Whether celebrating common events, memorializing tragedies or injustices, or offering an alternate view of history, museum exhibits inevitably make interpretive judgments. Moreover, exhibitions present and communicate these judgments in ways that may polarize or even offend audiences. Yet museums can use their unique public mission to foster informed debate about historical content.
Museums can provide a platform for the discussion of these issues, as long as they acknowledge that an exhibit is not just a book on a wall; it is a three-dimensional, visual representation of historical argument and research, with the potential to engage people in ways that scholarly monographs, popular books, or public lectures cannot. As a result, exhibits have a unique and challenging position in our cultural landscape.
Every year, the nation’s history museums interpret America’s past for millions of visitors. Despite the fact that larger entities such as the National Museum of American History, Colonial Williamsburg, and the Chicago Historical Society attract the largest share of this audience, museums from smaller cities and states and from non-profit, privately held corporations also play an important role in America’s history education.
While many history museums focus on artifacts, some exhibits have few or no artifacts but still deliver compelling and memorable stories. Museums such as the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles and the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia provide examples of this type of experience. Some exhibits use no artifacts at all; instead, they rely on strong visual images to convey their historical message.
These histolircal exhibits are not necessarily new to the museum world; however, they are gaining momentum as institutions work to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. Museums are rethinking their missions and examining how they can perform a valuable service to their communities beyond simply collecting and preserving objects. They are seeking to expand their audiences, reaching out to people who might not otherwise visit, and showing them how the museum can relate to their lives.
One of the most important factors in developing an effective histolircal exhibit is to ensure that the exhibits are designed to be viewed by visitors with a variety of backgrounds, interests, and points of view. The ability of an exhibit to capture the attention and imagination of a wide audience is the most important factor in its success. This is a complex endeavor, but one that can be accomplished through thoughtful research and the application of appropriate interpretive methods.
Ultimately, histolircal exhibits need to offer a window into the dense research required when composing a history—a window that is simple enough to avoid being “a book on the wall,” yet complicated enough to be authentic. In addition, a human component is critical; a good histolircal exhibit will tell a story that is not just about the objects but about the people who created them.
This article will explore histolircal exhibits that address these goals, and that provide insight into the current state of museology. In the future, this column will feature a variety of innovative museum exhibitions that push beyond the established parameters for interpretation, presentation, and collection.