Museums should be for all, not just elites

Several years ago, attending a concert at the Taipei Municipal Social Education Hall, I was invited by a middle-aged man to share an orange during the performance. At first, I was surprised by the offer as I knew that food was not allowed in the hall. Southern-style music (南管樂) is a folk art usually performed in front of temples. But the same music acquired a different cultural status when performed on the stage of a place that has an educational function and forbids eating. This incident led my to reflect on the role of cultural organizations.

A careful reading of any museum brochure reveals that museums are regarded as places to promote public education through entertainment. Barring the entry of people dressed in undershirts and slippers, for example, a regulation that discriminates against certain ethnic groups, is very common. In fact, such attire is common in southern Taiwan, especially among speakers of Taiwanese. While people wearing them are considered second class, people with T-shirts and sandals, barely different forms of apparel, can enter museums freely. I can't help but wonder whether our museums are places providing information for all, or "sifters" refusing to let in certain ethnic groups wearing "low-class" clothing.

The International Council of Museums adopted peace and harmony as the theme of International Museum Day 2000,appealing to its members to promote these themes in their communities. In Taiwan we have seen angry residents of Checheng (車城) township protesting at the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium (國立海洋生物博物館) in Pingtung County. The museum, a self-proclaimed "good neighbor," has accused the residents of expecting too much in the way of museum-centered economic regeneration. Such is the arrogance of intellectuals toward a museum's community economic regeneration policy; that of an "educational organization" established to "help to upgrade the culture, knowledge and living standards of local people."

News reports say the Council for Cultural Affairs (CCA) has renamed several museums in order to assert its authority over their management. These moves have led to disputes over whether the Ministry of Education or the CCA should have such authority.

Museums worldwide agree that they are both cultural and educational organizations. Governments worldwide have gradually abandoned the idea that museums should be under the jurisdiction of one official department. Take France for example, whose Departement Culture Scientifique et Technique of the Ministry of Education is responsible for the promotion of popular science in all science museums. The Ministry of Culture's Commission de la recherche et de la technologie, on the other hand, assists museums with the protection of cultural heritage and tradition. Distinctions between educational, scientific, and cultural affairs have gradually diminished. Cooperation, rather than separation, in the three areas has been emphasized.

Museum staff should try to learn from local cultures and their values. Management should stop thinking of themselves as givers of economic benefits and instead communicate with their communities.

The new government should develop museums that accept different cultures and recognize Taiwan's identity. It should, moreover, abandon the emphasis on the educational function of museums and instead define them as "organizations that listen to people." This work should be given a higher priority than renaming museums and dividing up jurisdictions for them.