Mark O’Neill, Head of Art and Museums

Knowledge Transfer and Glasgow Museums

Glasgow MuseumsLargest civic museum service in the UK

• Staff: 333• Annual Budget: £14 Million• 9 public venues• Annual Visits: 4 million

1. Transferring university knowledge to museums

2. Transferring museum (and university) knowledge to the public

University of St Andrews

School of Art History

Site visits

Student placements

Staff training

Joint PhDswith University of Edinburgh

• Dye analysis of historic textiles AHRC/EPSRC Science and Heritage, joint with UE Chemistry and NMS

• The Hague School, the Burrell Collection

• Natural History• Arms and Armour• Fine and Decorative

Arts• Scottish History

Anthropology

Ancient Civilisations

1.4 million objects

Research-ready Collections

St Mungo’s Museum of Religious Life and Art

Our aim is to promote mutual respect among people of all faiths and none

Kelvingrove and its audiencesPrior to closure• Most visited UK museum

outside London• 1 million visits a year• 40% of local visits C2DE • 20% UK tourists• 10% overseas tourists

Kelvingrove Display Philosophy

19th Century • One definition of culture• Communication in

lecture mode• Subject centred• Taxonomic structure• Comprehensive• Object based• Public education

21st century• Many definitions of culture• Communication in dialogue

mode• Visitor centred• Narrative structure• Selective – but varied• Object based • Public education

Kelvingrove Knowledge Framework

• Object based• Visitor centred• Storytelling• Flexible• Responsive

An Object based, Storytelling Museum

Stories:- Selected by curators- recognise that knowledge can’t be ‘transferred’- work with people’s inherent meaning-making capacity- can function at many different levels- can cut across disciplines- don’t require gaps in the collection to be filled with

graphics or replicas

A Visitor-Centred Museum

• Surveys and Focus Groups

• Education Advisory Panel

• Community Forum• Disability Advisory Panel• Junior Friends of

Glasgow MuseumsBoard

• Favourite objects

• Prior knowledge and interests

• Learning preferences for new subjects

• Gallery titles/Orientation

• Impact assessments

Kelvingrove: Conflict & Consequence

The Observer“Not so much a museum of culture as of life itself, Kelvingrove is almost unique: part National Gallery, part V&A, part British Museum and Tate – all in one building.

The Burlington Magazine 2007“…many of the works presentedas pawns in some quest for the lowest common denominator.”

Kelvingrove: some responses