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Mark O’Neill, Head of Art and Museums
Knowledge Transfer and Glasgow Museums
Glasgow MuseumsLargest civic museum service in the UK
• Staff: 333• Annual Budget: £14 Million• 9 public venues• Annual Visits: 4 million
1. Transferring university knowledge to museums
2. Transferring museum (and university) knowledge to the public
University of St Andrews
School of Art History
Site visits
Student placements
Staff training
Joint PhDswith University of Edinburgh
• Dye analysis of historic textiles AHRC/EPSRC Science and Heritage, joint with UE Chemistry and NMS
• The Hague School, the Burrell Collection
• Natural History• Arms and Armour• Fine and Decorative
Arts• Scottish History
Anthropology
Ancient Civilisations
1.4 million objects
Research-ready Collections
St Mungo’s Museum of Religious Life and Art
Our aim is to promote mutual respect among people of all faiths and none
Kelvingrove and its audiencesPrior to closure• Most visited UK museum
outside London• 1 million visits a year• 40% of local visits C2DE • 20% UK tourists• 10% overseas tourists
Kelvingrove Display Philosophy
19th Century • One definition of culture• Communication in
lecture mode• Subject centred• Taxonomic structure• Comprehensive• Object based• Public education
21st century• Many definitions of culture• Communication in dialogue
mode• Visitor centred• Narrative structure• Selective – but varied• Object based • Public education
Kelvingrove Knowledge Framework
• Object based• Visitor centred• Storytelling• Flexible• Responsive
An Object based, Storytelling Museum
Stories:- Selected by curators- recognise that knowledge can’t be ‘transferred’- work with people’s inherent meaning-making capacity- can function at many different levels- can cut across disciplines- don’t require gaps in the collection to be filled with
graphics or replicas
A Visitor-Centred Museum
• Surveys and Focus Groups
• Education Advisory Panel
• Community Forum• Disability Advisory Panel• Junior Friends of
Glasgow MuseumsBoard
• Favourite objects
• Prior knowledge and interests
• Learning preferences for new subjects
• Gallery titles/Orientation
• Impact assessments
Kelvingrove: Conflict & Consequence
The Observer“Not so much a museum of culture as of life itself, Kelvingrove is almost unique: part National Gallery, part V&A, part British Museum and Tate – all in one building.
The Burlington Magazine 2007“…many of the works presentedas pawns in some quest for the lowest common denominator.”
Kelvingrove: some responses