Contents 1 Preface Brita Brenna Special Theme

Nordisk Museologi Special Theme: Nuts and bolts of 3 Nuts and bolts of digital heritage. Bringing the past into the virtual present Geoffrey Gowlland & Gro Ween digital heritage 14 Working in the digital contact zone. The digital sharing portal for ’s collection Tone Wang 30 Digitalisation of crafts. Comparative approaches to fur Gro Ween & Nancy Wachowich 45 Heritage image-making. How digital documentation makes the artefact in ethnographic museum collecting The Journal Nordic Museology Nordic The Journal

ORDISK USEOLOGI Geoffrey Gowlland 60 Femte Thuleekspedition – mod nye fællesskaber Martin Appelt, Anne Mette Jørgensen, Christian S. Pedersen,

N Pernille G. Feldt & Jakob R. Wang M

73 Mapping the fields: Geographies of knowledge production Museology Nordic The Journal Et forskningsprosjekt om romlige-digitale-arkivale sammenfiltringer Kristina Skåden 2018 • 2-3 90 Digitale visjoner. En kartlegging. Identitet, tilgjengelighet, og digitalt demokrati Taran Wold & Gro Ween 107 Digital archaeology. A democratic utopia

Irmelin Axelsen USEOLOGI 115 Using digital technology as a mode of experimental display.Thoughts on an exhibition on stave church portals Jason Falkenburg Articles

121 Artivism and the para-institution. The Partisan Café and Museum of M Burning Questions, Bergen Assembly 2016 Charlotte Præstegaard Schwartz & Anne Scott Sørensen 136 Engaging or transmitting? Health at the science centre Catharina Thiel Sandholdt & Marianne Achiam Projects 152 Noget at tale om! Museet som katalysator for ensomhedsforebyggelse hos ældre Cecilie Monrad reviews Exhibitions 161 Permanent exhibitions. Luomus, Natural History Museum of Helsinki, Finland Nathalia Brichet Books 167 Johansson, Christina & Bevelander Pieter (eds). Museums in a Time of Migration.

Rethinking museums’ roles, representations, collections, and collaborations. 2018 • 2-3 Marzia Varutti

ISSN 1103-8152 170 Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen (red.). Historien på væggen – Historiemalerier ORDISK på Sønderborg Slot. Sally Schlosser Schmidt Detail from 3D scanning of Oseberg sledge. Museum of Cultural History, Oslo. Photo Gro Ween. 172 Kathrin Pabst. Museumsetikk i prakis. Magnus Berg N COVER 2018 • 2-3

Omslag2-3-18.indd 1 04/12/2018 07.37 Nordic Museology 2018 • 2–3

Preface

Emerging forms of heritage, cultural production and museum work are at the core of this double issue of Nordic Museology. One section is devoted to digital heritage, developed by the guest editors Geoffrey Gowlland and Gro Ween, and in addition we present articles, projects and reviews on other themes. We live in a world were innovation is heralded as a solution to our burning problems. Innovation shall secure the welfare of future generations, solve the climate crisis, and many more of our immediate predicaments. Innovation is the buzz-word of business and technology organizations. Universities are supposed to innovate, the social sector likewise. More rarely is the word used in connection with museums and the cultural and heritage sector. Maybe this is how it ought to be, a way of keeping these sectors outside the realm of big expectations and capital. The Oxford English Dictionary online gives us a long list of synonyms for the verb to innovate: originate, create, design, devise, contrive, formulate, and develop. Paradoxically these are words, we could argue, that give a sense of what is going on in the museum and heritage sector today. What is going on are so many ways of trying to take part in shaping new futures, through cooperating with marginalized communities, establishing new arenas for collaboration and promoting democracy in different forms. This is also what the articles in this issue brings to the fore: Emerging forms of collaboration, dissemination, activism, and documentation. Charlotte Præstegaard Schwartz and Anne Scott Sørensen discuss The Partisan Café and the Museum of Burning Questions at the Bergen Assembly in 2016. How and to what degree were radical forms of democracy made possible through these art projects that inserted themselves into the Bergen art scene? They engage the concepts of artivism and para-institution to account for an artistic practice that works in the moment and invents new forms of being present. Notions of care and experimentation with living together, on the side of existing art and culture institutions, are at the heart of such an engagement. The concepts they develop are both analytical tools and benchmarks for discussions of how art can contribute to making a difference. In their article on engagement with health in science centres, Catharina Thiel Sandholdt and Marianne Achiam map the transition of a Danish science centre from a “pedagogy of discovery” which has defined many science centre exhibitions, to a “dialogic pedagogy”. They follow the making of an exhibition on health, and show how both the conception of health and the strategy for engaging with health changed through the process. In this process, the establishment of a participatory strategy, involving families in the production of the exhibition, Preface

2 turned out to renew the approaches of the science centre. Their article also point to the value of combining a research and a participatory approach to exhibition making. The main bulk of this issue, however, is no less concerned with what is emerging. Under the title, “Nuts and bolts of digital heritage”, articles and projects interrogate possibilities and dilemmas, successes and problems. The different projects engage with a range of implications of the use of digital tools and technologies, for users, source communities, researchers and institutions. Power, care and collaboration are spelled out and related to how metadata, technological platforms, soft- and hardware are developed, by and with whom. They contribute to making digital heritage worldly, in the very concrete sense of that word: bringing different worlds together, and bringing the digital down to earth, to our shared world. Emerging new technologies and funding structures also change the life of journals. This is the last issue of Nordic Museology to appear on paper. We hope you have enjoyed our 25 years in analogue format and wish you welcome to visit our Open Access journal, where we will continue issuing articles relevant for the heritage and museum sector and academia in the years to come, in the Nordic languages as well as in English. All previous issues from 1993 are also available, and we hope you will download and engage with them.

Brita Brenna Nordisk Museologi 2018 • 2–3, s. 3–13

Nuts and bolts of digital heritage Bringing the past into the virtual present

Geoffrey Gowlland & Gro Ween

Abstract: In this introductory essay to the special issue, we identify key common themes that are developed in the article contributions. We start by attending to the qualities of what we call “digital heritage ecosystems”, and we reflect on the varied affordances that digital tools and platforms offer. We go on to address the complex political dimensions of digital heritage, and how structures of authority relating to heritage are constructed and can be destabilised by the digital. Finally, we take a look at what goes on behind the scenes of digital heritage initiatives, what is involved in setting up digital platforms and keeping the systems running. This involves bringing to light the materiality of the digital, what it implies in terms of materials, costs and labour. We put forward these perspectives as a way of domesticating the digital and dispelling some of its mystery to make it more adapted to the needs of heritage work.

Keywords: Digitalisation, digital heritage, post-colonial museology, source communities, affordances.

The articles in this special issue address a circulate on social media platforms in search common question: what is the place of the digital of information about them. Increasingly in our efforts to document and disseminate complex databases and digital maps enable knowledge about heritage? The diversity of the correlation of different aspects of the past cases presented here show the complexity, and thereby generating new insights about history. complex ramifications, of the answer to this As more digitised material relating to heritage apparently straightforward question. is made available – in the form of images, New technologies render obsolete old ways datapoints on maps, scanned and transcribed of life, artefacts, materials and skills. Yet digital notebooks, or text-based information shared technologies, tools and platforms are also online – heritage institutions, local communities allowing unprecedented possibilities to retrieve, and private citizens alike are confronted with collect and access knowledge about the past. the question of how best to engage with these Online, discussion forums contribute crowd- digital resources in ways that are relevant to sourced information about archaeological sites their concerns, not least the concern for cultural or museum artefacts, museums make their sustainability. If the short- and mid-term databases available online, and old photographs advantages of the rapidly growing corpus of data Geoffrey Gowlland & Gro Ween

4 that technology is enabling is clear, its longer- and can potentially be destabilised by the term destiny is uncertain: what happens to digital. digitised heritage and related knowledge once a In our third section, we zoom in to the certain tool or platform becomes obsolete, and particulars to consider the nuts and bolts of where does one store it to ensure that future producing digitised heritage and keeping the generations can access it? These questions bring systems running. This involves bringing to light us to reconsider the technological optimism the materiality of the digital – what it implies that many of the digital efforts of heritage in terms of materials, costs, time involvement, institutions so clearly display. To do so, in this and labour – and the political consequences of introduction and in the article contributions to the many kinds of choices that the digital offers. this special issue, we take a closer look at what We put forward this perspective as a way of goes on behind the scene of digital heritage domesticating the digital, making sense of it, projects. We ask in various ways: What does dispelling some of its mystery and making it this interaction between the digital and heritage more adapted to the needs of heritage work. look like in practice? How can the technological possibilities of the digital better articulate with Digital heritage ecosystems the concerns of heritage? The articles collected here address heritage The term “digital” is multifaceted and ambi- and the digital from various vantage points. valent; it may refer to various types of digital We learn about sharing databases with source objects (photographs of artefacts and from communities, exhibiting heritage using digital field research, documents, and metadata), technologies, the use of digital maps in heritage digital solutions (3D scanning and printing, research, and the creation of new forms of mapping, photometry), and digital platforms heritage documentation. (museum-generated, or commercial ones such In order to navigate and bring together some as Facebook and Youtube). By digital heritage, of the strands that are developed in the articles, we might mean either data relating to heritage we offer in this introductory section three keys artefacts or intangible heritage performances, to think about digital heritage, about what the or digital forms that are considered heritage in term might mean, and what it looks like in the themselves. “real” world. In the first section, we attend to In consideration of this complexity, the the qualities of what we call “digital heritage digital might be imagined as heterogeneous and ecosystems”, what they look like, or maybe more fragmented ecosystems (c.f. Feijóo et al. 2009). precisely, what they afford. We suggest that Indeed, boundaries in the digital world tend to the digital creates new kinds of relationships, be fuzzy, and rather than simply considering between artefacts and people, and between individual digital tools, platforms or databases, museums and its audiences. it is useful to have a sense of how they interact. The notion of digital ecosystems might Digitised heritage can for instance circulate on sound rather technical, yet they also have different platforms: images or knowledge that complex political dimensions. In the second originate in the online catalogues of a museum section, we turn to a post-colonial critique of might be reproduced and modified on Facebook digital heritage, and consider how structures of and accrue new meanings, and new knowledge authority relating to heritage are constructed about them can return to the museum catalogue Nuts and bolts of digital heritage

as a result of crowd-sourcing efforts relating to source communities, and within communities 5 an artefact. Conversely, incompatibilities and as objects of ownership, knowledge and rights protection restrictions might slow down information. One might thus consider them this flow of information, or digital objects might particular kinds of “distributed objects” (Gell get lost in the ever-growing amount of data. 1998), that is, singular objects whose parts The fact that text and images are easily linked, exist in different places and different times. attached, copied and pasted, has repercussions This distribution poses challenges to heritage in terms of the viability of digital heritage, preservation and management that are unique and for instance data might easily be copied to the digital. from an obsolete platform and transferred Different forms of digital distribution lead to a new one. Digital artefacts can also “land to different ways of engaging with digital back” into the material world, as for instance objects. Material objects that surround us have digitised photographs from early expeditions particular affordances (Gibson 1979, Ingold to the Arctic that end up printed out, framed 2000:166–8, Turner 2005), they offer us ways of and displayed in the private living rooms grasping or using them. The same can be said of contemporary source communities of digital objects: different manifestations of Appelt et al., this issue), or 3D scans of heritage the digital bring us to engage in different ways. artefacts that can be printed out and offer new Compared to physical heritage objects, digital experiences to visitors (Falkenburg, this issue). heritage objects can offer new opportunities The complexity of digital heritage ecosystems for interaction. Under some conditions it is raise a number of issues of scholarly concern possible that digital representations may offer – such as the definition of “digital heritage” or better conditions for engaging, and possibly understandings of the biographies of digital owning an artefact than a physical object can objects as they move between ecosystems – and (Skrydstrup 2015). One important dimension of concern to communities – including issues of digital objects is their ability to circulate. The of ownership and copyright, management and circulation of many digital versions of a physical control over personal or sensitive knowledge, heritage object can lead to the accumulation verifiability and veracity of crowd-sourced of meanings. We can then ask, what do the knowledge, and more generally their cultural characteristics of digital heritage objects – sustainability (understood as endurance and availability in multiple locations, potential to cultural regeneration). be manipulated through use of software, or In heritage studies, we are used to working portability (use on mobile phones or laptops) with material objects, whether museum artefacts – enable in the circulation and creation of or monuments. But what is a “digital object”, knowledge? if one can use the term? It might be useful to Heritage is not fixed, but a fluid concept recognise that digital objects have a different shaped by communities, often co-produced as ontological status than material artefacts, defined part of interactions with different national and in terms not of substance but relationships: they global structures such as international heritage are “relational objects” (Herle 2008, Hui 2012, institutions and museums. Anthropological Ngata et al. 2012,), in that they are made up of descriptions of societies with oral history relations between bits of data, but also exist in a traditions point to ways in which a fluid web of social relations, between museums and conception of history is often necessary for the Geoffrey Gowlland & Gro Ween

6 creation of family, kin group, and place. We also are developed as part of the project are to be know that the construction of larger units such seen not only as the outcome of research, but as as nations depends upon histories and heritage affording new ways of conducting research, and becoming increasingly fixed, as written down generating new knowledge about the past. in books, taught at schools and displayed in In museum gallery spaces, digital affordances national museums. The digital can obviously can inform new approaches to the display and help spread static understandings of history representation of heritage. Jason Falkenburg, in and heritage, but its fluidity can also mirror his contribution, reflects on his experimental the fluidity of culture. The rapid changes of exhibition exploring the iconic, intricately the digital, in contrast to for instance museum carved, Norwegian stave-church portals. He practices of conservation, are bringing museums reflects on the way digital technologies can bring to respond more than ever to the realities of audiences to see these familiar (to Norwegian rapidly changing culture. The fluidity of the audiences) artefacts in a new light. Falkenburg digital is another of its affordances, allowing fast points to ways in which, in an exhibition, the change, the integration of novel information, digital has the power to suggest, in contrast and rapid dissemination. to text that interprets and explains. In gallery In their contribution to this issue, Gro Ween spaces, the immaterial and fleeting digital can and Nancy Wachowich reflect on the different take substance and offer new experiences to affordances of two contrasting digital initiatives: visitors. a large scale, “universalising” museum initiative Taran Wold and Gro Ween, in their aiming to scan in 3D and high definition furs in contribution documenting heritage digitalisa- the Arctic collections of Nordic museums, and a tion policies and practices in the Nordic grassroots, local initiative aimed at documenting countries, point out how little museums know the knowledge of Inuit seamstresses. Both about their audiences, how they engage with initiatives are concerned with building museum digital resources and what they expect knowledge about the same category of artefacts, from them. The authors raise a point that yet as the authors note, it might be that the might appear obvious but is often overlooked only type of initiative to provide appropriate by museums, that different users interact affordances for craft learning are local initiatives with digital services in different ways. Visitors involving the community, and with an intended to online resources have various aims and audience limited to the community itself. motivations, whether to search for information Researchers are particular kinds of users about a specific item, or, in the words of of digital material. In her contribution to this one survey responder, feed an “addiction” issue, Kristina Skåden documents the efforts to knowledge about history. In other words, of an academic project aimed at using digital digitised heritage offers many affordances that mapping technologies to open up new avenues users engage with in different ways. What is for research on folklore. The project consists in novel and refreshing about Wold and Ween’s developing maps based on the movements and article is how it strives to move beyond the field research of Norwegian folklore researchers grand statements of national museums about of the nineteenth century. Skåden explains how the digital to look at the actual practices, issues, digital cartography can create new ways of and failures of existing digital platforms and visualising heritage, and the digital maps that policies. Nuts and bolts of digital heritage

Digital post-colonialism the willingness to take new museological 7 directions inspired by a collaborative ethos. Several contributors to this issue are concerned Digitalisation, understood as a technology and with digital initiatives relating to the heritage as a process of knowledge sharing, has been of Indigenous Peoples. Many of the issues heralded as a new form of access to cultural that Indigenous People encounter in relation heritage for source communities (e.g. Ngata to heritage are amplified by their often et al. 2012; Tythacott & Arvanitis 2014; Basu weak positioning in relations of power with 2015). However, digitalisation initiatives have the nation-state and in relation to heritage also been cast as potentially problematic: in institutions. The structures of digital heritage cases where mainstream institutions, rather systems can contribute to worsening these than Indigenous communities, retain exclusive unequal relations when they relate notably control of the digital data and their circulation, to ownership of knowledge, management of digitalisation projects continue to be prone to digital heritage, and imposition of inappropriate the pitfalls of the colonial legacies of museums, classification systems. Because these are issues and can perpetuate colonial unequal practices that all digital heritage initiatives encounter, (Boast & Enote 2013). what we can learn from the digital heritage What has been termed “digital repatriation” collaborations with Indigenous People has is often the only choice when museums implications for the broader field of heritage either have strict non-repatriation policies, or studies. impose conditions on repatriation (Skrydstrup In the post-colonial period, collaborative 2015) that either cannot be immediately met museology projects (see Peers & Brown 2003) by Indigenous communities or Indigenous have given voice to source communities’ museums or that involve limitations of rights perspectives on, and dissatisfaction with, of ownership. But we have to acknowledge the colonial nature of past (and sometimes that “digital repatriation” is an euphemism and present) practices, as well as museological a mystification, and can at worst constitute activities such as collection, conservation, a new kind of colonisation (Ess 2004). interpretation, and exhibition. In the past two Digitalisation does not necessarily provide decades digital practices have become central to the kinds of access, knowledge transfer, and the interactions between museums and source material, sensory, intellectual, spiritual and communities, often Indigenous communities. cultural re-appropriation of cultural heritage Notably, the digitalisation of museum that Indigenous People long for. collections is key in museum initiatives aiming Scholars point out the challenges involved to engage communities as equal partners in in overcoming the specific cultural values and knowledge creation, and sharing rights and communicative preferences of the repatriating responsibilities surrounding their cultural museum (Srinivasan et al. 2009a and b), and heritage. These digitalisation projects are in devising more respectful and culturally presented by museums as acts of reconcilia- sensitive modes of interaction with source tion with Indigenous Peoples, implicitly communities. Digital museum platforms acknowledging the unequal colonial processes may strive to become contact zones (Clifford that have informed the gathering, interpretation 1997, Boast 2011), that is, sites of dialogue and and management of collections, and signalling cultural mediation and translation, but they are Geoffrey Gowlland & Gro Ween

