Image source: Xinhua News Agency
■China Economic Times reporter Zhao Shan
Museums are important platforms for the protection of history and culture, as well as important places for disseminating culture and promoting social education. 18 May is the annual International Museum Day, and the theme of International Museum Day 2024 focuses on "Museums Committed to Education and Research", emphasizing the important role of museums in providing educational experiences and advancing academic research. This theme encourages museums to interact with all sectors of society to build a future where knowledge is shared without barriers, and innovation and tradition are integrated. The museum will become a center for social education and lifelong learning, promoting communication and learning between people of different ages and backgrounds.
In 1880, the British museum scholar Rubins published a paper entitled "The Function of Museums", emphasizing that museums should be places for the general public to receive education. In his two monographs, "The Museum of the Future" and "Principles of Museum Administration", the American scholar Gu Di further emphasized that museums must devote themselves to innovative education and carry out active activities, and should not only become places for experts and scholars to engage in research, but also become supplementary facilities for educational institutions and off-campus teaching gardens. The ICOM Constitution defines a museum as a permanent non-profit institution open to the public that serves society and its development and collects, protects, researches, disseminates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and the human environment for the purposes of education, research and appreciation.
A museum is a "big school". Museums are temples of knowledge and important places for providing education to the public. In recent years, more and more countries have paid more attention to the construction of museums, constantly innovating and improving exhibition planning and viewing modes, and holding various educational activities to provide more and better cultural services for the public.
As the oldest and largest comprehensive museum in the UK, the British Museum is second to none in disseminating knowledge and educating the public. In addition to holding hundreds of lectures and seminars every year, and publishing a large number of books and picture albums, the museum's educational activities for primary and secondary school students are divided into age groups, including 3-6 years old, 7-11 years old, 12-16 years old and 16 years old. The museum provides a wealth of visitor guides on its website for teachers and students to download so that they can understand the background and process before visiting.
The historic Louvre Museum places great emphasis on public education programs. Starting from its own art collection, the Louvre has set up art learning programs at different levels, focusing on the study and research of contemporary art, especially the appreciation and research of famous masterpieces. At the same time, masters in the art world will be invited to explain the form of art and how to appreciate art to the audience. The Louvre also has educational venues dedicated to students, one of which is called the "Art Workshop", which is a combination of tours, explanations, and do-it-yourself.
Spain is one of the most vibrant artistic centers in Europe. Known as one of the "Golden Triangles of Art" in Madrid, Spain, the Reina Sofia National Art Center Museum has a large collection of paintings. With the continuous development of digital technology, museums actively promote the digitization of collection display and viewing mode, strengthen art research and education, and use more intuitive and vivid ways to let more people learn and understand works of different art genres.
Located in the industrial area on the banks of the Tiber River in the southern suburbs of Rome, the Italian Monte Maldini Center Museum is a characteristic museum with a "modern era" style. The museum's website offers a virtual tour, and high-resolution images and descriptions of the various exhibits can be found online. The museum also regularly hosts "Museum Nights", where musicians and singers perform to stimulate young people's interest in art.
Education and research in museums are the core functions of museums, and they are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. In the future, how can museums better play their educational and research functions? First of all, museums are required to be not limited to a universal introduction to collections or exhibitions, but to provide "resource guides" or "course menus" based on their existing resources and the needs of schools.
For example, the National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C., has published an annual "school plan" on its official website, based on its collection and annual exhibition plan, which clearly lists resources, services, and teacher training programs in the form of a menu that can be connected to school education. The museum also shared information about the online academic activities of the Center for African Studies at Harvard University on its educational resources webpage, so that teachers and students can also participate in professional academic activities during the epidemic to learn more about the museum's exhibition themes. In addition, several art museums in the United States have shared the research results of Harvard University's Zero Project on art education on their educational resources webpages, which helps front-line art teachers to reflect on and improve their curriculum design and teaching capabilities based on scholars' research.
Chief Producer丨Wang Hui and Che Haigang
Producer丨Li Piguang, Wang Yu, Liu Weimin
Editor-in-Chief丨Mao Jinghui Editor丨Cao Yang