Maritime industry is a key part of the island’s history and
both national and cultural identity are tied to this historic relationship with
sailing ships. The Museum began in the 1920s as a private collection, and as a
reaction to a decline in the maritime industry. Soon after, a club emerged to
support this private collection, the purpose of which was to create a dedicated
museum to preserve the maritime industry and its part in the Island’s history.
Exhibits were collected through donations, but club members also petitioned for
donations – there was, and still is, a strong level of personal investment in
the museum. It was run as a private enterprise until the 1980s when it became a
charitable trust as it remains today.
Now when the decision was made to rebuild the museum, I was
surprised to learn that it faced no opposition – I can’t imagine a similar
attitude necessarily being adopted here in the UK, for I don’t think a single
museum is seen as that important to our national or cultural identity. But people
from the Åland
Islands wanted this redevelopment and were happy for investment to be diverted
from other sectors towards the museum project.
Hanna began work at the museum in 2004 at which time the
focus was very much on the display of sailing ships. However, since it’s
re-opening in 2012 and under the instruction of Hanna, the museum has now
introduced topics which broaden its scope, including the impact of steam
engines, ship building and safety at sea. From what was described, it is no
longer just a showcase for old boats, but has more substance and narrative for
visitors to experience.
It was this element that originally caused slight
resistance, for there was a fear of what modernism might mean for the museum.
Museum staff and supporters were aware of the need for a new approach to draw in
new visitors, however at the same time they didn’t want to alienate the core
visitor group. This led to what I have to admit finding most fascinating – the
strong sense of shared authority between museum staff and specialist groups
invested in museum. Huge emphasis appears to have been placed on consultation, staff
being acutely aware of the ‘strong local commitment’ to seeing the museum be a
success, both in terms of its original goals and what would draw in visitors.
With only a core staff of 5, this emphasis on shared
authority has also been beneficial in other ways. Museum staff have been able
to call on specialist groups, those with expertise in ship building, mechanical
engineers and sail makers for example, for help during the redevelopment. Hanna
described how a sense of mutual respect has developed between museum staff and specialist
groups, because they each have knowledge of their own ‘trade’ and appreciate
the limits to their own abilities. By working together, sharing ideas and exchanging
information, they’ve created a productive and effective environment in which
the redevelopment has been able to prosper. And amazingly this relationship
continues, currently three years on, with no sign of that ending soon. The
community spirit and shared investment in what is clearly such an important
part of their shared heritage, is something I found really inspiration and
evocative.
Also particularly interesting, and in fact the intended main
focus of the talk, was the museum’s use of social media to create and research
new and interesting exhibitions. In this case Hanna referred to a Facebook
exhibition, which successfully broadened the museum’s reach by presenting a
topic of greater interest to people beyond the core group of visitors.
Hanna recalled how she had first been invited to a closed
group on Facebook where people involved with the maritime industry, exchanged
photos and stories of their experiences. I’m sure we are all part of a similar
group, perhaps a school reunion group, or local history? Anyway, Hanna
described her interest in watching this develop over time and the end result
was a temporary exhibition. The Museum took just 14 of the thousands of images uploaded
to the group, and displayed them, together with accompanying comments, in a temporary
exhibition in the museum. The group was consulted throughout this process and
was involved in, from what it sounds like, most decisions. It had the community
element right at its heart and I just think it’s such a fantastic idea. Again,
the museum is enacting the principle of shared authority and I just think a lot
could, and should be learnt from this example and it's methods adopted by other museums.
Hanna speaks with a degree of pride about how this
exhibition made marginal histories central to the narrative told by the museum,
if only temporarily, and drew in a new audience demographic. We were told how usually
objects are what survive from ships and therefore are displayed, not the
stories of the people who served and sailed upon them; and in fact thinking of
examples of ships I’ve visited, at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and the S.S Great Britain, this is true. I can
remember clearly some of the objects, but nothing particularly about the
people. And so as you would expect, by displaying these stories, interest in
the museum increased and people’s perceptions of the museum were dramatically
altered.
I came away from this talk with two key phrases in my mind –
community collaboration and shared authority and I just so impressed to hear
how well the Åland Maritime Museum has invoked these principles. Hearing
of how this one temporary exhibition has changed the museum’s outlook and
opened up further opportunities for collaborative projects, including the
collection of items and inclusion of photos and comments from Facebook in the
archive, reinforced my belief in the importance of Public History and the
emphasis that should be placed on community/visitor involvement.
Having been so UK-centric in my studies, it was really
interesting to hear how the Public history philosophy is carried out in a
European context and I think it would be really interesting to see some of the
UK’s museums adopt some of these approaches and the resulting impact it might have
on their appeal and level of visitor engagement.
Trip to the Åland Islands anyone?