8 often (rightly) assessed in terms of what they new international cultural communities that do not provide, namely “physical” repatriation. bridge continents. In the case they discuss, the However digital and material objects may collaboration serves both the Danish public, take up different meanings for different by contributing knowledge about a piece of source communities. For instance, digitally Danish history, the fifth Thule expedition to repatriated objects can be re-integrated in webs the Arctic, and source communities who gain of social relations, in a sense re-connecting the access to knowledge about their past in the artefact to a history (Ngata et al. 2012), or it form of digitised artefacts, old photographs and might be that communities value completeness written material dating from the expedition. In of a collection, often only possible as a digital these collaborations, digital platforms are also collection, over issues of authenticity or what provide the means through which the material presence (Were 2015). Exchanges on dialogue with source communities can take an equal footing between national cultural place, and the creation of international cultural institutions and Indigenous institutions and communities can happen. individuals can lead to the generation of new A problematic aspect of many current knowledge of value to all parties, and influence digital tools aiming to foster dialogue Indigenous heritage revitalisation projects. between museums and Indigenous People Online platforms can be made available to is that they tend to reflect the values of the Indigenous experts, including elders, leaders, museum rather than those of the source activists, and artists. This allows for exchanges communities. For instance, museum databases between different kinds of expertise and for tend to categorise and describe artefacts destabilising existing knowledge hierarchies, using a universalising reference system, notably the divide between scientific and local based on a Euro-American understandings knowledge. of the world that favours clear distinctions These considerations point to the importance between persons and things, the natural and of site-specific ethnographic studies in order to supernatural, or tangible and intangible. understand local perceptions of digital objects, Similarly, mainstream museum conservation which are explored in various ways in the efforts tend to privilege maintenance of the contributions to this issue. original state of artefacts over continued use In their contribution, Martin Appelt and or relevance. These approaches often do not co-authors discuss ongoing cooperation reflect Indigenous People’s views and values, between their institution, the National which remain therefore silent or marginalised. Museum of , and Inuit people in To an untrained eye, such micro-acts of power . Collaborative projects with source are not visible, and for many professional users communities, the article suggests, can lead they become taken-for-granted inconsistencies to potentially uncomfortable situations in or absurdities. A striking example of how which issues of ownership and colonialism classification systems fail to do justice to are raised, bringing museum staff to question artefacts, or even demean the culture from their assumptions about the role of museums where they originate, comes from the Cultural as cultural institutions. The authors insist that History Museum in Oslo. The infrastructure such collaborations are not only necessary, of the ethnographic database is based on but can lead to the creation of important the Outline of Cultural Materials (HRAF Nuts and bolts of digital heritage

Manuals) 5th edition from 1987. In this, examples from his fieldworks, Gowlland 9 shamanic drums for example are classified explores how accompanying digital images under the category “psychoanalysis”. In this become agentive in shaping what artefacts way, the shaman drums of the Sami, one of become. In creating specific events and their most significant and sacred artefacts, are framings for the ethnographer to document yet again inscribed in the colonial and often digitally, makers shape how their work will be violent history of repression of Sami culture. received by geographically distant audiences. Similarly, Tone Wang (this issue) points The study of contemporary cases might well out how in museum online interfaces, such bring us to take a second look at the now apparently simple issues as web-page design digitised images of explorers and collectors practices, for instance relating to the number of the past, and rather than thinking of such and definition of categories in drop-down images as “contextualising” artefacts, one menus, impact on source communities’ ease might think about how they continue to exert of access to information about their heritage. the power of the people from whom artefacts Not just classification systems, but the entire were collected. structures of digital platforms and distribution The issue of power relations between models can reveal power inequalities between museums and the public is not limited to national museums and source communities. source communities. This is highlighted in the The contribution by Ween and Wachowich contribution by Irmelin Axelsen. Axelsen tells us highlights how the format of digital tools about how a Facebook page, originally intended impacts on how they are used. They contrast to crowd-source knowledge about archaeological two digital initiatives in terms of modes of material, morphed into a platform to debate management, “close” and “far”, and reveal the the role of amateur archaeologists and the different possibilities that these management nature of their contribution to the discipline. systems enable and their different potentials It seems that Facebook as a platform affords to enable learning. One issue that is at such open conversations, that might not be stake in the digital initiatives relating to available in the strict and one-way “comment Indigenous Peoples, illustrated in the article, boxes” one typically finds on a state-funded is the ownership and copyright of data. More digital project such as digitaltmuseum.no broadly, this issue relates to the question of As Axelsen’s contribution illustrates, digital who is in the position to manage data, and by platforms, including commercial ones, enable what means. new kinds of conversations that would have In his contribution, Geoffrey Gowlland been difficult in the past, and can be used takes a different look at the relationship to question existing academic authority between museums and source communities. structures. In the digital age, more than ever In a reflection on the images that contextualise it seems, the authority of academics and the making and acquisition of new artefacts museums relating to knowledge about the past collected by museums, he provides illustrations is being destabilised. What this might point to that point to unexpected ways in which source is how necessary grassroots digital initiatives community members might try to shape are (see Ween & Wachowich, this issue) to the way the artefacts are understood in the avoid the pitfalls of universalising museum recipient museums. Using three different projects. Geoffrey Gowlland & Gro Ween

10 Digital nuts and virtual bolts distributed across museums internationally. Driven by technological optimism, new We tend to forget that digitalisation is a social platforms and systems are continuously being and material practice, that is, a practice made introduced, leading previous ones to quickly up of complex procedures and interactions become obsolete and turn into “digital ruins”. between producers and consumers of data. In This inherent drive for technological various ways, contributors to this issue take a development may be alienating for com- frank and curious look at the opportunities and munities that lack the adequate technical limits of the digital, and an honest and humble resources and knowledge needed to access evaluation of their own work. Digital objects, it these features. There is an uncertain viability seems, are circulated, exchanged, transformed, of digital platforms in remote communities, and used just as their “material” counterparts. where digital access can be compromised by An attention to these movements can bring lack of the required hardware or powerful us to look beyond the finished products of Internet connection. Digital solutions might digitalisation – the polished and carefully also be at odds with the values and worldviews designed user interfaces – to the material and of communities (Verran & Christie 2007, Lyons social stuff that they are made of, including the et al. 2016). In contrast with the innovation costs, skills and labour, or sheer materiality, driven, all-encompassing solutions of the involved in developing digital solutions, powerful museums, grassroots initiatives digitising objects and documents, delivering might serve one or several smaller purposes. It data, and keeping the systems running. An may well be that we should resist the desire to attention to these inner workings leads to a “connect the dots”, and consider that heritage deeper comprehension of digital tools and circulates more successfully, and offers more platforms, how they come into being, how they opportunities for sharing, on the social media are maintained and abandoned, through human platforms that people actually use (Verran agency as well as the agency (Gell 1998, Latour & Christie 2007). With mobile phones and 2005) of the digital. the Internet increasingly available, Facebook, An overall issue in studies of digital solutions Vimeo and Youtube have for instance become is the strong presence of technological optimism. platforms that are used to circulate images The museal digital revolution continuously of cultural heritage and generate knowledge offers new opportunities for expansion. 3D about such heritage. Commercial platforms scanning enables the copying and reproduction are geared towards reaching as many users as of any kind of object. New platforms can connect possible, compared to museum websites that all knowledge onto GIS maps, and provide are concerned with quality, for instance high- channels for all kinds of knowledge transfer resolution images, which might not reach some and collaborative virtual exhibitions, offering intended audiences. promise of more dialogues across knowledge A feature of a number of the contributions boundaries (Srinivasan et al. 2009a and b). As in collected here is an honesty in talking about the rest of the digital world, there is an inherent digital initiatives. Authors are aware of the drive to create larger platforms, connecting all of limits of what the digital can offer in its a museum’s activities, all national museums, or current state, and suggest ways in which one even all collections relating to a particular region can work within these limits. For instance, Nuts and bolts of digital heritage

this issue’s contributions by Skåden, by Ween The limits of a digital project might not just 11 and Wachowich, and by Wang, provide us be limits of resources: Ween and Wachowich with almost ethnographic accounts of what is ask whether large projects can ever satisfactorily involved in setting up a web portal or database. address some of the demands of users, and Through these accounts, we get a sense of the whether low scale and low budget but flexible mundane, practical, time-intensive, and quite and locally managed projects can better serve simply “manual” (as Skåden identifies) processes the needs of community members. The authors involved in digital initiatives, which might note that it might be that the larger a project involve the tasks of translating text, coding is – and the more it is driven by concerns for bits of data, or scanning pages of handwritten universality, thoroughness, and size of audience diaries. – the less it might be able to address the interests Skåden shows us the human and collaborative of those who have the most to benefit, in side of initiatives that bring together technicians particular source communities. and humanities academics. She points to how Once a web portal or platform is up and these uncommon collaborations can bring to running, they need maintenance. As Wold and the fore differing conceptions and ideas about Ween show, there might be a mismatch between the digital, such as different understandings the ambitions of the digital and what institutions of what constitutes “data”. Similarly, Wang can actually deliver. National museum websites documents the collaborative process she include comment fields to encourage visitors pursued with university IT designers as part to contribute knowledge about the artefacts of the development of a web portal regrouping available in the museum databases. Museums images of artefacts in the Roald Amundsen provide such comment fields with the dual collections of the Cultural History Museum in aim of offering new means of communication Oslo, alongside the digitised photographs and with users, and gaining knowledge about the diaries of the polar explorer, with the main aim collections. Yet even when museums manage to of sharing this material with the Inuit source get audiences to engage with available material, community of Gjoa Haven. Wang talks about they might not take full advantage of what some of the compromises that were necessary people have to offer. Wold and Ween note how to bring the project forward. These relate to the often highly relevant comments provided by different aims of the IT department and the users on national museum platforms are left researcher, including different ideas of what a without response or follow-up. This points to “successful” page looks like – the IT department how many museums struggle with the task of was measuring this in number of page clicks, monitoring the systems they have set in motion, yet the small community of Gjoa Haven is perhaps due to changing institutional priorities unlikely to contribute much to these numbers. or lack of clearly defined staff responsibilities. It Wang discusses struggles to make a webpage might also be due to the volume of comments usable and meaningful for those with the most received: it is easy to underestimate the work at stake, namely source communities. In the involved in trawling through comments, many end, as Wang explains, it is the availability of of which of little relevance, to get to the nuggets resources – money and time – that lead to the that might provide invaluable knowledge or compromises necessary to get the web portal up even change how an object is classified or and running. understood. Geoffrey Gowlland & Gro Ween

12 Conclusion Articles collected here document some opportunities and challenges to sustainable This attention to the mundane that we get heritage practices presented by the current state from the contributions to this special issue is of the ecosystems of digital tools and platforms. important to ground digital initiatives in the These discussions can inform the development “real” world. We might want to temper some of of existing and future digital initiatives – not our enthusiasm for the digital long enough to by presenting solve-all approaches, but by ask some critical questions about how digital being frank about what the digital can mean in solutions can serve what ultimately is the specific situations, advise through example, and aim of all digital heritage initiatives: cultural provide lessons derived from mistakes. There is sustainability. The digital is still in its infancy, strength in looking at the particular, opening and issues of sustainability have not yet been up to scrutiny the inner workings of digital fully addressed, which poses issues for heritage initiatives that end-users do not usually have projects. Sustainability does not simply imply access to. As often, each individual project will proper storage of data. Among other things, need to be addressed on its own terms, but there we need to have plans for what happens at the is much to learn from examples. end of a project, to think about how to keep knowledge and data alive and relevant, how to References integrate new insights, and how to act when today’s technologically advanced digital tools Basu, Paul 2015. “Reanimating cultural heritage: eventually become obsolete. Digital curatorship, knowledge networks, and The solutions we come up with ultimately social transformation in Sierra Leone.” In Sharon will be composite, complex, and vary from MacDonald & Helen Rees Leahy (eds.) The project to project. The digital offers a variety International Handbooks of Museum Studies Vol. of affordances, some of which are not yet 4. New York: Wiley-Blackwell, 337–364. DOI: discovered. As per the theory of affordances, doi:10.1002/9781118829059.wbihms994 one size does not fit all, and different audiences, Boast, Robin 2011. “Neocolonial collaboration: intended or not by digital initiatives, will museum as contact zone revisited.” Museum engage in different ways with digital material. Anthropology 34:1, 56–70. DOI: 10.1111/j.1548- One might question the viability of a platform 1379.2010.01107.x such as Facebook for hosting digital heritage, Boast, Robin & Jim Enote 2013. “Virtual repatriation: It but depending on the project it might be is neither virtual nor repatriation. In Christopher important to use a platform that many people Prescott and Peter F. Biehl (eds.) Heritage in the are familiar with. For other projects, taking Context of Globalization. Europe and the Americas. time to think of the long-term will ensure that New York: Springer, 103–113. the knowledge generated from enthusiasm Clifford, James 1997. Routes: Travel and Translation in around a particular project is not lost when this the Late 20th Century. Cambridge, MA: Harvard enthusiasm turns to other matters – in short, University Press. we need to be careful that our notoriously Ess, Charles & Steven Jones 2004. “Ethical decision- short digital attention-spans do not threaten making and Internet research: Recommendations the long-term potential of the heritage work of from the AoIR Ethics Working Committee.” In the present. Elizabeth Buchanan (ed.). Readings in Virtual Nuts and bolts of digital heritage

Research Ethics. Issues and Controversies. Hershey: Srinivasan, Ramesh, Robin Boast, Katherine Becvar 13 Information Science Publishing, 27–44. & Jonathan Furner 2009a. “Blobgects: Digital Feijóo, Claudio, Ioannis Maghiros, Fabienne Abadie museum catalogs and diverse user communities.” & José-Luis Gómez-Barroso 2009. “Exploring a Journal of the Association for Information Science heterogeneous and fragmented digital ecosystem: and Technology 60:4, 666–678. DOI: 10.1002/ Mobile content.” Telematics and Informatics 26:3, asi.21027 282–292. DOI: 10.1016/j.tele.2008.11.009 Srinivasan, Ramesh, Robin Boast, Jonathan Furner & Gell, Alfred 1998. Art and Agency: An Anthropological Katherine Becvar 2009b. “Digital museums and Theory. Oxford: Clarendon. diverse cultural knowledges: Moving past the Gibson, James J. 1979. The Ecological Approach to Visual traditional catalog.” Information Society 25, 265– Perception. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. 278. DOI: 10.1080/01972240903028714 Herle, Anita 2008. “Relational objects: Connecting Turner, Phil 2005. “Affordance as context.” Interacting people and things through Pasifika Styles.” with Computers 17:6, 787–800. DOI: 10.1016/j. International Journal of Cultural Property 15:2, intcom.2005.04.003 159–179. DOI: 10.1017/S0940739108080090 Tythacott, Louise and Kostas Arvanitis 2014. Museums Hui, Yuk 2012. “What is a digital object?” and Restitution: New Practices, New Approaches. Metaphilosophy 43:4, 380–395. DOI: Farnham: Ashgate. 10.1111/j.1467-9973.2012.01761.x Verran, Helen & Michael Christie 2007. “Using/ Ingold, Tim 2000. The Perception of the Environment: designing digital technologies of representation Essays on Livelihood, Dwelling and Skill. London: in Aboriginal Australian knowledge practices.” Routledge. Human Technology 3:2, 214–227. DOI: 10.17011/ Latour, Bruno 2005. “From realpolitik to dingpolitik.” ht/urn.2007281 In Bruno Latour, & Peter Weibel (eds.) Making Were, Graeme 2015. “Digital heritage in a Melanesian Things Public. Boston, MA: MIT Press, 14–44. context: Authenticity, integrity and ancestrality Lyons, Natasha, David Schaepe, Kate Hennessy, from the other side of the digital divide.” Michael Blake, Clarence Pennier & John Welch International Journal of Heritage Studies 21:2, 153– 2016. “Sharing deep history as digital knowledge: 165. DOI: 10.1080/13527258.2013.842607 An ontology of the Sq’éwlets Website Project.” Journal of Social Archaeology 16:3, 359–384. DOI: 10.1177/1469605316668451 Geoffrey Gowlland, Ph.D., Honorary Ngata, Wayne, Hera Ngata-Gibson & Amiria Salmond Research Fellow 2012. “Te Ataakura: Digital taonga and cultural [email protected] innovation.” Journal of Material Culture 17:3, 229– 244. DOI: 10.1177/1359183512453807 Peers, Laura & Alison Brown, 2003. Museums and Gro Ween, D.Phil., Associate Professor, Head of Source Communities. A Routledge reader. London: department, Keeper of the Arctic Collections Routledge. [email protected] Skrydstrup, Martin 2015. “Two doctrines of and for cul- tural property: How Europe and America are differ- Cultural History Museum, University of Oslo ent.” In Helle Porsdam Copyright Creativity. Creative Box 6762, St. Olavs plass Values, Cultural Heritage Institutions and Systems of N-0130 Oslo, Norway Intellectual Property. Farnham: Ashgate, 19–35. Nordisk Museologi 2018 • 2–3, s. 14–29

Working in the digital contact zone The digital sharing portal for Roald Amundsen’s Gjoa Haven collection

Tone Wang

Abstract: In this article a story of digital sharing is told. The focus is on a collection of traditional Inuit material culture brought together on over 22 months in 1903–1905 by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. Today, shared interest in and concern for this collection centres the collaboration between the Nattilik Heritage Centre in Gjoa Haven, Arctic Canada, and the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, Norway. A digital sharing portal launched in 2017 sets out to realise the space and framework for crucial collaborative practices concerning knowledge sharing and access to the material. The article discusses this process, using Clifford’s perspectives on the contact zone (1997) as an intake to discuss the construction and practice of this digital sharing site.

