A museum is more than just a building filled with stuff – it’s an institution that acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits our tangible cultural heritage in service to society. As such, museums are crucial for our shared human heritage and should be cherished.
Founded for a range of purposes, from recreational facilities to academic venues, to promote civic pride and nationalistic endeavour, the museum reveals remarkable diversity in form and content. It is also clear that some institutions which do not call themselves museums use the term to describe experiences which are neither primarily historical nor cultural, but which have a strong impact on the public’s sense of culture.
For this reason, ICOM has recently undertaken a consultation to seek input from its members on the definition of museum. The results of the First Consultation on ICOM’s Museum Definition have been rich and varied and will provide valuable considerations for committees going forward.
Some of the world’s most popular museums owe their reputation to the scale and renown of their collections. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for example, claims to have the largest collection of paintings in the world and draws around four million visitors a year. The British Museum is another heavyweight in this category, and its vast galleries are stuffed with household names ranging from the hugely influential works of Velazquez and El Greco to more recent neoclassical, romantic and impressionist masterpieces.
Museums are non-profit, permanent institutions whose aim is to serve society and its development. They are places where people come to learn about their past, present and future. They are centres for creativity and inspiration. Museums should be open to all, accessible, inclusive and sustainable.
Whether they are large and multi-storied or small and intimate, every museum must have a clear purpose and a clear mandate to serve its community. This purpose and mandate must be reflected in all decisions the museum makes, from funding to exhibition programming.
The very definition of a museum is an evolving concept. As such, museums need to be flexible enough to be able to adapt to the changing needs of their communities. For example, the emergence of new concepts like world cultures museums have challenged traditional museum boundaries and practices.
The word museum derives from the ancient Greek word mouseion, meaning seat of the Muses. The idea of a museum as an institution dedicated to collecting and displaying art, history, science and natural history began with the establishment of the great Museum of Alexandria in Egypt in the 200s bce, with its library and college of scholars – more a prototype university than a modern museum. However, the museum concept was refined in the Renaissance (1300s-1500s) as wealthy Europeans built vast private collections of artwork and historic artifacts. Some of these collections were later donated to cities for public benefit. The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain is one such success story.