Under the wave of digitalization, it is an important proposition of the times to promote the high-quality development of museums in the new era, help build a cultural power, and promote the excellent traditional Chinese culture to go global. On November 7, the 2023 International Museum Directors Forum with the theme of "Beautiful Renewal, Foreseeing the Future" was held in Gaochun District, Nanjing. More than 100 guests from well-known museums, governments and universities at home and abroad gathered together to have in-depth exchanges and talk about the future around the innovation and development of museums.
Xu Ying, Vice Governor of Jiangsu Province, Chen Zhichang, Mayor of Nanjing, Luo Wenli, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, Chu Xuejun, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Xinhuanet, Liu Yang, Director of the Department of Museums and Social Cultural Relics of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, Liu Jian, Deputy Secretary-General of the Provincial Government, Xu Ning, Deputy Director of the Propaganda Department of the Provincial Party Committee, Shi Feng, Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, Director of the Cultural Heritage Bureau, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Nanjing Museum, and Yu Feng, Secretary of the Party Committee of Nanjing University of the Arts, jointly launched the opening ceremony.
Focus on the opening ceremony
Talk about the development of the cultural and museum industry
Chen Zhichang said in his speech that Nanjing, as the "World Capital of Literature", attaches great importance to the development of museums, coordinates and promotes the construction of venues, the protection of cultural relics, exhibitions and other work, and takes new steps in the high-quality development of cultural and museum undertakings. In the next step, Nanjing will fully tap the rich historical and cultural resources, accelerate the construction of a number of unique and influential cultural and museum venues, and innovate and promote the integrated development of museums with cultural dissemination, civilization inheritance, culture, tourism, culture and creativity, and strive to build a distinctive, vibrant and desirable "museum city".
Luo Wenli pointed out that China has always attached great importance to the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage, and more and more Chinese museums insist on "inviting in" and "going out" to build a bridge for cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries and promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations. At present, digital technology is changing with each passing day, bringing new and good opportunities for the development of museums around the world. It is hoped that this forum will be an opportunity to further give full play to the advantages of all parties, promote more museums to go global, tell Chinese stories well, spread Chinese voices, and contribute to promoting dialogue among civilizations of all countries, promoting the progress of human civilization and world peace and development.
Chu Xuejun said that museums are important temples for the protection and inheritance of human civilization. In the future, Xinhuanet should unite multiple forces, disseminate excellent traditional Chinese culture across domains, protect, inherit and display the outstanding achievements of Chinese civilization, keep an eye on the development trend of digitalization, and skillfully use digital means to innovatively express a credible, lovely and respectable image of China.
Yu Feng said that relying on the profound educational background and solid disciplinary foundation, Nanyi established the International Museum College as early as 2018, becoming one of the earliest universities in the country to systematically lay out the construction of museum disciplines. In the future, Nanyi looks forward to working with more cultural and museum partners around the world to jointly explore new mechanisms for international cooperation in the museum industry and contribute to the construction of the museum.
Yannick Linz, Director of the Musée d'Art Cinnautique de Guimet, France, gave his views on the impact of digital technology on the future development of museums.
Subsequently, the "Research Report on the Global Museology Information (Resources) Center" was released on the spot, the "Global Museum Innovation Index Release Plan" was launched simultaneously, the unveiling ceremony of the "International Museum Digital Culture Innovation Center" and the launching ceremony of the "Light of Civilization - Helping Chinese Excellent Traditional Culture Go Global" Museum Cooperation Program Project were held.
In the keynote speech session, Wang Chunfa, Director of the National Museum of China, Wu Weishan, Deputy Secretary-General of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Democratic League, and Director of the National Art Museum of China, Zhu Hongwen, Vice President of the Palace Museum, Duan Yong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Shanghai University and Vice Chairman of the Management Committee of the International Council of Museums Research and Exchange Center, and other guests, focused on the development trend of the museum industry under the wave of digitalization, and shared the themes of "Digital Intelligence Technology Empowering the Development of Museums" and "Exploration and Prospect of the Digital Palace Museum".
In the roundtable dialogue session, the participants actively offered suggestions and suggestions for the innovation and development of the cultural and museum industry around topics such as "how museums can promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations" and "future development trends of art museums".