Keywords: Digital, collaboration, contact zone, museum collections, Inuit, .

This article presents a story of digital sharing. practice of this digital sharing site will be It focuses on a collection of traditional Inuit discussed here. material culture brought together on King The text that follows explores the process William Island over 22 months in 1903–1905 through which dialogues between the by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. museum and source community have been Today, shared interest in and concern for this established and maintained. It highlights the collection centres the collaboration between network of communication that must be in the Nattilik Heritage Centre in Gjoa Haven, place with the community before a sharing Arctic Canada, and the Museum of Cultural portal can be built and the many negotiations History in Oslo, Norway. A digital sharing between source community concerns and portal launched in 2017 sets out to realise the information and communication technology space and framework for crucial collaborative (ICT) requirements, economic considerations, practices concerning knowledge sharing and and time involved. Digital portals, I suggest, access to the material. The construction and are akin to “contact zones”. James Clifford first Working in the digital contact zone

used Mary Louise Pratt’s concept of the contact and the work that went into forming this 15 zone to open discussion on the potentialities of collaborative museum space. I will describe museums and museum work as a borderland the digital sharing portal and the crucial tenets between power dynamics, historical inequality, of collaboration and access that underpin this suppression, and intense identity politics. In project. Two aspects of work on and with the this setting, Clifford envisioned the “contact portal will then receive special attention: the zone” as “the space of colonial encounters, the use of Facebook and the discussions on how space in which peoples geographically and to group the objects in the digital universe. historically separated come into contact with The last part of this paper will scrutinise the each other and establish ongoing relations, potential of sociality and relationality in this usually involving conditions of coercion, radical digital contact zone, and what it could take to inequality, and intractable conflict” (Clifford activate it. 1997:192). He emphasised the relationality and situatedness of contact zone encounters. The Amundsen Gjoa Haven Situatedness here is considered both spatial and Collection temporal. The museum, then, becomes “an ongoing historical, political, moral relationship The institutional collaboration under discus- – a power-charged set of exchanges, of push sion in this paper centres around shared and pull” (1997:192). interest in a museum collection. Norwegian Clifford’s focus on the context and frictions explorer Roald Amundsen arrived at a small of such exhibition spaces is useful in exploring bay he considered to be an excellent winter the dynamics underlying and surrounding the harbour along the southeast coast of King process of developing the digital sharing portal William Island in September 1903. With his for the Gjoa Haven collection. The portal is as small ship the Gjoa and a crew of six expedition much at the mercy of the situated encounters members, he was on the way to realising his and specific relationships and conditions that first big polar achievement: sailing through the premised its production as any other cultural Northwest Passage. Wintering in this area was phenomena, whether its materiality consists of part of his careful planning. He described his bandwidth, computers, bone, wood, binaries, anchoring spot as the nicest little harbour in or zeroes and ones in varying combinations the world and was extremely pleased with the (Hogsden & Poulter 2012, Miller & Horst game he and his crew found nearby. He named 2012). This article will describe a process the spot harbour of the Gjoa or Gjoa Haven. mired in negotiation over meanings where the As fall progressed into October, the crew acknowledgement of differing perspectives is encountered their neighbours: the Nattilik of paramount importance. Potentially, these Inuit camping near Koka Lake a bit further exchanges and the friction they involve could south came to investigate what the kablunaaq, both perform and maintain a colonial order the white people, were up to. The first meeting and further the dialogue between museums was reported as tense by both groups but turned and source communities into the postcolonial into friendly greetings, mutual visiting, and, era (e.g. Peers & Brown 2003, Thomas 2010, in time, an absolutely extraordinary learning Fienup-Riordan 1998) experience for the Norwegians. Over the In the following, I will present the collection next two years, as the Gjoa remained in Gjoa Tone Wang

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Fig. 1. In Gjoa Haven 1904. Photo by Amundsen’s expedition. Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, Norway.

Haven, they travelled together, ate together, for his expedition. Relocating the magnetic visited each other, and traded extensively. North Pole, and thus proving its gradual The stories about Amusi and his party, their movement, was the main scientific goal of attempts at practising what their Inuit friends the expedition. As the relationship between taught them, and the relationships built during the local Inuit and the expedition members their stay are still told in Gjoa Haven and the developed, he learned more about the ways neighbouring communities today. Amundsen, they handled the everyday as well as the on his side, wrote with great respect and extreme, and documenting and trading became admiration about the expertise and ability of important to him. From acquiring Inuit-made the people he befriended regarding living well fur clothing for himself and his crew, he moved in Arctic conditions. on to trading needles, knife blades, and other The longer stay was part of Amundsen’s plan metal and wood pieces for the different items Working in the digital contact zone

his Inuit friends used – everything from tools, collaborated with the hamlet council in Gjoa 17 clothing, and hunting equipment to utensils, Haven to return objects from the collection to cooking, and travel equipment. become part of the exhibits in the new centre. The collection he amassed filled much of When the Nattilik Heritage Centre opened the Gjoa and amounted to some 1,200 items. It in October 2013, 16 exceptional objects from documents all aspects of Inuit material culture the Amundsen Gjoa Haven collection were on in the region from this period. On Amundsen’s display. A solid relationship between the two completion of the Northwest Passage in 1906, institutions opened the invitation the board the objects were shipped back to Oslo where they extended to me to spend 2014 in Gjoa Haven became part of the collections of the University working at the heritage centre and doing field of Oslo. They were first displayed in the brand- research on the importance and relevance new building at Tullinløkka in December 1906, of the returning objects and for the repeated and the line of fascinated visitors waiting to be visits since. let in to see them went around the block. From the very first visit professor Svensson In the following years, Amundsen went and myself made to Gjoa Haven in 2011 to on to put the knowledge he acquired on King discuss collaborations on the collection, digital William Island to good use in new polar access was an obvious and crucial part of the expeditions, winning the South Pole in 1911 plans being made. During discussions with the and documenting the Northeast Passage hamlet council, the safety and conditions for from 1922 onwards. Most of the Gjoa Haven the collection in the new heritage centre were collection remained in Oslo, becoming one of a major topic. The centre being planned would the great treasures of the ethnographic museum not contain storage facilities and would be here. As redressing museum practice and limited in size. We were discussing transferring indigenous identity politics became a central ownership of important cultural heritage to the topic in social anthropology and museum community, as utukut, the old stuff or heritage work, the very special tie the museum had objects, of this type were not something the to this small town in the Canadian Arctic people had access to locally at this time. The was on museum professor Tom G. Svensson’s practical and symbolic importance of the mind (Amundsen 1907, Etnografisk museum return of objects was obvious to all, as was 1907–08, Taylor 1977, Svensson 1995). His the fact that the bulk of the collection would field research visit to Gjoa Haven in the early remain in Oslo. Digital sharing and digital 1990s focused primarily on his interest in Inuit access was part of the plan we discussed at art, but the Amundsen collection and the well- this point as a key to ensuring that the entire remembered relationship between Amundsen collection would become available to the and the people he came to know was the basis public in Gjoa Haven and elsewhere. With the for establishing a new connection. launch of the digital sharing portal in 2017, The awareness of the strong shared interest this became reality. in this collection and the positive interest in furthering the relationship was present in both The digital sharing portal Gjoa Haven and Oslo over the following years. In 2010, when a heritage centre was being Between the baseline of availability and sharing planned in Gjoa Haven, the museum in Oslo as general goals of collaboration between the Tone Wang

18 two museums and the realised portal, there is The goal of making a collaborative space for considerable investment by all parties involved. discussing, documenting, and learning from I will return to this investment below. For now, each other and from the materials is crucial I want to focus on the portal and how it gives here. While the different materials found in access to the collection. On the web pages the the portal – the photos, descriptions, books portal is presented as follows: documenting the objects, and expedition – were publicly available already, they had not About the collection and the project: This website been in any way easy to access. The photos, is a collaborative effort. It brings together objects, for example, had been available through photographs and documentation, related to the the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo’s collection of traditional Inuit material culture made database and its web-based interface.2 To in Gjoa Haven 1903-1905, by Norwegian explorer handle this interface requires knowledge Roald Amundsen. The resources have been prepared of the nooks and crannies of the university in Gjoa Haven and Oslo, by the Nattilik Heritage museum collection web interface in Norway Centre and the Museum of Cultural History. and familiarity with web museum collection search interfaces in general (e.g. Srinivasan et Collaboration and digital sharing: This digital al. 2017, Were 2008). sharing portal is one result of the collaboration Added to this was, of course, the language between the Nattilik Heritage Centre in Gjoa barrier. The working language of the univer- Haven and the Museum of Cultural History in sity museums in Oslo is Norwegian. The ori- Oslo. We have been working together, engaging ginal catalogue documenting and describing with the Gjoa Haven/ Amundsen collection, since this collection, written in 1907 and 1908, was 2010. In 2013 some objects from the collection in Norwegian (Etnografisk Samling, KHM were returned to Gjoa Haven, to become part of 1908). Though thorough and extensive, it the displays at the Nattilik Heritage Centre. could in no way be considered particularly This digital sharing portal gives access to the entire accessible, even though it was available on the collection of artefacts and photographs, the materials webpages of the Museum of Cultural History. currently held in Gjoa Haven as well as those in Oslo. The expedition narrative, written by Making this material available online has been a Amundsen and published in 1907 and premise and goal of our collaboration from day one. 1908, was available in libraries as was other A lot of effort has gone into translating and adapting documentation on the collection. Added to the materials for digital sharing. Please come in, the work inherent in seeking these sources for explore, engage, and feel welcome to share knowledge any researcher comes the extra challenges as and help us make what is here even richer! seen from a small community in the Canadian The presentation underlines collaboration as the Arctic. Accessibility of the materials was, when crucial framework for what the portal presents, and all was said and done, not impressive. the kinds of materials available here: the photos Considering the actual objects in the part and documentation of objects in the collection, and of the collection held in Oslo, the situation is other materials relevant to this, brought together even more challenging. Part of the materials and available online for all interested parties. The are on display in the Arctic exhibit in the invitation to engage and share is explicit, as of museum building at Tullinløkka in Oslo. The course is absolutely crucial in this kind of setting.1 information provided in the exhibit does not Working in the digital contact zone

make it easy for the general museum visitor to 19 identify which objects belong to this particular collection. Most of the objects in the care of the Museum of Cultural History are not on display but in storage. The museum storage facility can only be accessed by special appointment, is located in another part of Oslo, and is geared towards safety and preservation of the materials held there, not visitor convenience. Researchers and others engaged in exhibition work at the Museum of Cultural History have access to what is in storage mainly through catalogues and photographs. For visitors, this is even more limited. The digital sharing portal brings the photos, the main catalogue description, and other information about the collection together in one place for the first time for the benefit of all users. The interface gives priority to the photographs. This was very intentional and based on the work the community engaged in and that I got to be a part of during my presence at the Nattilik Heritage Centre in 2014. When planning for object return, we worked with the hamlet council and with the elders, using photographs. Where visits to the storage and extensive discussions over object selection would have been ideal, the practical limits in terms of funding and time constraints did not allow for this at the time. Thus, the photographs became the baseline and frame of reference for engaging with the collection. People and, in particular, the elders involved in this work Fig. 2. Screenshot from www.khm.uio.no/gjoahaven/, were extremely interested in the images and showing the now on display at the Nattilik Heritage Centre in Gjoa Haven, in what they showed. Other documentation, such Nattilingmiut. as descriptions and names of objects, were not considered relevant. Objects were engaged with and interpreted on the basis of traditional was that the photographs needed exposure, knowledge and memory work done in the and the captions and descriptions were to be different settings where people met. considered secondary. A direct result of this When starting work on shaping the digital is the absence of labels/names on the main sharing site, the premise from the very start presentation page of the portal. These only Tone Wang

20 appear as one access the presentations of They are available in the portal in only individual items or objects. The objects are English at present. They invite teachers and presented and left, at least initially and for those students at Quqshuun Ilihakvik and Qiqirtaq encountering them with prior knowledge, to Ilihakvik in Gjoa Haven as well as schools in “speak for themselves” (Vermeylen & Pilcher the neighbouring communities of 2009, Dudley 2012). and and those interested elsewhere This approach to captioning also helped solve to engage with the materials in the portal and another challenge of the main presentation with their own communities on the issue of page: that of the heading. The top part of all traditional knowledge and material culture. pages in the portal provide the user with As they are being used, they are also being consistent information on where they are – adapted and developed further. in the digital sharing portal for Amundsen’s Educational programming in Nattilingmiut/ Gjoa Haven Collection – and what language will be a wonderful additional resource they have chosen to use to access the materials for the portal. For now, local teachers with here. The menu giving access to language language competence adapt materials as they choice is always available. The consistent use see fit. In Gjoa Haven, language is an everyday of Inuktitut in Nattilingmiut dialect using challenge. The older generation speaks mainly syllabics gives a crucial signal to all who use Inuktitut, the younger generation mainly the portal of where this material originates and English, with the middle generation taking the relevant cultural and language context in on the role of interpreters within their own which it should be regarded. families and communities. The local political While language and translation were key to will to strengthen and underline Nattilingmiut this project, there is a very obvious hierarchy and Inuktitut proficiency for children and in what information has been given priority students in school is very strong. The fact that when it comes to translation. All catalogue English at present is the language of teaching in information on the objects is available in four schools once students enter the upper grades languages: Nattilingmiut, English, French, and and is the shared language of communication Norwegian. The use of Inuktitut is, as already between students and teachers in these settings underlined, crucial in contextualising this is part of the practicalities confronting the material for all users regardless of background. community on a daily basis. The general description of the project and All this underlines that language, as seen supporting materials is for now available from the perspective of the power dynamics in English only. Amundsen’s two-volume of the contact zone, is a challenging issue. The expedition narrative published in 1907 practicalities of everyday life do not always would be one example of this type of material align easily with the importance accorded to (Amundsen 1907). The consideration was thus identity and ethnicity as expressed through that having some things available even only in language use locally. English still added value to the portal. What the portal also provides is a framework Collaboration and access for further development. It is not made to be or expected to be a static resource. The educational The development of the resources for the digital programmes would be one example of this. sharing portal was, as already mentioned, an Working in the digital contact zone

integral part of the collaboration between the the basis for our knowledge of this collection 21 hamlet of Gjoa Haven, the Nattilik Heritage in Oslo over the last 110 years, developing it Centre, and the Museum of Cultural History. further is not feasible. Considering the portal The first challenge we faced when wanting to to be a very concrete contact zone, language share this collection was that of language. As is obviously all-important to the dialogue mentioned, the catalogue for collections at the taking place. The languages included in the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo is in fact portal and how the languages are approached written and maintained in Norwegian. While (as simple translations from English or taken this makes sense from the local museum seriously) need to be considered in terms of perspective, it is a considerable challenge for the nature of the knowledge they represent. If people outside of Scandinavia in accessing exchange, sharing of knowledge, and further our materials and for the museum itself in development and care for the collection are to matters of sharing and collaborating. The very be the core of collaborative practice, we must first issue that had to be tackled was making premise it on just that: sharing of knowledge, the basic collection information available in discussion of content, and redistribution of English. authority on what it is we are in fact concerning While the initial funding of the translation ourselves with (for similar discussions on of the collection catalogue to English was the postcolonial era, see De La Cadena 2015, secured through the University of Oslo, Verran 2012, Hennessy 2009, and Ridington what followed was very much a collaborative & Hennessy 2008). The two main concerns of matter. Without the effort and investment of the digital sharing portal project: the creation the Nattilik Heritage Centre and Canadian of access through collaborative processes, could funding agencies supporting the collaboration not be more succinctly underlined. around the collection, the digital portal as it One further point concerning the issue stands today would never have been possible. of access must be underlined here: that of Canadian Heritage, through its Museum digital devices and bandwidth. People in Gjoa Assistance Programme, generously funded Haven are digitally competent, and most use local research in Gjoa Haven on the collection, computers and handheld devices connected interpretation, and travel. The Government to the internet daily. Equipment needed of Nunavut and Department of Culture and to use the digital portal is thus available in Heritage further supported translation into most households in the community. What Nattilingmiut. While English and French is an issue, however, is stable internet access translations were tackled elsewhere, the and bandwidth. Internet access is available, translation of the catalogue into Nattilingmiut and Facebook is broadly used, but the was handled in Gjoa Haven by local expert bandwidth needed to engage with different translator Simon Okpakok. Internet resources in the form of streaming Seen from the sidelines, translation of or downloading is limited. While high- the catalogue text might seem a primarily resolution resources (photographs etc.) are instrumental process; however, it has been a available through the digital sharing portal, core activity on which all other aspects of this access is presently limited in Gjoa Haven and project have been premised. Without sharing neighbouring communities. People wait for access to the information that has formed improved bandwidth to become available. Tone Wang

