University Museum Conference 2011National Cheng Kung University

11-12 November 2011From Exhibiting to Researching : the Changing Role of University Museums in South-East Asia

Nor Edzan Che Nasir University of Malaya

Universities establish museums to aid teaching and research within the university. However, this has led to the establishment of various collections across the various disciplines and at times the establishment of various university museums within one university. However, with some university museums, due to the value and historical importance of the collection, the focus of the university museum itself is on the display of the collection and not on the research of the collection. However, universities in South-East Asia are increasing their focus on research and therefore, their university museums have to move in tandem with this move. This presentation looks at the need for university museums in South-East Asia to maintain a balance between being a center of excellence for research and an institution showcasing the best of its collection.

ABSTRACT

Dr. Nor Edzan Che Nasir is the Chief Librarian at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Currently, she oversees the University of Malaya’s Museum of Asian Art and is directly involved in setting-up the University of Malaya Art Gallery. Prior to this, she was an academician with the Masters of Library and Information Science programme from 1999 to 2007 at the Faculty of Computer Science & Information Technology, University of Malaya. She was a librarian at Universiti Sains Malaysia from 1983 to 1991 and went on to become a librarian at the University of Malaya Library from 1991 to 1999 where she was attached to the Law Library. Her research interests centres on information literacy, library science education, journal publishing, institutional repositories and social media. She has presented and published numerous papers and is currently one of the reviewers for the Malaysian Journal of Library and Information Science and the Editor for Jurnal PPM

BIODATA

Defining university museumsChanging roles of university museumsUniversity museums in South east AsiaMuseum of Asian Art, University of Malaya

ResearchLatest additionResearch to commenceJoint researchWhat needs to be done

No clear definition of a university museum “I do not have a definition for a [university museum,

gallery, collection] other than it is a museum, gallery or collection administratively within a degree granting institution (Kelly, 1999 in Lourenco, 2005)

Late 16th century – development of object-based teaching and research = universities establish museums = 1st generation university museum = research, teaching, public display

1930s – emergence of historic collections = 2nd generation university museum

1980’s – integration of collections with management structures = 3rd generation university museum

UNIVERSITY MUSEUMS

Tirrel (2000)Noted the shift in research and public interestHad no direction or purposeHad to redefine and reposition Examples : learning labs, ICT application, specialised

collectionDe Clerq (2005)

University museums need to serve academic community and the public

Not faculty-based but has become a central unit in the university structure

UMAC = University Museums And CollectionsICOM - International Council of Museums

CHANGING ROLE

MacDonald & Ashby (2011 )“Pressing need to review the purpose of

university museums”“Succesful university museums must promote

themselves to academics and students from a wide range of discipline”

CHANGING ROLE

Roodhouse (2003)Oxford & Cambridge University Musuems Centre of excellence for research

Jaschik (2009)U of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaelogy and Anthropology Dismissed research specialists in the museum Museum wants research on the collection and not on museology

27-28 October 2011 – University museums in Scotland Conference 2011 at the University of Glasgow Scottish universities’ objectives are beginning to shift from

diverse agendas towards a greater focus on research excellence and the impact of public engagement activities.

Uni versity musuems and gallery services need to align themselves to this and show their impact in terms of research and teaching engagement.

CHANGING ROLE

Move towards research2 types of research – museum research and

museological research

CHANGING ROLE

Museums have existed in universitiesStarted out as :

collection of gifts or departmental study collections

Specifically for teaching and/or public exhibitionsThroughout the years, the public exhibitions able to garner

a following amongst off-campus communities and gained prominencegained financial support from individuals or corporations

Thus, university museums became exhibition centersNow = universities are focusing on researchIn order to survive, university museums must become a

source for research or even a centre for researchBUT, must still serve the off-campus community

IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA

MuseumArt gallery or Art museumMuseum + art gallery

Types

SEA – University MuseumMalaysia

Museum of Asian Art, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur

Muzium dan Galeri Tuanku Fauziah, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang

Muzium Pendidikan Nasional, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjung Malim

Muzium Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu

PhilippinesUniversity of Santo Thomas

Museum, Manila

ThailandChulalongkorn University

Museum of Natural History, Bangkok

Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum, Bangkok University, Bangkok

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Natural History Museum, Prince of Songkla University, Hatyai

SingaporeNUS Museum, National

University of SingaporeRaffles Museum of Biodiversity

Research, National University of Singapore

Indonesia Museum Universitas Pelita Harapan, Jakarta Soemadja Gallery, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung

