A museum is a place where art and history are preserved, exhibited and shared. It is a space where you can slow down and look closely at ancient civilisations, classical masterpieces, or contemporary works that address complex conflicts. But a museum’s true purpose is to educate. The word “museum” is derived from the Latin word muses, meaning “a seat of the Muses.” Museums are educational institutions that offer a wide range of content across disciplines and fields of study.
But not all museums are created equal. Often, museums are associated with elitism and exclusivity. This is partly because museums started as private collections of interesting objects and have historically focused on the preservation of cultural artifacts. As such, some people are reluctant to visit museums. But a museum is more than just a collection of objects: it can be a platform to inspire dialogue, foster connection, and open up new ways of seeing the world.
The oldest and most-visited museum in the world is the Louvre, a cultural institution with a collection of paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, and other antiquities. The Louvre also holds a number of culturally significant items, such as the Aphrodite statue known as the Venus de Milo; the regent diamond; and the Code of Hammurabi, an ancient legal document.
However, not all museums are as welcoming as the Louvre or as inclusive of diverse voices. As a recent scene in the movie Black Panther shows, some museums still display artifacts with dubious origins or that ignore indigenous knowledge about their own pieces. Other times, museums simply do not engage with the communities that are closest to them. This is especially true in the case of museums in the developing world, which are frequently viewed as sites of colonial oppression.
Many museums are now taking steps to change this perception and make themselves more accessible to the public. One such example is the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, which was built in a formerly derelict port district in the Basque region of Spain to revitalize the city’s economy. The new definition of museum by the International Council of Museums (Icom) emphasizes that a museum is not just about “collecting, caring for, researching and communicating the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity, but a place for all.”
But even this definition is not without controversy. Some argue that the new definition is too broad and does not include specific goals like fostering a sense of community, tackling climate change, or creating economic opportunity. Others are concerned that the definition fails to provide sufficient guidance on issues such as restitution and decolonization, which are of crucial importance to many museums around the world. A final version of the new definition will be discussed and voted on at Icom’s General Conference in 2022. To reach that point, the definition will undergo four distinct rounds of consultation and outreach with 126 of Icom’s National Committees representing a total of 50,000 members worldwide. This is the largest outreach project in Icom’s history.