22 Into the digital contact zone – creating new webpages. The developments Negotiating were exciting and locally anchored, and much effort was put into building a web presence As this discussion moves further into the from which promoting the centre and heritage- digital contact zone, I want to move the focus related issues would be possible. Building from Gjoa Haven and the crucial groundwork and maintaining a webpage is a challenging discussions and considerations of the materials proposition for a small institution under any to be included in the portal to also include circumstances. As the focus at the time was some of the discussions as they took shape in on local capacity building in Gjoa Haven, it Oslo. In the following, I want to consider the was important to support and link the work location of the portal within the webpages of being done there to other web resources. The the University of Oslo, the discussions on the platform chosen by the heritage centre was, use of Facebook as an engagement tool for while very suitable to local needs, not ideal for the portal, and the challenges we encountered a digital sharing portal displaying a museum regarding the need to group the materials in collection. the portal in ways that are suitable for the user Physical location was also a main issue interface. determining how the development work Taking issues of ownership and control of on the portal took shape. In 2016, funding this information as the starting point, there came through from the Museum of Cultural is no doubt that a website located outside of History in Oslo to support the work needed the institutional framework of the University to make the collection available through a web of Oslo would have made immense sense interface. Taking available time and funding for a digital sharing portal of this kind. The into consideration, the overall aim was no collection information, as entered in the longer development but to bring the prepared museum database, is accessible as open-source materials together in a revised interface and data to be harvested. The museum and the get this up and running. Travelling between university are public institutions with policies Oslo and Gjoa Haven is a costly undertaking, and strategy documents inviting sharing and and in this situation, we were much in the engagement with source communities and the same squeeze we had been during the initial public. In Gjoa Haven, different web solutions phase of collaboration in 2011 and 2012. We for the pages of the heritage centre were on the had crucially important work to accomplish, table. At the museum in Oslo, the importance but there were no available travel funds. and advantages of constructing the portal Consequently, we chose to solve as much pages independently and within an Internet as we could in house at the University of domain that is completely separate from the Oslo. Using established resources there, we museum were clear to all. When, despite this, could draw on already developed systems, the digital sharing portal did indeed end up people who knew the museum database, located on the University of Oslo/Museum and relationships already established with of Cultural History server, the reasons were user interface experts and web developers. instrumental and practical. While the existing database and web interface At the Nattilik Heritage Centre, at this time were not, as mentioned, in any way deemed in 2016, work was being done on locating and suitable for the kind of access, collaboration Working in the digital contact zone

and sharing we wanted for the portal, they working within, and thus how the different 23 did provide a very sound point of departure. issues could be resolved satisfactorily. What was already in place made developing Another significant concern when developing the digital sharing portal possible.3 any digital resource is maintenance of the website This last phase of developing the interface over time. This concern becomes particularly for the digital sharing portal thus became acute when seen from the perspective of centred on the Department of Ethnography, heritage work and museum collection work. Numismatics, and Classical Archaeology, and For institutions like ours, where the focus is the Section for Digital Documentation, IT and consistently preservation, care, and minding Archiving in the Collections Department, in our position as a keeper of future generations’ collaboration with two groups at the University resources, the impermanence and ephemeral Centre for Information Technology: the Data quality of many web-related projects are acutely Capture and Collections Management group disturbing. Ways of creating some stability and the User Experience group. We received beyond individual people’s investment in this excellent and enthusiastic support from all project represented a crucial concern when involved. discussing different solutions for developing As part of the preparatory work for the and locating the digital sharing portal. When portal, the Data Capture and Collections the project defaulted to the University of Management group at the university had Oslo’s resources for developing the portal, one already invested considerable effort into advantage was that the portal then became part developing a prototype interface for the of the institutional maintenance effort, funded Amundsen collection. The solutions created through the university as a whole. Nothing, here for focusing on one particular collection and definitely not web resources, thrives or and solving challenges presented by managing survives without engagement by interested several languages were instrumental in the users. In this situation, a lot of uncertainty work that followed. and day-to-day maintenance is secured by One crucial question when considering the the portal’s presence in a wider context that university as a host for the portal was the ensures basic predictability and security. design flexibility. The possibility of developing During this process, it was clear from an a visual identity for the portal using syllabics early stage that there were logical advantages and images was a deciding factor for us. Using to making use of Facebook4 for our social the images as the main tool to identify and interaction interface. In the Canadian Arctic, engage with the material was one explicit goal when it comes to communicating and keeping for our digital portal project. The use of the up with friends and family both within and Nattilingmiut dialect presented in syllabics between communities, Facebook and its related prominently in the design was a self-evident social media applications are the preferred concern from a Canadian Arctic perspective. medium. People in Gjoa Haven say good Both issues were discussed extensively with the morning to their families on Facebook. This is development team in Oslo. This was absolutely also where people look to see what house their crucial to establish the common understanding children might be hanging out at or where needed on what was important and why, what they ask about caribou meat for supper. If the was possible within the boundaries we were sharing aspect of the digital sharing portal was Tone Wang

24 to have any meaning at all, it depended on objects as belonging together was an essential using an established and known solution that part of the discussions with the people in people were comfortable with, and Facebook Gjoa Haven. In workshops at the Nattilik seemed to be exactly that. Heritage Centre, the objects of material culture Using Facebook as an integrated part of returned from the Museum of Cultural History the webpages in this way would be a first at collections had become the point of departure the University of Oslo. To do this, we had to for discussions of traditional knowledge. obtain special approval from the web editors The naming of the objects and of parts of in charge of the UiO domain. The support and them was accorded much attention, and the understanding from the staff we collaborated situating of different objects within traditional with at the University Centre for Information knowledge spheres had been ongoing and a Technology were instrumental in resolving very productive area of exploration. What this matter and in subsequently implementing was missing was as crucial as what was the Facebook plugin successfully in the portal. present, as was the case when discussing the Once set up, we were faced with the limited soapstone lamp in the displays. While five experience the university had with this elder ladies from Gjoa Haven were discussing particular method of building an interface. the returned objects during a workshop at There were various discussions on how to the Nattilik Heritage Centre in the fall of integrate the plugin with other features of the 2014, the soapstone lamp, the kudlik, became portal and with other web interfaces that we the starting point for recounting personal were only partly able to resolve. An additional experiences of life including instances challenge to this process was distance. in which different kinds of fuel had been To move forward on this matter, further accessible or lacking. The presence of the lamp discussions with our partners in Gjoa Haven and the absence of the wick trimmer necessary will be crucial. to put the lamp to its intended use was a point While the possibility of integrating Facebook the discussions returned to repeatedly. Using as part of the portal interface was an anticipated the lamp – a traditional object – as a starting hurdle in portal development, we ran into point to explore traditional knowledge in this surprising challenges on other fronts. One setting highlighted the importance of context such challenge was the question of how to of use and the crucial importance put on what group materials on the web portal. In our first belonged together. The lamp did not make meeting, the people from the User Experience sense without the tadkut, the wick trimmer, group stressed the matter of grouping as and what was most important about it was the important to the organising of the portal context of its use. interface. They asked that we provide a list of The challenge translating these concerns seven to eight categories that the collection and discussions into the precise categories in a could be divided into. This would form the drop-down web menu, covering everything and basis for the main menu and the way for portal repeating nothing, was immediately apparent users to engage with and navigate the portal. when the web development team brought up The ways in which people saw connections the need for this as part of the portal design. and relevance of specific objects in the Compounding the issue was the need to rely collection to other objects and linked groups of on email and Facebook to determine methods Working in the digital contact zone

of containing and translating concerns over 25 groupings and divisions with people in Gjoa Haven. Challenges of distance and the limits of this kind of communication added to the basic task of trying to make this grouping exercise make sense. The categorisation of the collection felt less and less relevant as the issue at hand was reduced to a different kind of challenge of providing what the web development team needed to do their part of the job, rather than providing something of relevance to the source community users of the portal. This Fig. 3. Elders Rosie Kigeak and Mary Aqirgiaq discussing the soapstone lamp from the Amundsen/ transformation of focus included adhering Gjoa Haven at Nattilik Heritage Centre workshop, to the strictures of the maximum number Gjoa Haven, fall 2014. Photo Tone Wang. of categories. Instead of asking what object groupings would be the most important to the community users in the Canadian Arctic, were brought into the digital sharing portal, the number became a determinant. Based they now present users with the same kind of upon well-established and sound standards for challenges the museum database did, in that webpage development practice, the maximum they expect and require a certain familiarity number of items in a menu was to be eight. with collections classification and the material Coding the collection made it challenging to to make sense (e.g. Srinivasan et al. 2017, have objects appear in several categories, and Miller and Horst 2012). This quandary was, everything needed to belong somewhere to be interestingly enough, also brought up by the visible in the web interface. If the project had User Experience group at UCIT in Oslo, the access to more funding and more development very people who had requested and argued time, these concerns could have been tackled for this format of categorisation of the portal differently. As it was, it was necessary to adjust content in the first place. Their concern was the collection to a universalistic idea of what the accessibility and meaning of the category was an acceptable webpage format. labels, questioning the use of terms like In the end, the chosen solution was to “housekeeping” and “dwellings”. borrow already established collection cate- As an extension of this resolution to the gories, in this case following those used by J. question of categorisation, we ran into a Garth Taylor in his excellent discussion of the further issue related to translation and Amundsen collection (Taylor 1977). language. While translating and finding good While this categorisation is a classical and and meaningful labels for objects and groups straightforward solution from a collections of objects in the different languages that we and museum practice point of view, it does were working with, these categories came late not contribute to improving access for source in the process, and it became quite challenging community users. Categories do, as Thomas to establish meaningful translations for them (2010) pointed out, live in the museum. As they in Nattilingmiut. The Inuktitut terms used to Tone Wang

26 label these categories in the portal at present solution for the portal, as it appears at present, will be part of the future conversation with the categorisation of objects can be read people in Gjoa Haven on how to improve the as either the colonial remains of classical portal. typology, a somewhat unsatisfactory but Establishing better labels will not resolve practical solution to a quandary composed of the underlying issue here. It is not the category constraints in time and funding, or as being label of “clothing” that is of interest but what it altogether irrelevant to the offerings of the contains and how the different objects within it portal. Further discussions with user groups relate to each other and to different situations of in Gjoa Haven and elsewhere will be extremely use. Elders contributing to another of our 2014 interesting to assess this further. Gjoa Haven workshops discussed the harpoon, the central piece of the seal hunt, extensively. The social life of digital things In the portal, the varieties of caribou footwear used for by the breathing holes on The digital sharing portal for Amundsen’s Gjoa the ice belong to the “clothing” category, while Haven collection is a purely social object. It the harpoon itself is included in the category is created through the collaboration between “hunting and fishing”. From the perspective various expert communities in Gjoa Haven and of the elders in the workshop, the footwear in Oslo, all bringing very different but strongly and the harpoon are very obviously related founded perspectives on what matters and what and crucial to each other, as part of the same is relevant to the table. The discussion addresses situation or context: that of seal hunting by the the materiality of the digital form directly. It breathing holes. Combinations of items that go is premised on the object of study being the together depending on seasons and the work process of creating something that is meant to at hand matter. The exercise of sectioning off live its life in digital form on the Internet. Its traditional material culture into mutually materiality is inescapable and crucial regardless. exclusive categories with labels like “clothing” The opportunities and limitations offered by the and “housekeeping” does not. systems, shape the premises we were working The challenges inherent in grouping with throughout the process. The contact zone according to different perspectives and needs that its production creates was exciting and in the digital portal project begs the question of challenging to all concerned. what sharing could mean in this context. The Now that the portal is up and running, its tension between the presumed universalistic present and potential use concerns us all. web development guidelines, the expressed “Success” for digital environments like this interests and concerns regarding what was is generally measured in clicks. The digital interesting about this material in a specific sharing portal is thus, at least among those source community setting, and the museum whose work is ICT oriented, questioned and as the structuring mechanism influencing measured on the basis of user statistics. Our the potentialities and constraints in this portal has “clicks”, but does so far not impress collaborative endeavour make for a contact on the basis of these numbers. This might zone situation of friction where differing of course be due to shortcomings in design positions, power structures, and potentialities and groundwork, both known and yet to be grind against each other. In the resulting discovered. My claim here will, however, be Working in the digital contact zone

that this kind of digital resource requires us this material being accessible in this format in 27 to look further than clicks in an attempt to the first place. It matters that it is used, yes, but evaluate its relevance and importance. It is just as importantly, and maybe even more so, what lies behind the clicks – or the lack of such it matters hugely that it has been addressed, – that is of real interest. developed as a collaborative effort, and now The first element of relevance to this exists as a platform of access to the material discussion is the often-presumed antithesis to heritage of humanity’s past. digital potentiality: direct social engagement From the perspective of community en- between physically present people. As discussed gagement and archaeological research, Ian above, the final phase of the work to materialise Hodder formulated his vision for the potential this digital resource happened in Oslo. The use of Internet resources in 1999 as the “… process and the portal that came out of it need potential for democratisation, participation and to be physically brought to Gjoa Haven. Its erosion of the boundaries between specialist Internet existence is not to be confused with and popular archaeology” (Hodder 1999). its existence considered from a situated social Since then, the realisation that not even this and cultural perspective. Likewise, counting technological invention might save us from clicks does not tell us much about who is ourselves has sunk in. The dangers of reproducing clicking or what contexts those clicks happen traditional, hierarchical elite knowledge – in in. The opportunity to discuss these matters Ian Hodder’s terms – on the Internet is just as with people, in Gjoa Haven and elsewhere who real as in any other social context. There is no are users would provide important insight here reason to regard the digital form as inherently (Were 2008). more or less democratic than any other means At present, the portal is relevant as an of communication and exchange we attempt existing resource, but the extent to which it is to use (Were 2008). Turning this argument on engaged with in everyday heritage practices its head leads us to the crux of the contact zone is an unanswered question. The portal needs and the inherent challenges and potentialities it to be physically established in Gjoa Haven offered this process. Using the digital form offers through conversations and visiting. a sharing potential that is extraordinary, but it Museum repositories and museum organisa- requires the same hard work on relationships, tions have provided a particular kind of understanding, and negotiations that any other potential memory storage and engagement social process does. resource for the public and for researchers for The memory and ramifications of the last couple of centuries. These have been Amundsen’s visit have lived on in stories in concentrated in certain parts of the world and Gjoa Haven and in museum repositories in certain parts of the power dynamic. This has Oslo since the early 1900s. To engage and use been widely pointed out and discussed (e.g. the resources this encounter produced are Thomas 1991, Bennett 1995, Were 2008). One and will likely remain of great importance aspect of the digital sharing portal that is not at to community and experts in Gjoa Haven, all visible through the prism of click counting in Oslo, and among those with an interest in is the simple fact of shared access. Postcolonial traditional Inuit material culture everywhere. reality, with its crucial insistence on access and The digital sharing portal for Amundsen’s information control, posits the importance of Gjoa Haven collection with all its limitations Tone Wang