Malaysia Malaysia Institute of Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur

Philippines Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manila University, Manila Jorge B. Vargas Museum and Filipiniana Research Center The Museum at De La Salle University, Manila

Singapore Institute of Contemporary Arts, Lasalle College of the Arts, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Gallery NTU Art & Heritage Museum, Nanyang Technological University

SEA - University Art Museum

Malaysia's oldest universitySituated on a 750 acre (309 hectare) campus in the southwest of

Kuala Lumpur, the capital of MalaysiaHas its roots in Singapore with the establishment of King Edward VII

College of Medicine in 19051949 - University of Malaya was formed with the amalgamation of

King Edward VII College of Medicine and Raffles College in Singapore1962 - University of Malaya Kuala Lumpur was established 22 academies/institutes/faculties/centres112 undergraduate programmes and 132 postgraduate programmes15,202 undergraduates and 10,762 postgraduate = 25,9642,716 academic staff, 562 professional/managerial and 3,092 non-

academic staff = 5,830Research university6 museums – Medical, Geology, Zoology, Herbarium, Malay

Ethnography, Asian Art

UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA

UNIVERSITY OF MALAYALocally known as Universiti Malaya or in short UMMalaysia's oldest universitySituated on a 750 acre (309 hectare) campus in the southwest of Kuala

Lumpur, the capital of MalaysiaHas its roots in Singapore with the establishment of King Edward VII

College of Medicine in 19051949 - University of Malaya was formed with the amalgamation of King

Edward VII College of Medicine and Raffles College in Singapore1962 - University of Malaya Kuala Lumpur was established 22 academies/institutes/faculties/centres112 undergraduate programmes and 132 postgraduate programmes15,202 undergraduates and 10,762 postgraduate = 25,9642,716 academic staff, 562 professional/managerial and 3,092 non-

academic staff = 5,830Research university

CollectionMalaysiana - basketry, textile, brass, silver, wood

carvingIndia – stone carvings, temple sculptures, bronze

images, miniature paintings, wood carvingsPersia and West Asia – ceramics, Islamic bronzes,

miniature paintings, tombstones, precious stonesSouth-East Asia – ceramics, pottery, daggers, sculpture,

textile, jewellery, terracotta works, puppetry, sacred masks

China – ceramics, porcelainJapan – ceramicsMalay manuscriptsPaintings – Malaysian artists

Museum of Asian Art

Paintings by local & international artistsHiroshima & Nagasaki tragedies – Dept of East

Asia Studies, Faculty of Arts & Social SciencesHeritage conservation – Dept of Quantity

Surveying, Faculty of Built EnvironmentPublic diplomacy programmes – Ministry of

Foreign Affairs, MalaysiaMalay manuscripts – Dept of Library &

Information Science, Faculty of Computer Science & Information Technology

Research

Establish the University of Malaya Art GalleryResearch - Malaysian artists, Malaysian

artworks, Educate the university community and the public on art through activities

Latest addition

Mural restoration – Dept of Building Surveying, Faculty of Built Environment & National Visual Art Center, Malaysia

Research to commence

MOUsJoint research

Maintain dual roleresearch & teachingpublic display

Increase in museum research i.e. research on the collection held within the museum

Attract academics and research students to conduct museum research

Partner with faculties in researchResearch publications which acknowledge use of museum

collectionPromote museum collections to the publicCollaborate with corporate agencies, individuals, foreign

embassies - exhibitions

What needs to be done

De Clereq, S.W.G. 2005. Keeping for the future. UMAC Uppsala Proceedings.

Jaschik, S. 2009. Museums and academic values. Available at: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/01/29/penn

Lourenco, M.C. 2005. Between Two Worlds: The Distinct Pature and Contemporary Significance of University Museums and Collections in Europe. PhD dissertation, Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers, Paris.

MacDonald, S. and Ashby, J. 2011. Museums: campus treasures. Nature, 471 (7337) : 164-165.

NUS Museum. 2011. Available at : http://nusmuseum.blogspot.com/Roodhouse, S. 2003. The Oxford and cambridge University Museums: A

Global Contribution to Widening Knowledge and Deepening Understanding. London: Resource, The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries.

Tirrel, P.B. 2000. A synopsis and perpective of concerns and challengesfor the international community of university museums. Curator, 43 (2) : 157-180.

REFERENCES

THANK YOUedzan@um.edu.my