Museums At The Crossroads

By Kurniawati Kamarudin The National Museum Department has taken much effort in maintaining the relevance of museums, but has yet to see the desired results. This two-part series discusses the survival of museums and present day challenges. KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4 (Bernama) -– The museums, which exhibit historical artefacts and records, may well become history themselves if nothing is done to revive their relevance to the community. Before the advent of cyber portals like Google, people gathered information from tedious visits to museums, libraries and archives. Today’s generation is one used to instant gratification, retrieving a wealth of information on any subject with only a few clicks of the mouse, right in the comfort of their own homes. It is no wonder that the museums have lost their appeal, and their limited access to information, static exhibition platforms and traditional presentations keep away the younger generation. There seems to be very little motivation to leave home to visit museums. NO LONGER POPULAR Records show that in 2010, 2.6 million people visited the 21 museums in Malaysia compared with 2.5 million in 2009. The obvious threat to the relevance of museums is the information communication technology. Digital technology has made access to historical information easy. Therefore, the National Museum Department recently organised the National Museum’s golden anniversary seminar, which among others discussed the dwindling number of visitors to museums in recent years and ways to give local museums a new lease of life. A GLOBAL ISSUE As for the fate of the museums all over the world, the writing is on the wall. Even developed nations like the U.S, Britain, South Korea and Singapore are grappling with the decline in interest on museums. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s History Programme Senior Lecturer Abdul Ghapa Harun agreed that the traditional museums have fallen out of sync with today’s generation. “Today, information on any topic can be accessed quickly and through many sources. “This is simply not achieved with a visit to a traditional museum. Static exhibitions do not meet the needs of a generation that craves for more information. They also want the information to be presented to them in an appetising manner, using advanced technology,” he told Bernama in an interview. He said, today, historical curiosity could be satiated simply by online visits to virtual museums, which also exhibit artefacts and provide explanations in a very detailed manner. These virtual museums are highly appealing to the current generation due to their interactive nature. They are fast developing overseas due to their popularity. MORE THAN JUST FACELIFTS Abdul Ghapa said other countries were quick to recognise and address the problem by giving more than just facelifts to their museums. The contemporary arts museum in Chicago is a good example. The museum, often visited by contemporary arts enthusiasts the world over is more than a storehouse for contemporary works of art. It is also a platform of interaction on arts, culture and history. “This is a museum that consciously creates an intellectually-stimulating environment,” he said. BE OPEN TO CHANGES Museums today have to be receptive to new ideas and approaches that are more interactive, less static and promote two-way communications. This would make museum visits a more exciting experience. Changing its approach and manner of presentation does not mean compromising on its traditional role. Museums just needs to be more selective on the artifacts for exhibition and employ more creativity in presenting them. The quality of service provided must also be improved. Abdul Ghapa called for museums to be more responsive and creative in achieving the balance between their traditional role as a lifelong education centre and as a recreational venue. They must also stop blaming the decline in visitors to society’s lack of interest in history. Relatively speaking, our local museums have been lagging far behind museums in developed nations that documents all aspects of human life in specialised museums. This has a lot to do with Malaysian attitudes and habits, which give little appreciation towards the arts, culture and history. This attitude may be due to an education system that is too exam-oriented, while many countries overseas focus on the process of learning, making them more appreciative of the arts, literature and culture. COLLABORATIONS MAY SAVE MUSEUMS Abdul Ghapa said inter-agency collaborations might give museum programmes the required boost. It is the new wave taking over museums globally. “Museums do better with the collaborations as it reduces costs and help a lot in terms of publicity and marketing. It also helps the museums attract more visitors." -- BERNAMA