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STATEMENT FROM 93 MUSEUM LEADERS

Climate activists cannot predict how fragile the artworks in museums are despite all Preventive Conservation precautions. Really? In our article titled "Museums Question The Future" published on October 31, we wrote: "While climate activists continue their actions in museums, will there be new regulations in the museum's internal policies, for example, will there be additional measures or changes to the works Is it possible for the stakeholders of the museum to add a new security system or technology in addition to the existing security models? Questions questions... These questions and many more are the main subject of many museums right now."  Attacks in Museums via Map View @artandtownmag
And... there came the news that a statement was published from the museum leaders. On Wed Nov 9th, 93 museum leaders 'finally' signed a statement against the vandalism of artworks in museum, which started with the cake thrown towards Mona Lisa at the Musée du Louvre on May 29. Statement: Attacks on artworks in museums. As museologists, we were intrigued and worried because some questions such as whether the violence of the attacks might increase, whether other artworks could be harmed as well as the targeted artworks, would the museum-audience start to worry about museum visits, and whether family groups might consider taking a break from museum visits for a while. 'This statement is a delayed publication. Late one.' And an incomplete explanation. Museums need to take new precautions. This is a situation that is necessary for the protection of the common heritage and its visitors, not to prevent people's freedom of expression and access to culture as stated in the statement. For example, what if activists try to glue themselves to one of the visitors who are looking at the artwork and not the artwork? Do activists have a stopping point or can they go further to get attention? We don't know that for sure. But the precaution is already necessary for this. As museologists, we have to think about the audience as much as the artworks. We also have a situation like this, due to this situation that the audience encountered while doing cultural tourism, the museum closed certain areas of visits and this visit could not reach the desired satisfaction. They may have come from one side of the world and set aside their day to visit the museum that day. Does witnessing such a situation increase their awareness or anxiety? It is not enough to address this situation with a two-paragraph official statement, such as 'the fragility of the artworks', which everyone is already aware of. Museum leaders need to explain the additional precautions they should take for emergencies. Even if they do not reveal all of them (they may prefer not to disclose it due to museum policies), they should at least share with the public what they think or prepare something on this subject.

@artandtownmag

What museums and artworks have the activists targeted so far? (From May 29 to Today):

  • Mona Lisa - Musée du Louvre
  • Peach Trees in Blossom - Courtauld Gallery
  • The Hay Wain - National Gallery London
  • My Heart's in the Highland - Kelvingrove Museum
  • Thomson's Aeolian Harp - Manchester Art Gallery
  • Primavera - Uffizi Gallery
  • Unique Forms of Continuity in Space - Museo del Novecento
  • Laocoön and His Sons - Vatican Museums
  • Sistine Madonna - Galerie Alte Meister Museum
  • Massacre in Korea - National Gallery of Victoria
  • The Scream - National Museum in Oslo
  • Campbell's Soup - National Gallery of Australia in Canberra
  • Fifteen Sunflowers - National Gallery London
  • Haystacks - Barberini Museum
  • Girl with a Pearl Earring - Mauritshuis Museum
  • Clown - Berliner Nationalgalerie
  • Dinosaur display - Berlin Natural History Museum
  • The Sower - Palazzo Bonaparte (loan from the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo)
  • The Clothed Maja - Museo del Prado
  • La Maja Desnuda and La Maja Vestida (The Clothed Maja) - Prado Museum
  • VW Autostadt (AutoMuseum Volkswagen) - Porsche Pavilion

The number of museums in the world and their sustainability was a topic we talked about at the conference in the past days. There are more than 104,000 museums in total in the world, and the number of museums whose names are included in the statement is 93. How wonderful. This is directly proportional to the popularity of museums. That's why other museums are probably not included in the statement.

On The Beam, an online platform -units Changemakers and Innovators in the Global Climate Action Movement - amplifying their voices to create a sustainable future-, Dr. Robert R. Janes (an independent scholar-practitioner, a Visiting Research Fellow at the School of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester (UK), and the Founder and Co-Chair of the Coalition of Museums for Climate Justice) writes his opinion: “Why is the global museum community fighting climate change with their collective will and intelligence? One explanation is that climate change is a taboo topic and should not be talked about with family, friends and colleagues.” This is a quite correct approach. Museologists and museum professionals need to approach to this situation from this perspective.

What is a museum, we think the new definition of a museum is quickly forgotten, let's remember it again if you want:
“A museum is a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible and inclusive, museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate ethically, professionally and with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection and knowledge sharing.”

"The activists responsible for them severely underestimate the fragility of these irreplaceable objects, which must be preserved as part of our world cultural heritage." It looks like this: When a naughty kid breaks all the fragile objects in the house, and then the parent trying to explain to this kid how fragile these objects are... Let's remember what happened in 2020: At least 70 artefacts were sprayed with an oily liquid on Berlin's Museum Island, a Unesco world heritage site that is home to five famous museums. Well, let's see if this statement and warning will work.

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