time for the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the massacre, in the spring of 2021.
GA: More and more curators are using public consultation and working with individuals outside the museum world for new content. Do you think this shift will draw new audiences to museums?
Absolutely. I was lucky enough to speak the Museum of London West Smithfield project teams when we were doing this research, and I was so encouraged by what they were saying. They’re working on a very “London” approach…not taking anything for granted, testing assumptions, looking at all sort of social themes. They are working with community engagement panels to help them develop a museum for all Londoners, not just the people who always come to museums.
And the V&A East is doing a similar thing too, based on the communities around their site in East London. So, if these new ways of thinking about social justice become part and parcel of the thinking of building a new museum, maybe these museums can help nations better understand their history in these new conversations in these reinvigorated museums.
As one of my friends in the sector said:
“This work isn’t expensive. It takes honesty, bravery, vulnerability, engagement and dialogue with new groups. It’s about listening, not telling.”
GA: In your opinion, are recent tendered and opportunities coming through Museum Insider revealing any particular trends in the industry?
Yes.
We are seeing lots of “thinking” tenders. Museums, across the globe are seeking consultants to help them think in new ways to meet the challenges of now.
This can be through new business models, increased attention to earned revenue and fundraising, better ways to manage their facilities in a time of climate change, reaching new or neglected audiences, or just faster, cheaper, better ways of doing what they’ve always done. Consultants who have done such work at other museums will find great interest in their work across the sector.
GA: Finally Ann, whats your favourite cultural space right now?
I think my number one is in Norway, situated 300 km north of the Arctic Circle, and it’s called The Whale, which we estimate will open in 2023.
The sea around this part of Norway is on a major whale migration route, and this new institution will serve as a hub for whale watchers, as well as a museum and a whale research centre. Not only will it be a natural history museum, it will look at the impact that whales have had on humans; through mythology, literature, art and society as a whole. And the building, as you can see here, is absolutely stunning, designed by architects Dorte Mandrup. I think this project neatly sums up so many of the positive aspects of our sector; projects that have important, culturally relevant themes at their heart, a growing respect and appreciation for the natural world and the people around us, presented in a beautiful and engaging way. Perfect!