28 and potentialities does in fact open the doors 4. The Facebook comments plugin was used. to broad engagement. While access is not An example can be seen here: http://www. equal, or without limits or distortions, it is khm.uio.no/english/research/collections/ greatly improved, compared to the previous gjoahaven/#id=UEM15546 situation. Traditional materiality is no longer solely contained in repositories in Europe, it Literature also lives on the internet to be shared, studied, and enjoyed by a much broader community of Amundsen, Roald E.G. 1908. The North-West interest and engagement. Passage: Being the Record of a Voyage of This is the story of the creation of a purely Exploration of the Ship ‘Gjoa’, 1903-1907, social object: the digital sharing portal volumes 1 and 2, London: Archibald Constable for Amundsen’s Gjoa Haven collection. It & Company Limited. addresses a material and digital reality and Appadurai, Arjun 1986. The Social Life of Things: questions the tendency to regard the two as Commodities in Cultural Perspective. Cambridge: separate in favour of discussing how they, Cambridge University Press. https://doi. through the contact zone of their creation, org/10.1017/CBO9780511819582 constantly blend into each other and depend Bennett, Tony 1995. The Birth of the Museum: History, on each other for meaning and engagement. Theory, Politics. London: Routledge. The presented argument underlines the Basu, Paul 2011. “Object diasporas, resourcing material production of a digital portal as communities: Sierra Leonean collections in the having considerable effect on the postcolonial global museumscape”. Museum Anthropology potential, or in Appadurai’s terms, the social 34:1: 28–42. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548- life one can expect of real things (Appadurai 1379.2010.01105.x 1986, Miller and Horst 2012). De la Cadena, Marisol 2015 34:1, 28-42. Our digital sharing portal has only just Earth-Beings: Ecologies of Practice Across begun its life as a relevant resource and Andean Worlds. Morgan Lectures Series. engagement site. We look forward to further Durham: Duke University Press. https://doi. discussions, development, and innovation to org/10.1215/9780822375265 build on what we have and to determine how Clifford, James 1997. Routes. Travel and Translation to engage with it in meaningful ways and from in the Late Twentieth Century, Cambridge, MA: different perspectives. For that to happen, we Harvard University Press. need to sit down and talk, to travel, to explore Dudley, Sandra 2012. “Materiality matters: Experienc- the portal resources together, and to find the ing the displayed object”. University of Michigan resources to do this. Working Papers in Museum Studies, 1–9: no. 8, 1–9. Etnografisk Samling, KHM 1908. 15540-16246 er den af Kaptein Roald Amundsen i November Notes 1906 fra Gjøa-Expeditionen hjembragte Samling 1. at www.khm.uio.no/gjoahaven fra Netchilli-Eskimoerne. Museum of Cultural 2. www.unimus.no History, accessions catalogue. 3. See Jordal et al. (2012) for more on the database Fienup-Riordan, Ann 1998. “Yup’ik Elders in for the etnhographic collection at the Museum of museums: Fieldwork turned on its head”. Arctic Cultural History in Oslo. Anthropology 35(2): 49-58. Working in the digital contact zone

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Digitalisation of crafts Comparative approaches to Arctic fur

Gro Ween & Nancy Wachowich

Abstract: Efforts to digitally engage with indigenous source communities and craftspeople are many and diverse. This paper has as its starting point a comparison between two such digital engagements, both celebrations of Arctic animal fur clothing, yet each at seemingly opposite ends of a continuum of possible digital interfaces. Skinddragter Online and Mittimatalik Arnait Miqsuqtuit Collective were both launched the same year, 2015, in Copenhagen and Mittimatalik, Nunavut, Canada respectively. By comparing each with the other, our ambition is to illuminate some of the curatorial choices involved in the making of such digital platforms, and the consequences they have in terms of wider visibility, audiences reached, knowledge included, and collaborative engagements invited. Postcolonial critique can come at the expense of general outreach, conversations between designated experts can be difficult to make equal. Technological sophistication can be challenged by the digital divide. Attention to issues of cultural appropriation is a constant. Yet, driving these initiatives is the need to maintain a digital diversity in online and offline spaces.

Keywords: Digital engagements, postcolonial, Arctic, indigenous, fur sewing.

This article compares two approaches to differed significantly. Skinddragter Online3 was the digitisation of circumpolar indigenous initiated by Denmark’s National museum crafts. One, Skinddragter Online was initiated senior conservator Anne Lisbeth Schmidt by the National Museum of Denmark in and launched in the spring of 2015 alongside Copenhagen. The other, the Mittimatalik the exhibition Fur and Death (Pels og Død). Arnait Miqsuqtuit Collective1 (MAMC) Making use of cutting-edge science and originated as part of a larger digital heritage database technology, this initiative aimed to project run out of York University, Canada bring new knowledge of Arctic fur garments entitled Mobilising Inuit Cultural Heritage.2 to a diverse international and multicultural Both projects set out to engage indigenous audience. MAMC on the other hand, initiated craftspeople, in an online showcase of Arctic that same year, was low-cost, using accessible animal skin and fur garments, however, the and user-friendly recording technologies, methodological practices and final products and began as more of a local experiment in Digitalisation of crafts. Comparative approaches to Arctic fur

collaborative ethnography than a platform. archives and collections invite new dialogues 31 Both projects were, in their different ways, across epistemological boundaries and can uniquely innovative and both were driven be seen as bringing museum institutions and by the desire to celebrate and promote the source communities together on more equal intricate artistry of Inuit animal skin sewing. ground than in the past (Peers & Brown 2003; In what follows, we draw on recent Basu 2015). theoretical approaches to digital heritage to We can enthuse about the possibilities of compare and contrast these two platforms, what has been called “digital repatriation” – over highlighting significant issues that arise is the potentials that digital technologies hold ethnographic efforts to digitally archive and to inspire and inform projects of indigenous exhibit indigenous crafts. Our suggestion in cultural representation and regeneration. Yet that, in terms of technological engagements and at the same time, digital attempts to redress designated audiences, Skinddragter Online and colonial museum practices bring with them MAMC exist at opposite ends of a continuum new dilemmas. Digital platforms easily of possible digital interfaces. Each makes use embody implicit naturalised understandings of of different forms of knowledge and expertise knowledge, expertise, and power. As scholars thereby leading to distinctive forms of research, warn, the term, “digital repatriation” can easily collaboration and audience engagement. become a euphemism, at worst it can become We highlight these differences to raise larger a new form of colonisation (Ess & Jones 2004; issues of curatorial choice and the role of Geismar 2013). digital interfaces in cultural documentation, Most digital solutions have more revitalisation and public education. straightforward ambitions, such as the museum catalogue. Such online catalogues are professionally maintained, they are relatively Collections, technology, and inexpensive to make, and generally available politics in at least one commonly known language. Digital technologies have been heralded for Information offered is standardised and their ability to provide new form of access proofed. They can reach numerous audiences, to cultural heritage for source communities providing them with a minimum of what a (e.g. Ngata et al. 2012; Tythacott & Arvanitis museum considers significant information. 2014; Basu 2015). Anthropologists, museum Standardisations, hence, could increase staff, and indigenous stakeholders have availability and democratise dissemination. credited the digital revolution with having Larger standardised platforms can also fostered and facilitated indigenous political easily link their catalogues to other museum struggles (e.g. Castells 1996; Gledhill 2008). databases, nationally, in larger units such as Indeed, the use of digital methods in localised Digitaltmuseum.no, or internationally in processes of cultural revitalisation, through such databases as Europeana (Wold & Ween digital archiving and exhibition projects, can this issue). Generally, with the larger digital bring unprecedented amounts of knowledge solutions, the drive to expand and connect to and information from different sources to be make all-encompassing solutions is exciting but layered together to establish new wholes (for also potentially problematic. There are issues example, see Appelt et al. this issue). Museum of ownership, as collecting and connecting Gro Ween & Nancy Wachowich

32 may in themselves be acts of appropriation. “snapshots of an otherwise interconnected Questions arise as to exactly how a story might reality” (Geismar 2013:258). be told; or more generally, who is acting on Particular kinds of information could be behalf of whom and for what purpose as well seen as missing from this process of knowledge as what conversations can be initiated and exchange, as the communicative channels by whom (Boast 2011; Boast & Enote 2013; required must be consistent with source Geismar 2013). communities’ values, epistemologies, and One could also argue that standardisation worldviews (Verran & Christie 2007; Verran of national museum exhibitions for larger et al. 2007, Srinivasan 2009a; 2009b). The audiences denies the possibility of more specific cultural values and communicative specialised or practical knowledge exchanges preferences of standardised solutions occurring, thus risking such projects becoming (Srinivasan et al. 2009a; 2009b) could sites of disjuncture for people in indigenous potentially inhibit equal partnership, if digital communities rather than sites of engagement approaches are at odds with values and (Myers 1994). Questions arise as to exactly worldviews of source communities (Verran & how a story might be told, or more generally, Christie 2007; Lyons et al. 2016). But, we want who is acting on behalf of whom, and for what to keep our optimism; digital collaborations purpose, what conversations can be initiated could also ideally transgress the divide between and by whom (Boast 2011; Boast & Enote scientific and local knowledge and hence 2013; Geismar 2013). destabilise existing knowledge hierarchies and Culturally specific approaches to online produce new knowledge of value to all parties. curatorial practice can emerge in the Then there are the heralded postcolonial framing, ordering, and classifying artefacts, initiatives, designed to bring together conservation techniques, storytelling customs, collections from particular regions such as the representation of aesthetic traditions in the Reciprocal Research Network,4 or the and attention to cultural values and etiquette Sierra Leone Heritage project.5 Several digital regarding Western modernist classificatory initiatives described in this special issue systems that favour clear distinctions position themselves in a similar postcolonial between persons and things, the natural and category, but from very different approaches. supernatural, or the tangible and intangible. To return to our comparison, outside the box Such Western epistemologies remain prominent of standardised initiatives: Skinddragter Online in online museum spaces. Artefacts and their and MAMC, both have pros and cons. One, biographies become ordered according to as an expansive digital initiative driven by a existing categories and descriptions drawn powerful museum, the other a smaller, more from an established universal reference collaborative or “grassroots” one. Technology- system. The adoption of such reference systems driven, far reaching digitisation projects inhibits museum efforts to engage indigenous such as Skinddragter Online, can establish communities as equal partners in knowledge connections between different knowledge production (Verran & Christie 2007; Verran bases, connecting GIS maps with artefacts, local et al. 2007; and Srinivasan 2009a; 2009b). As oral histories, archive documents, photographs is obvious, databases can never be more than and film (Srinivasan et al. 2009a; 2009b). Such what locally could be experienced as ad hoc platforms often involve interdisciplinary Digitalisation of crafts. Comparative approaches to Arctic fur

collaborations to produce knowledge aimed at 2012) to include photogrammetry images of 33 a wide range of viewing publics. MAMC, on some of the garments, offering online visitors the other hand, entails a more narrow range of to the site a mechanism through which to turn information, other collaborations, and focus the piece around to observe it from all angles. their efforts on a more homogenous audience The use of X-ray technology to identify stitches group. is also showcased, along with 3D technology (a mobile laser instrument called a Faro arm) that by tracing seams create a 3D model of a Skinddragter Online vs MAMC garment, which, in turn, can be broken down In 2018, three years after its launch, into 2D patterns. Finally, collaborations with Skinddragter Online remains on the front the Natural History Museum in Copenhagen page of the Danish national museum’s main have produced mass spectrometric protein webpage under “Digital Collections”. Closely sequencing of some of the fur items, allowing associated with the national museum’s long- for accurate identification of the source lasting UTIMUT project – that repatriated animals from which the garments were made. as many as 35,000 objects to the These features are however not included for National Museum and Archive in Nuuk all items. Budgetary restrictions have limited (see Gabriel & Dahl 2008) – the database these specialised features to a small number of has been promoted and upheld as a site for garments. Nonetheless, these high resolution indigenous knowledge transmission and digital camera, x-ray, photogrammetry, and 3-D repatriation. Skinddragter Online exhibits laser technologies are important because unique historic fur garments manufactured and they exemplifying the possibilities of such worn by circumpolar indigenous peoples in a high-end database, involving such state- Greenland, North America, Sápmi, and Siberia. of-the-art technologies and such synergetic Online galleries are not restricted to objects held interdisciplinary and cross-institutional scientific in Danish collections, with signature garments collaborations. also made part of the digital displays through With its focus on technological prospects partnerships with other museums, such as the and visions, Skinddragter Online has gained Cultural History Museum at the University of recognition for its ability to open channels Oslo, Norway.6 Works are displayed with an of knowledge transfer across disciplinary attention to aesthetics and art of sewing, with boundaries and between museum, the crisp clear studio-style photographic images general public, and Arctic communities. The and detailed descriptions. By making images database is available in both English and available to viewers in a much higher resolution Danish languages, and Schmidt also aspires than thumbnail images found in many to include Inuktitut for Canadian Inuit users. standard museum databases, Skinddragter As more museums have joined as partners, Online invites attention to the intricacies of the contributing images of their Arctic garments garments, such as the direction of the fur in to the database, it is envisioned that other each pattern piece, how they are sewn together languages could be added, with the objective, or the types of stiches employed. Project leader in the end, that all Arctic regions and their Anne Lisbeth Schmidt works with other staff respective fur garments could be represented. members (Jensen, Schmidt & Hjelm Petersen The scientific and ethnographic knowledge Gro Ween & Nancy Wachowich

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Fig. 1. Screenshot of the website Skinddragter Online.

produced in the course of this interdisciplinary in terms of technological focus and local and international collaboration has, not engagement. While Skinddragter Online makes surprisingly, received substantial interest use of high-tech solutions and far-reaching in Denmark and further afield resulting in academic and non-academic collaborations several academic publications (Jensen et to produce an end product of ambitious and al. 2012; Gulløv et al. 2013; Sinding 2015). substantial artefact morphology, MAMC is This celebration of skin sewing alongside the instead more locally oriented, improvisational, technologies enabling their study illustrates with an aim to foster collaborative knowledge new possibilities for collections work. In production on a number of levels (Verran so doing, museums with limited funds can & Christie 2007; Wachowich 2018). Even its not only mobilise new audiences but also connections with museum objects are more spearhead museum fundraising drives to indirect. Rather than engaging with museum ensure the perpetuation of the database. artefacts or final products in themselves, Envisioned first and foremost as a digital MAMC focuses on processes of sealskin documenting and archiving project attending sewing skills acquisition and transfer. There to local Inuit training needs, the work are strong continuities between the clothes undertaken in the Nunavut settlement of made in Mittimatalik today and artefacts Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet) (population1800) found in major ethnographic museum Arctic by Mittimatalik Arnait Miqsuqtuit Collective collections, but the garments and crafts (MAMC) finds itself on a very different end produced today are also shaped by local access of the continuum of digital interfaces, both to materials and changes in fashion. MAMC Digitalisation of crafts. Comparative approaches to Arctic fur

was established as part of a larger international and Leah and Amy Kippomee, along with 35 collaborative research project entitled Wachowich and Ween. A Romanian born UK- “Mobilising Inuit Cultural Heritage” (MICH)7 based video editor Melisa Costinea joined the which aspired to bring together Inuit and non- team later on that spring. Between 2015 and Inuit researchers, artists, and stakeholders by 2018, the collective has grown to upwards of 25 supporting research, creation, and curatorial members, with membership shifting from year activities related to a wide variety of Inuit to year in accordance with individual women’s cultural practices, with the intention of work and time commitments. advancing Northern community access to The stated purpose of MAMC is to create digital information and communication a digital archive of sealskin-processing and technologies.8 In line with the larger project’s sewing skills to act as a resource for apprentice explicit focus on issues of sustainability and seamstresses, primarily in Nunavut. The cultural revitalisation, from the onset MAMC development of high-resolution mobile phone set out to explore ’s aesthetic camera technology enabled Inuit seamstresses practices, maintaining itself primarily as a local and youth apprentices with the technological conversation, articulating Mittimatalingmiut means to collaborate together in recording Inuit needs and cultural protocol. With images and clips as “master classes” to exhibit its explicitly egalitarian structure, MAMC online. The sewing/recording sessions that attempts to recognize equally the diverse set of ensued resonated with those traditionally held knowledge and skills that the members of the in living rooms, tents, sodhouses and snow- collective bring together. houses of the past, but with the camera they MAMC emerged out of an extended series took a slightly different format. In these often- of discussions between principal investigator busy domestic spaces, children learn from anthropologist Nancy Wachowich and her observing their parents and grandparents and long-term friends and MAMC co-founders participating in the creative process. Inuit Leah Kippomee and Sheila Katsak. Wachowich women’s sewing traditionally takes place first did fieldwork in Mittimatalik (Pond amidst all kinds of other happenings in busy Inlet) in the early 1990s, collaborating in the households: children crying or playing, family autobiographical life-history recordings of members coming by, or food being prepared. three generations of Inuit women from one And so it was the case with the MAMC family. The resultant book (Wachowich 1999) recording sessions documenting this skill. The has become a valued contribution to Inuit camera was a tool alongside the scraper, the ethnography and local history and established , the needle and threat. MAMC’s ambitions long-lasting relations that, 15 years after were not only to enable the revitalisation and its publication, would enable the coming learning of sealskin sewing, but also to foster together of the collective. Once the planning a much more holistic approach to learning, and execution of the recording sessions was where the camera and eventual archive was underway, Wachowich brought Gro Ween in only one impetus for the event taking place. as a second anthropologist and camera aid for Almost all of the sessions took place exclusively two of the four recording sessions. The first, in Inuktut, and were not translated for outside February 2015, session involved two mother/ audiences. daughter teams: Sheila and Skylar Katsak For the anthropologists involved, the process Gro Ween & Nancy Wachowich