Universities and museums work hand in hand
Promote the innovation of digital culture in museums
Museums are not only artistic temples that recreate the glory of the past, but also a bridge between the past, the present and the future. Digital technology is coming on the waves, and intelligent creation is bowing into the game, making cultural relics alive, moving, and popular.
"Nanjing University of the Arts has a rich cultural resource base, cultivated a large number of intangible cultural heritage talents, design talents, and art talents, undertook major national social science fund art projects such as the National Art Fund of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and established many majors and disciplines related to digitalization. Recently, with the support of the Gulou District Government, the 'Nanjing University of the Arts Interdisciplinary Industry-Education Integration Center' was established, focusing on digital images, digital vision, digital sound, and digital manufacturing, creating an integrated platform for design, production, and communication. Zhang Linghao, dean of Nanjing University of the Arts, said in an exclusive interview with reporters after the meeting.
In 2018, the university hosted the "First International Forum of Museum Curators" and took the opportunity to establish a new secondary college, the International Museum Institute, which is the first dedicated museum school in the country. "We have built close ties with the museological circles at home and abroad, mobilized talents, cultural resources, digital technology and the integration of museum collaborative resources to help the long-term development of Chinese museums. The inauguration today of the 'International Museum Digital Culture Innovation Center' is a new and very important strategic initiative. Zhang Linghao said.
Yu Feng believes that Nanyi, as a higher art college, should take the initiative to take the mission of building the modern civilization of the Chinese nation through higher art education, and closely integrate with the museum community by strengthening the construction of museum disciplines and talent training, so as to revitalize the cultural relics and enhance the dissemination of Chinese civilization.
It is precisely because of this thinking that the 2023 International Museum Directors Forum is being organized, and nearly 100 museum directors at home and abroad are invited to participate in the meeting, forming an organic cooperation mechanism between the museum community and the academic community, so that we can form an organic whole for the storage, research, publicity, and redesign of cultural relics, so that the image of cultural relics that adapt to the aesthetics of the times can better go to the world, and realize the exchange and mutual learning between Chinese civilization and world civilization. According to Yu Feng, Nanjing University of the Arts has opened a major in cultural relics protection and restoration, intangible cultural heritage protection, after more than ten years of exploration, formed a set of talent training model, and extensive cooperation with various cultural relics institutions, intangible cultural heritage institutions, students are well received by the society. In the future, we will cooperate deeply with museums at home and abroad to build a good talent training platform for students, so that they can better adapt to the needs of modern cultural and museum talents.
Nanjing Museum has long demonstrated the inclusiveness of Chinese and foreign art, and listened to the dialogue and development of multiple civilizations. Vice President Wang Qizhi told reporters that in terms of content, the Nanjing Museum held a touring exhibition in Europe, planned a series of "comparative exhibitions" in China, and launched "A Tale of Two Cities in Edinburgh" as early as ten years ago, combining interactive digital content to explore and compare the architecture and urban development process of the two famous cultural cities, and explore the similarities and differences between cultures. In 2020, the exhibition "Pharaoh King: The Story of Ancient Egyptian Civilization and Han Dynasty Civilization" placed ancient Egyptian civilization and Han Dynasty civilization in the same space, reflecting the same cultural cognition in different cultural backgrounds in terms of funeral system, daily life, politics and military. From the known to the unknown, Chinese audiences can better understand foreign civilizations, and the "William Morris and the British Arts and Crafts Movement" held on May 18 this year is also a continuation of this concept.
From the perspective of means, the update and iteration of digital technology has made cultural and museum venues more and more popular with young audiences. According to the data, nearly 70% of the visitors to Nanbo are between the ages of 20 and 39. The application of new technologies such as AR, VR, and glasses-free 3D screens allows the audience to "touch" the story behind the cultural relics when they walk in front of them. "Accessibility" is a major consideration for museums, that is, whether the audience can receive cultural relics knowledge in an easy way, and a good museum should have as few obstacles as possible, and strive to build a convenient bridge between the audience and the cultural relics.
The forum was hosted by the Nanjing Municipal People's Government, the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, the Jiangsu Provincial Bureau of Cultural Relics, Xinhuanet, the Jiangsu Branch of Xinhua News Agency, and Nanjing University of the Arts.
(Jiangnan Times reporter Qian Yueming)
