Post on 01-Apr-2016
description
Museums for social justice
Sao Paolo, Brazil
2 June 2014
Dr David Fleming OBE
Director
National Museums Liverpool @DrDavidFleming
(International Labour Organisation)
What is social justice?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtBvQj2k6xo
Liverpool Cityscape © Ben Johnson 2008
Museum of Liverpool
Winner 2013 Council of Europe Museum prize
“The museum traces the social, economic and political history of a city which is one of the most socially diverse in Britain. According to the Committee, the museum has an outstanding capacity to get people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities involved and promotes in such a strong, convincing form the Council of Europe core values.
The Museum of Liverpool provides an exemplary recognition of human rights in museum practice, the Committee underlines. The interaction with local community is excellent with numerous activities involving children, youth, families and elderly. It promotes mutual respect between ethnically and socially diverse parts of the society, addresses human rights through contemporary debates and dialogue and maintains an open and inclusive policy aimed at bridging cultures in every aspect of its work.”
I still adore @MuseumLiverpool, even though it makes me ridiculously emotional. A city museum done perfectly @donnamk79
The wonderful @MuseumLiverpool. First museum to ever make me cry. Twice - @Yaz_S
German journalist, February 2013:
"We simply don't have museums like this in Germany. The people here, they go into your museums as if they are going into a pub. There's noise, there's life. People laugh or they cry. It's a place they feel free. I was amazed."
Museum of Liverpool
• People and story-led
• Uses emotion
• Authentic Liverpool voice
• Takes families seriously - places for intergenerational activity
• Variety
• Changeability
• It’s a socially responsible museum, and it fights for social justice
Museums have lots of roles:
1. Research and collecting
2. Economic role
3. Social role • Audience focused
• Educational
• Community orientated
• Democratic
• Open to debate
• Diverse
• Socially responsible
Liverpool context
• Unmatched cultural offer • Most deprived city in England
National Museums Liverpool
April Ashley – Portrait of a lady, Museum of Liverpool
"45 years and four months after I
became the woman I wanted to
be, I had a piece of paper to
prove I really am April Ashley.
I feel free at last.”
David Hockney: Early Reflections, Walker Art Gallery
Family Art Club
ALIVE: In the Face of Death, Walker Art Gallery
Visitor response - ALIVE: In the Face of Death
• Seeing beauty in death was not what I expected to see today. Moving and brilliant.
Rowena
• A truly inspirational exhibition. It really does open your eyes to the beauty of life in
the face of death.
• Extraordinary! A moving experience. the thought, sensitivity and humanity in this
exhibition is world class. It has changed me. Thank you. Joan
• Inspirational and moving. Having a brother who survived cancer I'm just amazed
by and grateful for this exhibition. Inspired by the positive attitudes of all the people
in the photographs. Thanks for this wonderful experience!
• Incredible - if anyone ever struggles to emotionally connect to art - they NEED to
see this.
• This exhibition will give hope to those who didn't know they had any.
From There to Here, Museum of Liverpool
House of Memories Celebration Day
House of Memories
Football in Liverpool
Hillsborough, Museum of Liverpool
Rhys Jones
Museum of Liverpool
International Slavery Museum
Anthony Walker Education Centre, International Slavery Museum
International Slavery Museum
‘Missing’ by Rachel Wilberforce, International Slavery Museum
National Historical Museum of Tirana, Albania
Comfort Women Wanted, Taiwanese Women’s Rescue Foundation, Taiwan
Museum of Democracy, Argentina
Concept development workshop – Democracy means:
Museum of Genocide Victims, Lithuania
Event for the human rights situation
in Belarus, Chechnya and Tibet
Museum of the Romanian Peasant, Romania
Democracy and corruption
Rank
(out of 115)
Country
1 Norway
2 Sweden
3 Finland
4 Switzerland
5 Denmark
10 United Kingdom
44 Brazil
Rank
(out of 175)
Country
1 Denmark
1 New Zealand
3 Finland
3 Sweden
5 Norway
19 UK
72 Brazil
Rank
(out of 115)
Country
115 Yemen
114 Syria
113 Central African Republic
112 Togo
111 Guinea
Rank
(out of 175)
Country
175 Somalia
175 North Korea
175 Afghanistan
174 Sudan
173 South Sudan
Most democratic
Least democratic Most corrupt
Least corrupt
www.cpi.transparency.org www.democracyranking.org
Politics
Queen Mother from the City
of Benin, 16th Century,
World Museum, National
Museums Liverpool
Our mission:
To be the world’s leading
example of an inclusive
museum service
www.sjam.org
Thank you
david.fleming@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk
@DrDavidFleming