36 of witnessing and filming this set of skills for each of these sessions were passed between was a starting point for new conversations women in the room depending on the angle about a wide range of themes from human- of the shot and other considerations. Twenty- animal relations to aesthetic sensibilities, to two master classes and three longer films were intergenerational communication between produced from this first session and uploaded women, to culturally-specific forms of learning. on to an internet channel. The documentation process was also an The launching of this internet channel late explicit experiment in how to digitally engage in 2015 laid foundation for MAMC 2.0 that ran in a postcolonial Arctic, at a time when in the summer of 2016. MAMC 2.0 involved collaborative research and indigenising the Sheila Katsak and Nancy Wachowich filming internet is not just an ideal, but a requirement. but also commissioning teams of apprentice To this end, MAMC considered it’s work seamstresses/videographers to record sealskin largely as a collective endeavour and shared sewing skills using project iPods. During this creative event for all participants. Cultural MAMC 2.0 session, two young seamstresses, protocol dictates that one’s elders are not Jeannie Kigutak and Jemmima Innuarak assisted directed to or instructed. Thus, it was left to their neighbour, elder Mary Amagoalik, each seamstress to choose what would be curing sealskin and filming the process. filmed. This decision was based on materials Young mother and seamstress, Jane Singoorie, at their immediate disposal and what the worked with her husband, Eepah Ootoova, seamstress envisioned were the training needs documenting step-by-step in the living room, of the younger generation. with their four children afoot, her first attempt MAMC has had four recording sessions over at making kamiks. Sisters Sarahme Akoomalik a four-year period, each with a different shape and Regilee Ootoova demonstrated how and form. The inaugural recording session, to scrape the subcutaneous fat from fresh filmed in the winter of 2015 and dubbed sealskin, how to prepare a skin for drying, MAMC 1.0 involved three seamstresses: Ruth hanging, and stretching, how to soften a dried Sangoya, Paomee Komangapik, and Koopa skin or boot sole, and the tools necessary for Kippomee. Ruth Sangoya documented on film sealskin production. Sarahme and Regilee her instruction for Sheila Katsak and Sheila’s also held individual sessions for Sheila and 14-year-old daughter Skylar on how to make Nancy, where they demonstrated elements sealskin kamiks,9 with the three of them going of kamik making, with their granddaughters over the details of skin preparation and the beside them. Younger seamstresses Georgina different kinds of stitches. Ruth Sangoya’s Pewatoaluk (with her baby Neil in the hood neighbour, Koopa Kippomee, set about on her back) and Sheena Kasarnak both instead to demonstrate and explain the long demonstrated how to make coloured and and complicated series of processes used to beaded sealskin hair decorations. Louisa transform a raw hide from a baby seal to the Amagoalik, sewed women’s decorative mittens much valued dehaired, freeze-dried, white and sealskin zipper-pulls for the camera while sealskin called “naluaq”. And, octogenarian caring for her baby Timothy. Paomee Komangapik recorded the sewing of Skills sessions were recorded in peoples’ mittens of the kind that she sells to workers at living rooms, sometimes with seamstresses the local mine. Cameras of different types used holding babies in the hoods of their amautiqs, Digitalisation of crafts. Comparative approaches to Arctic fur

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Fig. 2. MAMC Vimeo site. on their laps or resting beside them, and and linguistic, ethical, and moral implications. sometimes with slightly older children As most of the master classes were in contributing to the process. With the emergence Inuktut, local collaborators were largely in of MAMC 3.0 and MAMC 4.0, the initiative’s control of the cultural content produced, how objectives became even more responsive and it was produced, and of how the project should organic, as new community needs emerging progress. The emphasis of skills acquisitions and knowledge gaps newly identified came to rather than on the finished product as a work shape the process. For example, one elderly of art, and the use of portable and accessible seamstress disapproving of the way younger hand-held equipment created a DIY-style people treated their footwear, called in MAMC expression. This aesthetic had the added member to film a structured lesson on how benefit of reducing the perceived threat of to dry and fold sealskin kamiks so that they outside appropriation of cultural heritage. would not rot. Collating a glossary of Inuktut In the latter stages of each production specialised sewing terms became another round, Romanian born, UK-based profes- preoccupation of local MAMC members, with sional film editor and women’s craft several weeks in the summers of 2017 and enthusiast Melisa Costinea, was an essential 2018 dedicated to the creation of an online contributor working collaboratively with dictionary of sewing terminology. Inuktut MAMC members via online messaging to recording sessions were planned and executed turn footage into masterclasses. Copies of all with elder seamstresses discussing specialised photographs and raw footage were left with linguistic terms, their pronunciation, usage, seamstresses and also stored centrally in the Gro Ween & Nancy Wachowich

38 settlement. And once Melisa had completed specialised audience groups, but it remains each round of editing, seamstresses reviewed largely directed at local practitioners of sealskin the edited master classes and provided input sewing. Online masterclass films are largely as to format and content before they were in Inuktut, and aimed at Inuit audiences. uploaded on to the internet channel. Copies of As practical masterclasses the films speak final productions were transferred on to CD- for themselves. While a new web platform is ROMs for elders without computers or internet currently under construction, the existing access, so that they could play them in their Vimeo channel is simply a long list of films. living rooms in their own time. All material Because of its focus on conversations internal on the Internet channel was also copyrighted to Nunavut sealskin sewing enthusiasts, the to MAMC, to seamstresses from Mittimatalik site is left unstructured with little explanation and their research partners. outside the actual films. This could be described While some of the clips have been made as impenetrable or difficult to navigate, as into compilations and aired in public audiences are not directed regarding how the locales,10 the internet channel has served as material should be approached. Alternatively, MAMC’s central platform for the outward this lack of ordering could be described as projection of their work. Co-founders Sheila ontologically open and allowing for many kinds Katsak and Nancy Wachowich envisioned of uses and orderings (Verran & Christie 2007). MAMC’s Vimeo channel11 as continuing the conversations between women seamstresses The many aspects of digital that started in the settlement, spurring new repatriation forms of creative expression on and off-line through the involvement of digital media. There Skinddragter Online and MAMC are initiatives are no translations or subtitles for the Inuktut that find themselves on different ends of a dialogue in the 74 online master classes. Film digital continuum. Skinddragter Online, with footage is generally edited into 10–20 minute its technological ambition and synergetic master classes, easily accessible through smart interdisciplinarity speaks to diverse audiences phones or downloadable on to hard drives for in its forging of new scientific knowledge. seamstresses who want to review a particular Organic material from Arctic fur has enabled skill repeatedly without using up their gigabyte The Danish Museum of Natural History to allowance. Updates on new productions and produce live DNA and new information for filming sessions underway are announced on the phylogenetic mapping of key Arctic species MAMC’s dedicated Facebook page. During (Sinding 2015). The photogrammetry and the MAMC’s busy recording periods, both the use of the Faro arm with its translations from Facebook and Vimeo site had as many as 1,000 3D to 2D patterns are recognised as important views per day as local participants and viewers innovations in digital museum technology shared popular posts of elder seamstresses (Jensen et al. 2012; Gulløv et al. 2013). with neighbours and friends. TheSkinddragter Online database was staged Compared to Skinddragter Online, the as an act of digital repatriation and knowledge viewing audiences for MAMC’s online exchange. It set out to follow up the work of platforms are fairly limited. The Collective’s the national museum’s UTIMUT repatriation social media work attracts attention from (Gabriel & Dahl 2008) by providing access to Digitalisation of crafts. Comparative approaches to Arctic fur

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Fig. 3. Picture of a seal skin product. Photo Gro Ween. the costumes that remained at the museum left many of these objects toxic. The new visual in the Danish capital. This is a valuable technologies employed by Skinddragter Online contribution. While institutions such as the offer the possibility of new forms of intimate Danish National Museum go to lengths to inspection. Arguably, the platform could provide visiting representatives from source provide more information than even physical communities priority access to artefacts repatriation would allow. in storage, more intimate investigations of Skinddragter Online was intended to be Arctic artefacts are still difficult: There are far more sophisticated than the average economic reasons for this, but as importantly, museum digital catalogue and also contributed the fragility of older organic material, such as significantly more information. However, Arctic fur garments, restricts certain forms of not unlike standard museum catalogues, the handling in museum storage. Past conservation structure of the database established the practices that relied heavily on pesticides, have museum as speaking to the local indigenous Gro Ween & Nancy Wachowich

40 people, being the party that determined what involved were able to find the funds needed information was relevant and how information too add their Arctic artefacts to the database. should be ordered. These decisions are, as Wang Many of the challenges experienced in describes in this issue, not uncomplicated, as association with Skinddragter Online are experienced in the negotiations involved in the common to the production of such all- making of the Gjoa Haven portal. encompassing solutions: economic restric- As all digital solutions, Skinddragter Online tions, the vast labour power necessary to make also navigated further challenges relating to its information digital, along with issues regarding size, ambition, and to its relevance to particular size of the database and its maintenance. audience groups. Its innovative features, Often expansions are planned without proper outside standardised museum solutions made consideration of such very real material aspects it complicated to upload information into it. of digital work, as is also described by Wold and The database hence became labour intensive Ween (this issue). in its production. For example, the Norwegian Material aspects of the digital also Cultural History Museum was invited to intervene in other ways. There are serious export their Roald Amundsen collection considerations involved with sharing and into Skinddragter Online, but technological downloading in places like the Arctic, where innovations such as the Faro arm were Internet connections are of a different quality. not available at the museum, and nor were Skinddragter Online with all its technical resources to include photogrammetry or even finesse was a heavy application. With high- to add new measures of fur garments. The resolution photogrammetry and 3D to 2D general availability of specialised features is patterns, it was difficult to access from outside obviously an important issue. It is a question large museum and university servers. In many of how many entries with specialised features Canadian Arctic communities, without cable a database must have to represent something connections and with very expensive solutions, more than a museum catalogue, if that is what Internet connectivity further hampers the idea it aspires to be. of access for users in source communities Returning to the digital tools, Skinddragter (Borrero 2016). Online also included issues of audience. In Another complication involves different its original form, the interface was presented understandings of cultural appropriation. in Danish and English, providing access to For many institutions, including the National residents of a number of source communities, Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen, and the along with other interested parties. As Cultural History Museum in Oslo, the general described, the database however also had an policy has been to offer open access to all its ambition to expand to other languages. For online resources. Arctic indigenous groups, Skinddragter Online to become a larger all- on the other hand, can often find themselves encompassing database for Arctic fur, especially guarding their heritage from threats of cultural for Arctic craftspeople, it was essential that appropriation. Open sharing of patterns more languages were included beyond and sewing techniques is therefore a hotly Danish and English. However, the inclusion of contested issue with many culture bearers languages was a considerable expense. In the voicing the inappropriateness of a museum, end, none of the other Scandinavian museums rather than an indigenous group, making the Digitalisation of crafts. Comparative approaches to Arctic fur

decision to invite open access. At the same time perspective on the artistry and resilience of arctic 41 Verran & Christie (2007), Were (2013), and skin sewing than that found on Skinddragter Wang, (this issue) have pointed out that source Online. Yet, even with the cultural contexts and communities might see open source as a form warm domestic scenes that MAMC masterclass of appropriation or a new act of colonialism. productions include alongside the skills Many of the issues relating to ownership training, neither does this online platform allow raised above emerged in discussions between for a “one stop shopping” in skills acquisition. partners in Skinddragter Online. Indeed, the While Skinddragter Online, scientifically question of how to approach communities speaking, was exquisite, it did not reveal the to ask for permission and determining knowledge produced or the traces of time, whom to ask remains complicated. Even if place, and subjectivity involved. And while garments from, for example, Rasmussen’s and MAMC reanimated the Arctic skin garments Amundsen’s extensive travel records could in a way that included practices of everyday be traced back to places and family groups, life (Verran & Christie 2007; Basu 2015), it would these be the only individuals one should still invites young seamstresses to consult with consider rightful owners of these vital pieces their elder teachers in offline spaces to fill in of cultural heritage? Many of the artefacts in the knowledge gaps (Wachowich 2018). Skinddragter Online are close to a hundred Neither MAMC nor Skinddragter Online are years old – determining provenance is not closed events (Verran & Christie 2007). Both always straightforward or clear. Sometimes can continue to be added to. From an outside the region where it was made is evident in the point of view, these two digital approaches garment’s design, but the camp or family that a are complementary, and together they costume came from is not. could represent a substantial contribution to When all this is said, it is important to strengthening connections between museums remember that photogrammetry and 2D and Inuit communities and to revitalise local patterns do not in themselves produce the craft traditions. actual garments. The information provided is arguably not in itself enough to create Conclusions complete copies of the artefacts. Fur must be available. It would have to be processed, cured Both interfaces this text describes are made and treated correctly. Sinew must be taken with a genuine enthusiasm for Arctic fur craft from other animals to be used for stitching, production. Both interfaces are niche products. and manufactured with an eye for the correct The engagements that each interface aspires to, thickness and softness. The exact stiches however, differ in terms of content, approaches required must be known, and they must be to knowledge production, collaboration, executed with such finesse that they hold the and the stated purpose of their knowledge pattern pieces and last. The garment must transmission. One is a techno-scientifically be assembled in the right order. This is not a oriented interdisciplinary collaboration that small task, and requires far more contextual produces new knowledge. Its focus is fur, but knowledge and training that can be acquired the technological achievements it exhibits from Skinddragter Online. (such as new uses of the Faro arm and ancient Arguably, MAMC offers an entirely different DNA production) is of relevance outside Gro Ween & Nancy Wachowich

42 of Arctic material culture circles. The other exposure could protect indigenous intellectual primarily speaks to a local audience in a property.13 New awareness that a craft or an language only available to some, with an art form actually belongs to someone could approach that takes into consideration local produce new outside awareness of cultural forms of pedagogy. meaning, the potential costs of appropriation One could argue that the shared commit- and awareness of copyright issues. Yet others ment to the documentation of Arctic fur would insist that access for members of clothing and the complementarity of the source communities to previously unavailable information produced could be an argument knowledge is more important than control over for incorporating MAMC into the Skinddragter material culture and history. Online site. This suggestion is, we stress, In the end, all these speculations are at merely hypothetical, a thought experiment. best “in progress”. As Wold and Ween have As some readers already will have recognised, described in this issue, the availability of objects such a merger could be experienced by many as to audiences in a virtual museum depend upon an act of appropriation. Embedded within and many factors, some of which are increasingly made part of a national museum’s directives, hard to predict. Skinddragter Online has the purpose of the knowledge produced in obviously offered new forms of knowledge MAMC would change, placed in a museum acquisition that bypass physical inspections. so to speak. This does however not mean that By establishing comparisons between digital MAMC avoids all appropriation issues. While interfaces created by Skinddragter Online and it’s methodology, content and display practices Mittimatalik Arnait Miqsuqtuit Collective, attempt to circumvent acts of appropriation of we set out to explore issues that arise when concern to locals in Mittimatalik, the question attuning digital interfaces to different remains whether non-local MAMC members audiences. In both, approaches to knowledge could be understood as appropriating when transmission enable particular work to be engaging in (agreed to) activities such as done. Yet, what appears necessary for some in including sections of the masterclasses in the creation of an online space, can hold for Arctic museum exhibitions.12 others complex underlying questions relating How best to attend to issues of cultural to training needs, accessibility and ownership. appropriation is, as we all know, an issue hotly Crafted forms of communication that emerge contested. One could argue that lack of digital in each of the digital interfaces need to be kept availability is the best working strategy, but apart in order to remain heterogeneous, to do then this could also prevent knowledge from their intended work and to let members of reaching younger generations. Moreover, to the audience investigate fur skin production secure a complete lack of digital exposure with an eye to their own training needs. In has become virtually impossible. Facebook this respect, our text, just as the lessons in and other social platforms are used across garment making displayed on the two sites, indigenous communities as a way of keeping remains incomplete. Audience responses to up with family members and friends. This these digital platforms have not yet taken place usage requires accepting Facebook’s ownership (Wold and Ween, this issue). Our paper thus of all photos displayed. Some argue that exists as a foundation, a basting stitch, and a greater public awareness produced by digital call for further investigations. Digitalisation of crafts. Comparative approaches to Arctic fur

