The Museum Best Practices Meetings are an initiative of CHAM Açores, a university research unit affiliated with the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences at the University Nova de Lisboa (NOVA FCSH) and the University of the Azores (UAc). Since 2017, in partnership with local municipal authorities, these meetings have aimed to provide moments for the exchange of experiences and discussions about the challenges faced by all actors and stakeholders in the processes and experiences of museums.
The purpose of these meetings is to promote the participation of a diverse and broad range of professionals and scholars in the field of cultural heritage, with the expectation of fostering the exchange of experiences and knowledge, as well as the production of knowledge in this area.
The first three editions took place on São Miguel Island. The first meeting was held at the Museu Vivo do Franciscanismo in Ribeira Grande and focused on issues related to good inventory practices. The second meeting took place at the Municipal Museum of Lagoa, focusing on the role of educational and mediation services and their connection with other areas/functions of museums. The third meeting, held at the Centro Municipal de Atividades Culturais in Vila do Nordeste, addressed issues and challenges related to tourism and tourists as the target audience of museums. The fourth meeting, held on Terceira Island, extended the discussion to the Madeira and Canary Islands archipelagos, focusing on the relevance of the interconnection between island museums.
The fifth edition will take place in Funchal, Madeira, from October 26 to 28, 2023, always considering the connection between island museums. It aims to reinforce, as in previous meetings, the knowledge of island and Atlantic identities, the exchange of experiences, the sharing of museum best practices, and the establishment of inter-archipelagic networks and partnerships.
For this meeting, the main objective is to reflect on Museums and their Audiences, with the aim of stimulating reflection on how museums work with their audiences, how they promote people (visitors, communities) to encounter the poetry of things that can only be experienced in exhibition spaces. This will strengthen the relationship between the museum, the object, and the public, the very reason for the museum's existence (Koptche (2012) and Cury (2006). Therefore, building on the previous meeting, which focused on the challenges and possibilities of cooperative and networked work, the goal is to explore how island museums can become engaged spaces with their social function, solidifying their role as memory spaces in service of communities: "the museum needs to become essential to its diverse audiences to fulfill its noblest mission, which is the preservation of the cultural heritage we want as our legacy" (Bloise, 2011).
ORGANIZATION
Direção Regional da Cultura da Madeira
Support
CHAM Açores
DRAC - Direção Regional dos Assuntos Culturais dos Açores
Gobierno de Canarias