Notes Transformations. Oxford: Wiley and Sons Ltd, 43 337–364. 1. Pond Inlet Womens’ Sewing Collective. Boast, R. 2011. “Neocolonial Collaboration: 2. Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Museum as Contact Zone Revisited.” Museum Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) (2013– Anthropology 34 (1), 56–70. 2017). Boast, R., & J. Enote 2013. “Virtual Repatriation: 3. Skinddragter Online was at first funded by It Is Neither Virtual nor Repatriation.” In P. F. Northern Worlds research programme. Biehl & C. Prescott. Heritage in the context of 4. rrn.community.org. Globalisation. Europe and the Americas. New 5. Sierra.Leone.Heritage.org. York: Springer, 103–113. 6. The project was financed by Nordisk Kulturfond, Borrero, R. M. 2016. Indigenous Peoples and the Knut Rasmussens Fond, and Augustinusfonden, Information Society: Emerging uses of ICTs. A and supported by the Cultural History Museum paper prepared for the First WSIS+10 Review in Oslo. Event. Paris, UNESCO. 7. The MICH principal investigator is Anna Hudson Castells, M. 1996. The Rise of Network Society. at York University, Canada. The Information Age: Economy, Society and 8. Cited from the MICH webpage. http://mich. Culture Vol. I. Cambridge, MA; Oxford, UK: info.yorku.ca. The project is funded by the Social Blackwell. Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Ess, C. & S, Jones 2004. “Ethical Decision-Making Canada (SSHRC). and Internet Research: Recommendations from 9. Soft boots, originally made from or seal the AoIR Ethics Working Committee.” In E. A. skin, traditionally worn by Inuit, Inupiat, and Buchanan (ed.). Readings in Virtual Research Yup’ik peoples. Ethics. Issues and Controversies. Hershey: 10. September-October 2017, The University of Information Science Publishing, 27–44. Aberdeen Sir Duncan Rice Library lobby, June- Feijóo, C., I. Maghiros, F. Abadie & J-L Gómez- November 2018, The Qiqiktani General Hospital Barroso 2009. “Exploring a Heterogeneous and Day Clinic waiting room, August-November Fragmented Digital Ecosystem: Mobile Content”. 2018, the Sámi University of Applied Sciences, Telematics and Informatics 26(3), 282–292. Kautokeino, Finnmark. Gabriel, M. & J. Dahl (eds.). 2008. UTIMUT: Past 11. https://vimeo.com/mamc. Heritage-Future Partnerships: Discussions on 12. See NyARKTIS.khm.uio. Repatriation in the 21st Century. Copenhagen: 13. For example, see the United Nations Declaration International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs on the Rights of Indigenous People (2007). (IWGIA). Geismar, H. 2013. “Defining the Digital, Museum.” Anthropology Review 7:1–2, 254–263. Gledhill, J. 2008. “Introduction: Anthropological Literature perspectives on Indigenous Resurgence in Basu, P. 2015. “Reanimating Cultural Heritage. Chiapas.” Global Studies in Culture and Power 15, Digital Curatorship, Knowledge Networks 483–505. and Social Transformation in Sierra.” In A.E. Gulløv, H. C., A. L. Schmidt, B. Gottlieb, K. Jensen, Coombes & R. B. Phillips. (eds.). International A. Hjelm-Petersen, & P. K. Madsen 2013. Handbooks of Museum Studies: Museum “Pels i Nord.” In P. K. Madsen & I. Wass (eds.). Gro Ween & Nancy Wachowich

44 Nationalmuseets Arbejdsmark. København: Wachowich, N. 1999. Saqiyuq: Stories from the Lives of Nationalmuseet, 64–79. Three Inuit Women. Native and Northern Series, Jensen, K., A. L. Schmidt & A. Hjelm Petersen 2012. vol. 19. Montreal: McGill-Queens University “Analysis of Traditional Historical Clothing: Press. Automated Production of a two-dimensional Wachowich, N. 2018, intimate Clips: Sealskin Sewing, Pattern.” Archaeometry 1–19. Digital Archives and the Mittimatalik Arnait Lyons, N. et al. 2016. “Sharing Deep History as Digital Miqsuqtuit Collective, Museum Anthropology Knowledge: An Ontology of the Sq’éwlets Website Review 12:2, 75–99. Project.” Journal of Social Archaeology 16(3), Were, G. 2015. “Digital Heritage in a Melanesian 359–384. Context: Authenticity, Integrity and Ancestrality Myers, F. 1994. “Culture‐making: Performing from the Other Side of the Digital Divide”. Aboriginality at the Asia Society Gallery.” International Journal of Heritage Studies 21:2, American Ethnologist 21:4, 679–699. 153–165. Ngata, W., H. Ngata-Gibson & A. Salmond 2012. “Te Ataakura: Digital Taonga & Cultural Innovation.” Journal of Material Culture 17:3, Gro Ween, D.Phil., Associate Professor, 229–244. Head of department, Keeper of the Arctic Peers L. & A. Brown 2003. Museums and Source Collections Communities. London: Routledge. [email protected] Sinding, M.-H. S. 2015. “Den grønlandske slædehunds genetiske opprinnelse og båndet til ulven”. Cultural History Museum, University of Oslo Tiddskriftet Grønland 63:4, 188–191. Box 6762, St. Olavs plass Srinivasan, R., R. Boast, J. Furner, & K. Becvar. N-0130 Oslo, Norway 2009a. “Digital Museums & Diverse Cultural Knowledges.” Information Society 25, 265–278. Turner, P. 2005. Affordance as Context. Interacting Nancy Wachowich, Ph.D., Lecturer with Computers 17:6, 787–800. [email protected] Verran, H. & M. Christie 2007. “Using/Designing Digital Technologies of Representation in Department of Anthropology Aboriginal Australian Knowledge Practices.” King’s College, University of Aberdeen Human Technology 3:2, 214–227. Aberdeen Verran, H., M. Christie B. Anbins-King, T. Van UK-AB24 3FX Weeren & W. 2007. “Designing digital knowledge management tools with Aboriginal Australians”. Digital Creativity 18:2, 129–142. Nordisk Museologi 2018 • 2–3, s. 45–59

Heritage image-making

How digital documentation makes the artefact in ethnographic museum collecting

Geoffrey Gowlland

Abstract: This article reflects on the relationships between artefacts newly collected by ethnographic museums and the digital images that illustrate such artefacts in museum archives and catalogues. Taking three examples derived from collecting activities and ethnographic fieldwork in China and Taiwan, the article reflects on the potential of images to not simply “contextualise” artefacts, but to shape the relationships that are established between museums, the makers of artefacts, and the related source communities. More specifically, through three cases it is discussed how images can: 1) come to position makers within a tradition, 2) offer solutions to issues of rights over designs, and 3) link the collected artefact to the land from which materials were gathered. In the concluding discussion, four aspects of “images of collecting” are discussed: their materiality, their role in the creation of value, risks of misinterpretation, and responsibilities involved in editing and selecting images.

Keywords: Collecting, ethnographic museums, photography, video, Taiwan, China.

In this article, I present some thoughts on the artefacts to the museum, as a video the relationship between newly collected presentation contextualising the artefacts in ethnographic artefacts and the images that an exhibition or as material for the museum accompany them to the museum based on catalogue and archives. my own experiences of collecting artefacts in Much has been written about historical two different settings, in China and in Taiwan, ethnographic collections and the conditions for two ethnographic museums, the Museum of collecting, including the relationship of Archaeology and Anthropology of the between museums and source communities University of Cambridge and the Cultural (e.g. Tythacott & Arvanitis 2014). There has History Museum of the University of Oslo. As been far less reflection on the documentation part of these collecting activities, I produced process specifically related to collecting, either images – still and video – that are related to historically or in contemporary collecting. the artefacts. These images have accompanied Documentation of collecting might include Geoffrey Gowlland

46 filming and documenting the process of charge of handling the camera and editing the making the commissioned artefacts, the footage. Artefact producers and informants moment of preparation of the materials, influence and direct our image-making (Ras- contextualising the artefact by showing it in mussen 2015). use, and the casual images of handing over the The three cases I briefly discuss here are not artefacts to collectors. This might be because, meant to serve as models or best practices but at first glance, little seems to distinguish rather to point to aspects of image-making images meant for a museum from other practices that can easily be overlooked and images that are part of ethnographic practices that can bring us to cast a second glance at and fieldwork. Such images seem to operate as other images present in museum archives. documentation that “merely” contextualises I will argue that such images, rather than the artefacts and does not have the significance passively providing a backdrop or “context” of the artefacts themselves. Yet in producing for a better appreciation of the artefacts, can such images in connection to collecting, and carry the agency of those represented and specifically commissioning artefacts, I have are generative of new relationships between become aware of elements that have led me to artefacts and people and between communities perceive them as particular kinds of images. and museums. This is because they have, as I will argue in this The theoretical point of departure of the article, a particularly complex relation to the ideas developed in this article comes from a artefacts, makers, collectors, and museums, series of articles by Marilyn Strathern (1990, which merits closer attention. 1992, 1993) that directly and indirectly address Images of collecting are arguably becoming issues of visual anthropology. In these writings, increasingly complex, and new sets of issues arise Strathern asks what we can learn from looking in the particular times in which we are living at images, whether those captured by a camera and in the interconnection of (as I see it) three or those created in the mind’s eye of witnesses phenomena. The first is increased awareness to ceremonial displays. She distinguishes of the relationships between museums and between two different conceptions of what source communities and the expressed need an image is and it’s relation to history; images for museums to modify practices based on can act as witnesses to events, where events this awareness, as discussed in anthropology are understood as chance and historical and museum studies (e.g. Peers & Brown circumstantial occurrences in time, but the 2005). The second is the growing accessibility events and images capturing these events can of image-taking technology (digital cameras also be performative (1990:29), that is, they are and smartphones), and the third, which is not just the recording of context and history related to the second, is an increased awareness leading up to an event but bring about a state on the part of the people we interact with in of affairs, reconfiguring existing relationships the field of the power of images. These three among attendants to the display, and are to be phenomena combine to create new and evaluated by the effects they have on audiences creative acts of documentation that accompany (those who participate in the performance). In artefacts. Crucially, the authorship of images of other words, images may contain events and ethnographic collecting is becoming blurred, do not need to be explained with reference even in cases in which the ethnographer is in to historical context. The power of images Heritage image-making

47

Fig. 1. Video still of artisan Ge Taozhong at work. Photo by Geoffrey Gowlland. to create social reality, rather than simply to The three illustrative cases I detail here reflect it, is echoed in later writings in visual come from my field research and collecting anthropology, significantly, in debates over activities in China and Taiwan. This means indigenous media (Turner 1992; Boyer 2006). that the images of collecting I discuss are What I take from these arguments is that it also images of ethnographic fieldwork, and can be important to consider how images do knowledge of the field provides the elements not simply provide context to events but can that allow me to analyse the images. In be generative of the effects of such events. the first, I explore how a film of an artisan Events and the images that capture them making a ceramic pot in China has shaped effectively are creative of new social realities. the value of the depicted artefact and helped Thus, I suggest that what I identify as “images position the artisan within a tradition. The of collecting” create relationships, specifically relationship with tradition is also the topic of between materials, artefacts, makers, traditions, the second example, in which I consider how communities, and museums to shape artefacts an artisan from the Paiwan people of Taiwan into significant and valuable items of heritage. has grappled with the different demands of Geoffrey Gowlland

48 the community and of the collecting museum, Chinese ceramics into a display of ingenuity, and how images have solved a major problem technique, and skill, giving a glimpse into the for him. In the third, which also addresses a origins of the artefacts on display. The artefact Paiwan artisan and artist, I look to the material one sees being made in the images is the same relations that link the collected artefact to the that was collected (fig. 2). place where art materials are gathered, and I have previously written about what images how images make this relationship material. of craft reveal about craftwork (Gowlland In concluding the discussion, I highlight four 2015a) and have discussed this particular points to consider in relation to images of video (Gowlland 2015b, 2017:12–13, 119). collecting: their materiality, creation of value, Here, I want to extend this discussion to the risk of misinterpretation, and implications of context of collection and the role images play ethnographers (in collaboration with image in collecting and accessioning the artefact. In subjects) taking the role of editors of images. my previous writings I reflected on the paradox of images of craftwork that both seem to reveal and mystify. They reveal because they bring Revealing craftwork us “behind the scenes” and let us see how an I start with a still from a video (fig. 1) from my object is produced, but they mystify because, doctoral research in 2003–2004 in China’s self- in the end, we are kept at a distance from identified “Capital of Pottery” on a particular full understanding of the making of artefacts tradition of pottery, the zisha “purple clay” with skill. In the still from the video, master pottery of the Jiangsu province, which is an Ge Taozhong looks up at me (behind the essential component of the tea ceremonies in camera) after performing a simple yet clever many parts of China. As part of my fieldwork, procedure involving unsticking a piece of clay I was a recipient of a grant from the Cambridge from the work table using a flat bamboo tool. Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA) to collect and exhibit artefacts from Fig. 2. Ge Taozhong’s finished pot “Shui Ping Hu”. the field. I was particularly interested in the Artefact in the collections of the Cambridge Museum unique techniques of production of these of Archaeology and Anthropology, accession number pots, which few people outside the area in 2004.183. Photo Geoffrey Gowlland. which they are produced would be familiar with. In this respect, it was important for me to document the making of a pot from start to finish – a process that can take several days. Therefore, when I commissioned a pot from master Ge Taozhong, I also asked to document the process of making the pot, to which he happily agreed. The images filmed and edited from close to six hours of footage to about 20 minutes of video became a key part of the semi- permanent display of the artefacts (alongside production tools) in a glass case at the MAA. The video transformed the display of items of Heritage image-making

In the image, master Ge flashes a rare smile, rather than simply giving his work practice to 49 reminding me of a magician revealing a trick. be observed. In other words, they hint at the This image captures a moment of connection agency of Ge in producing the video, subtly between the image-taker and image subject. shaping the image of himself that appears on Only on a few occasions does Ge seem to tape and pointing to his ideas about what the acknowledge my presence in the video footage. images can potentially be. In some of these moments, he actually tries to The artefact shown in the video is the hide it from the camera, while trying to get actual artefact I collected for the museum, me to understand that something interesting which creates a further complex relationship is about to happen with subtle gestures and between images of an artefact being made and without lifting his eyes from his work. This the artefact itself. One of the final moments demonstrates an important dimension of the of production of the artefact shown in the video, that, although I am behind the camera video is of Ge inscribing the base of the pot, and would eventually be in charge of editing marking it as a donation to the University of the video, Master Ge is creating the mise-en- Cambridge Museum. The link between the scène; he is performing, both to make a craft maker and product is inscribed into the clay object and as character in a film. Perhaps most (Gowlland 2017:125–42), but this inscription revealing, after just a few minutes of filming, is also etched onto the video representation Ge indicated that he had forgotten something, of the clay. Artisans producing zisha pots take left the room and returned with the shirt he is pains to enhance their fame and associate wearing in the film, which is more Chinese- an artefact with a maker. This has long been looking than the plain blue jumper he was done by inscribing the pot with the name of its wearing. Thus, he is crafting his own image at maker. A more recent approach, though a bit the same time as he is crafting the pot. outmoded today, consists in selling artefacts His self-awareness is present in the video, with a certificate containing a photograph and therefore, of all the still images I might of the maker holding the pot. The video I have chosen out of six hours of footage, this discuss here acted as a similar kind of image- is the one that is most relevant to me for the making technique that could create a strong purpose of this article. He looks up at the bond between Ge and his product, as a way camera. This is a break in the authenticity of the of indicating authenticity of provenance. images and a break from the “observational” However, for Ge, it was also a way to link genre of ethnographic film making (see him with techniques that are traditional. Ge Grimshaw 2001), which I intended to produce claimed that he was one of very few to still by witnessing the work of an artisan going use many of the techniques of the past that about his usual practice. The moments of self- have been replaced with modern tools. The awareness then make the images different video then becomes a document linking Ge than the simple documentation of the with “tradition”. In the images, for instance, making of a piece of craft. They subtly reveal he uses a tool, a hand-made wooden disc that the relationship between the ethnographer has been supplanted by the modern metal and maker. They also reveal a more complex turntable. Ge knew that these images would relationship than that observed at first glance. eventually circulate online, and beyond the Ge is directing the images being observed, interest of having them shown in a museum, Geoffrey Gowlland

50 object of contemplation, they are a “witness” (Thiemeyer 2015) to the labour and skills shown in the video. The images are more than the documentation of a process, they also transform what the object comes to stand for in the museum. One might think of the images as an intervention into the fabric of relations that is established with the collecting of an artefact. My intention in providing images of making in the museum display was to shape how museum goers appreciate artefacts on display, as products of skilled practice rather than merely as objects of contemplation. Ge was also intervening in the web of relations, creating his own mise-en-scène, presenting himself as representative of the crafting tradition.

Heritage relationship-making My next example concerns a photograph (fig. 3) illustrating the transfer of an artefact to the Fig. 3. The ethnographer and Paiwan chieftain holding Cultural History Museum (KHM) in Oslo. together two artefacts, a reretan pot decorated with a In 2013, my wife Marzia Varutti and I glass bead necklace; in the background, artisan Umass received a grant from KHM to collect artefacts Zingrur observes the proceedings. Photo Geoffrey Gowlland. from the indigenous people of Taiwan (there are now 17 recognised indigenous peoples in Taiwan; here, I focus on the Paiwan people). he was also interested in the possibility of Our idea was to create a collection of what I pointing potential purchasers of his work to think of as “heritage objects” (Clifford 2004). the video posted online. This was a time before These are artefacts produced for the main the widespread availability of digital cameras, purpose of recreating objects of heritage, and Ge did not have one himself. On a return rather than for instance use or ritual value. In visit, younger practitioners talked about how Taiwan, revitalisation of craft and art practices useful the video had been, as a unique access have sustained many political claims to cultural to the work of a master. The film I produced resilience and recognition of indigenous was perhaps the first, and still one of few, to status (Varutti 2015). Umass Zingrur (seen document the process from start to finish over in the background of the picture) might be several days. considered the father of this craft revitalisation In the museum, these images have the movement, as he was one of the first – if not potential to affect the encounter that the the first – to revive a tradition specifically as audiences have with the artefact; more than an “heritage”. He is known as the person who Heritage image-making

revived the glass bead manufacturing of the 51 Paiwan. Without going into detail, it is worth noting that this is a curious revival since glass beads that are treasures for the Paiwan were likely originally acquired through trade, rather than made by the Paiwan themselves, and Umass was probably the first Paiwan person in history to make glass1 beads. When I approached Umass with the com- missioning request, he insisted that I collect not only glass bead artefacts (fig. 4) but also two other artefacts, a decorated ceramic pot and a bronze knife. These would be made by his two sons. The suggestion made sense since all three types of artefacts are of high significance for the Paiwan and are collectively referred to as the “three treasures” of the Paiwan. Umass wanted to provide to a museum in Europe a collection that was complete in representing these three treasures. This needs some qualification; rather than three cultural treasures, these are the treasures of particular Paiwan families, the mamazangilan, often translated as “chieftains” in the anthropological literature. Paiwan society is made up of two kinds of people, the people of the earth and people of the sun; the mamazangilan are the descendants of the daughter of the sun, though they can lose Fig. 4. Chieftain glass bead necklace by Umass their status through intermarriage. Chieftain Zingrur. Artefact in the collections of the Cultural History Museum in Oslo, accession number families have certain rights to names, house UEM49471. Photo Kirsten Jensen Helgeland. names, and the use of certain designs in decorating their persons or houses. Artefacts with representations of the sun for instance is, and so are his sons (because they are the can only be used by chieftains, and the bronze offspring of one mamazangilan parent). At knife was in the past an artefact reserved for the same time, Umass is presenting himself the chieftains for ritual purposes. as a person who is in a unique position to This background on Paiwan society and create with the help of members of his family material culture is important for my discussion all three treasures of the mamazangilan. It because questions of rights to designs presented is not an issue for him to create artefacts of Umass with an issue that needed to be resolved reserved use by mamazangilan, as long as the for him to create artefacts for the museum. request is made by a mamazangilan. However, Umass is not mamazangilan, but his wife in this case he had received a request from a Geoffrey Gowlland

52 Norwegian museum. He could have produced become representative of the Paiwan people in commoner artefacts, but this did not fit with a distant museum. his plan of providing all three Paiwan treasures Images were significant in this transfer that would represent the Paiwan people in a of artefacts. When we agreed on a date to Norwegian museum. pick up the artefacts, Umass insisted that we Paiwan artisans and artists are confronted should take part in a gathering to celebrate with similar issues all the time. They produce the transfer. On the day, we met with a half- artefacts for sale to Paiwan and non-Paiwan dozen individuals, all of whom turned out to people alike, and glass beads are notably sold be mamazangilan. Not only were photographs all over Taiwan as jewellery. What happens taken during the ceremony organised by when restricted designs are up for sale? One Umass, but the ceremony seems to have been of my main interlocutors, a Paiwan artist, once staged for photographs (my camera was one of characterised the situation he and fellow artists several used by different individuals present to and artisans encountered as “selling taboo” take the same images from different angles). using the Paiwan word palisi meaning the laws For instance, the mamazangilan person who that regulate behaviour, including the rights to transferred the artefacts to me came in wearing use and display certain designs. The perceived ordinary clothing but was given Paiwan problem is not so much that cultural artefacts clothing for the photographs. We posed for are being introduced into the market economy the cameras, staying still, looking in turn into and sold to non-Paiwan people, but that the lenses of the different cameras that were artists who might have certain rights over the pointed at us. In the background, a banner designs, for instance if they are mamazangilan announcing the event, prepared by Umass’s themselves, are taking the liberty to sell these wife and workshop workers earlier that day, designs to Paiwan people who do not have announced that this was a ceremony for the such rights. Paiwan purchasers in turn claim transfer of the Paiwan three treasures to the that because they bought the artefacts from museum of Oslo. This was used as backdrop to those who have the rights to the designs, they the staging of pictures and was captured in the are justified to use and display them. images including the one shown here. Umass wanted to transfer mamazangilan The images are thus not just contextual to artefacts to a foreign museum, but he needed to the artefact, and they do not just highlight address this “selling taboo” issue. His solution the relationship between maker and artefact was fairly straightforward. He arranged for the (as in my first case). They are essential to the artefacts to be handed over, not by himself, possibility of collecting the artefact in the but by a member of the most important first place, and in addition, to creating the mamazangilan family who, in effect, took the body of artefacts as “three treasures” because decision to allow passing on the mamazangilan they highlight or even arguably create the artefacts to KHM. This legitimised the transfer relationship with the mamazangilan, who of otherwise restricted artefacts to a museum alone can decide on how the designs embodied far from the Paiwan world. This is arguably in the artefacts can be used. We often think of also what made the artefacts “heritage”, as artefacts as being finished once the maker stops the artefacts were extracted from the circle of working on them, but they might continue to rights and regulations restricting designs to be formed through ritual and ceremony (see Heritage image-making

Venkatesan 2015; Rasmussen 2015). Digital rights over representations of the myth, given 53 images capturing such events can be agentive that one of the characters represented in the in creating new relationships between artefacts carving is his direct ancestor. and people (c.f. Ngata et al. 2012). A day after Esai accepted my request, he came to find me, asking if the carving could be made of a combination of slate and wood Materialising heritage (the slate would be carved with the wood The third case comes from the same collection acting as a stand). The ensuing conversations of artefacts in Taiwan. It also concerns an about the significance of slate for the Paiwan artefact from the Paiwan people, though from would change my research and made me a different settlement (and the main field site much more attentive to this material. I was during my research at Rinari/Dashi, Pingtung already aware of some of the uses of slate for county). I have been in awe of the wood the Paiwan. Slate is a significant material of the carvings of artist Cemelesai (Esai) Takivalit Paiwan and the neighbouring Rukai, and their since the first time I saw them in 2011. When slate houses are iconic. They have long been I knew that I had some budget to constitute an object of fascination by colonial powers, a collection, two years later, I immediately evidenced for instance by reconstructions of thought of approaching him with a request slate houses in city parks in the Japanese era to produce a carving for KHM’s collections. and, more recently, by the inclusion of several What I did not quite realise at the time is slate houses in Taiwan’s national Indigenous how knowledgeable Esai is about his culture Park. However, Esai would further point out and people, and he would soon become one the many culturally significant uses of slate – of my main interlocutors in my ethnographic in the past for tombs, terracing fields, building research. I was thrilled when he accepted dry walls, seating inside and outside houses, my request to produce a wood carving to be and drying vegetables in the sun – and the collected by the museum. I did not give any combination of slate with wood. He pointed specific directives, except one of size (it had out the complementarity of the two materials to be relatively easily transported to Oslo). and how a slate house cannot be built without His immediate reaction was to interpret this wooden beams. Yet few slate houses are still request as a carving that would represent the being built outside of tourist attractions, as they Paiwan in Norway and that would establish are being replaced with concrete buildings. a bridge between the two countries. He soon Esai’s resulting carving has cultural and decided to carve the representation of one of heritage significance for the Paiwan for the key Paiwan myths. The completed carving the myth it represents. However, it is also shows two mythical brothers who come a heritage object for the materials it uses, across a mysterious clay pot in the mountains. the combination of wood and slate. For this According to the myth, after nine months, the reason, Esai felt it was necessary to show me pot would give birth to the daughter of the and have me document the collection and sun (and ancestor of the mamazangilan). I preparation of the slate to be used in the should add a quick note that Esai avoided his carving. For the purpose of this article, I am own “selling taboo” issue in the choice of the interested in the few minutes of video footage myth he represented in the carving. He has and photographs (fig. 5) that I collected Geoffrey Gowlland

54 documenting the preparation of the slate. The fact that Esai himself suggested documenting slate preparation shows how, in this case, the images were also directed to some significant extent by the maker, despite the anthropologist actually holding the camera. The images of slate preparation give a new dimension to the collected artefact. It can induce one to see beyond the surface of carved designs and beyond what is represented to appreciate the material of the artefact, its materiality, and the origins of the materials in the mountains of Taiwan. We get a sense of the lives of materials (Ingold 2007) and their trajectories and histories before they become a cultural artefact. In the video footage, we see Esai looking around the river bed for a suitable piece of slate. The Paiwan distinguish between male and female slate depending on the relative strength or softness of the material, and within this basic two-fold division, they name different qualities of strength or softness. Esai needed to find a slate that would be of the ideal softness to be carved. After Esai finds an Fig. 5. Cemelesai Takivalit preparing a piece of slate in interesting slab of slate, he prepares it by slicing preparation for carving. Photo Geoffrey Gowlland. it lengthwise to obtain two thinner slabs, using metal plates that he hammers into the sides of the slate slab until it separates into two sheets. although not strictly correct, it is not entirely In the images we see the place where out of place to use a word from the Pacific, slate comes from, and we can appreciate the “taboo”, as a translation for palisi. Many areas connection between a “cultural” artefact and the of the mountains and in human settlements “natural” world. However, nature and culture are considered palisi, which implies that they are not separate in such a way; the Paiwan live call for respect and adequate behaviours on the in a landscape that includes the settlement part of passers-by. For some areas, this means and is shaped by the forces of ancestors and that one should avoid them entirely. For other the mountains. Before travelling to the river palisi areas, one should make an offering when bed, Esai had explained other things about approaching or simply act respectfully and not this particular area. River beds are often make loud noises or rash movements. Before considered palisi, a word translated as “taboo” reaching the riverbed shown in these images, in the academic literature. This is the same Esai had explained that, in the past, it was term referred to above, in the case of Umass. inhabited by a dangerous red-eyed spirit. Slate The Paiwan are Austronesian people, and thus does not simply come from “nature”, but Heritage image-making

from specific places where powerful and often the material is significant. It is a piece of the 55 dangerous forces are at play. mountains that are the ancestral lands of When Esai finished preparing the slate, as the Paiwan. The metal tool, last seen in the shown in the video footage, he spent a long filmed images, might have been the necessary time looking around for one of his tools. I exchange item for a piece of material to be helped search around the one spot where he brought from a palisi area to a distant land. The had been working, but it was nowhere to be video image, lighter to carry back, connects seen. He soon abandoned the search, and we the Paiwan to Oslo and connects the forces went back to his car when he explained that that animate the Taiwanese mountains to an we should not have looked too attentively ethnographic museum. for it and that perhaps it had been taken in exchange for the slate we had just taken from Conclusion: Digital-material that riverbed. relations The video shows where the artefact comes from, it highlights, reinforces, or recreates A lot more could be said on each case, but a link between a cultural, carved object and hopefully, the quick sketch about three the natural place it comes from. However, we individual snapshots and their relationship to can also see the mountains and the river bed artefacts and to people can support my point where the slate comes from in the way that a that “images of collecting” are more than just Paiwan might perceive it, as places that are images of collecting. I would make four general not just “nature” in general but are made up remarks about my discussion of the images of particular areas that one comes to know above and across cases to start sketching what for the resources they offer but also by the we could think of as a theory of such “images phenomena or dangers associated with them. of collecting”. Although not explicit in the footage because, First, the fact that these images accompany when talking to the camera, Esai is talking in material artefacts might make us more attentive technical terms about slate preparation, the to the materiality of digital images. I suggest video connects the artefact with the forces of that we need to think of images of collecting the mountains, the earthquakes that loosen as artefacts themselves, albeit particular kinds rocks, the torrential rains that precipitate them of artefacts. Their digital nature does not into riverbeds, and the spiritual forces that make them “immaterial” insofar as they need animate these places. More than a connection computer hardware to exist. Nevertheless, to a source community, the artefact might well they are certainly not material in the same be an object of exchange with the spirits of the sense as the artefacts. We might say that their mountains. Images that accompany the piece materiality is relational (Hui 2012) because enforce the connection and can bring those they literally exist as relations between bits, curious about the artefact to look beyond the between 0s and 1s stored electronically in carved and meaningful surface to the life of the hardware in distributed locations. They can material from which it is made. travel not as “stuff” but as relations, and as they The artefact (fig. 6) was much heavier than travel, they can accrue a biography (Kopytoff the small wooden carving I originally planned 1986). Materially, they are thus ontologically to bring back. Nonetheless, the weight of different from the artefacts they accompany Geoffrey Gowlland

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Fig. 6. Slate carving on wooden stand by Cemelesai Takivalit. Artefact in the collections of the Cultural History Museum in Oslo, accession number UEM49468. Photo Kirsten Jensen Helgeland.

but are not “immaterial”. Digital images are of people and images of things the pot and its relational in other ways. In museum catalogues, maker in the first case I discussed, the pot and they relate to other digital objects, be it particular Paiwan families in the second, and a descriptions of artefacts or catalogue entries piece of slate and the spirits of the mountains and categories. These establish a relationship in the third. between the digital materials of catalogues and My second point concerns the role of the materials of artefacts. However, we have museums in creating value. It is perhaps safe seen also that digital images are particularly to say that ethnographic museum collections powerful in establishing relations between increasingly involve the commissioning of things and people (Ngata et al. 2012). Artefacts artefacts. This is in part a recognition that, might have a strong relationship to a people or even though contemporary artisans and artists individuals; yet, this relation might be unstable. from source communities might be producing Museums might miscategorise an artefact, or very different artefacts from those of the as in the past, curators might not think that it past, they are ensuring a certain continuity of needs attribution to an individual maker. An material cultural practices. It also is an ethical image has the power of juxtaposition (Thomas response to issues relating to the collections 2010), of creating relations between images of the past, issued from unequal relations Heritage image-making

of power between colonising museums and their image being carried with the artefacts. 57 colonised people (Brown & Peers 2005). In the They also appear to have thought about the many “art worlds” (Becker 1982, Myers 2002) potential power of images. Increasingly, the of indigenous arts worldwide, museums play people we collect artefacts from are themselves a non-negligible role, influencing through producers of images, made possible by the commissioning and collecting the value of increased availability of image-capturing art and crafts items (Varutti 2015). Just as in devices and platforms – notably Facebook – for contemporary art, where the artist needs the their distribution. Although the ethnographer art critic to gain recognition and to provide is the person with the illusory power of editing, an interpretation of the works that will serve informants and makers are skilled editors of to shape the value of the material objects what is given to the camera lens to capture, produced, the anthropological museum creates that is, what is given to see to imagined future value by providing a context to artefacts, at audiences. In this respect, images take on a times giving a voice to source communities in different status than contextualising devices. interpreting them. For artists, having artefacts They are the agency of the maker in shaping in the collections of museums plays a role in what the artefacts are. As in the second of my their own fame-building activities. cases, it appears that, in creating a ceremony My third point concerns the risks of that could be captured on digital sensors (I misinterpretation. Through documentation, we almost wrote “on film”), Umass transformed are making knowledge about the artefact and the objects of traditional power into heritage “context” of this artefact accessible. This “context objects, extracting them from the rights of material” interacts with the “contextualised” (the specific families to allow them to become part artefacts) in more complex ways than are first of the collections of a foreign museum. evident. As part of the contextualisation efforts My fourth point concerns the power of of museums, images are noteworthy. Unlike text, editing. As producers of images, anthropologists images leave room for multiple interpretations and museum professionals edit images. This (Edwards 1997, Pink 2007). Museums tend to involves literal editing in the case of video dislike over-interpretation. For example, text footage. I have previously (Gowlland 2015b) is kept at a minimum in museum catalogues discussed some aspects of editing of the (as opposed to lengthy academic articles) and first images I discuss here and some specific even more so as labels in museum exhibitions challenges that I encountered in editing a (curators tend to assume that visitors have film showing craft processes (and necessarily dreadfully short attention spans). Images are leaving out crucial aspects of skilled practice open interpretation and, in that respect, have for the benefit of viewer comprehension). a particular affinity to artefacts, which are However, still images are also edited, if only also open to interpretation. This openness by selecting those deemed representative can represent a risk for the maker, namely and discarding the ones that are not. Editing having the artefacts misunderstood. Images is a process of exclusion, removing what we such as the ones discussed above can be think is not necessary to show, to get to the considered actions on the part of the artists essence of what we think is important to show. or artisans on this risk of misrecognition or In the three sets of images I have discussed misinterpretation. Makers are self-aware of here, there is a blurred and not immediately Geoffrey Gowlland

58 apparent sharing of the editing work. I am not us to revisit images, including the images the only editor of images, all three makers – in ethnographic museum archives taken by the potter Ge Taozhong, bead-maker Umass explorers and collectors of the past, to reflect Zingrur, and carver Cemelesai Takivalit – are not on what is represented in them but what also acting as editors (Gowlland 2017:143–65). kind of objects these images are, what kind of In their own way, they have selected what is performances they contain, what the effects of to be framed, shown, and concealed from these performances are, and what has been left view. Makers are editing in a different way, by or edited out of them. selecting and discarding aspects of their work to reveal other aspects, for instance revealing Notes relationships contained but invisible in the artefact (Strathern 1992) – relationships with a 1. These are actually not or are no longer made of tradition, with a people, with specific families, glass but use a ceramic formula developed by and with museums. They are also editors of Umass. their culture – pointing to what is important to know and to be seen. One might give a thought References to what and who might be absent from these edited works. First, perhaps those artists and Becker, Howard S. 1982. Art Worlds. Berkeley: artisans who were not given a chance by the University of California Press. museum collector to have their work collected Boyer, Dominic. 2006. “Turner’s anthropology of and to have their own chance at shaping how media and its legacies.” Critique of Anthropology their people are represented in a museum. 26:1, 47–60. DOI: 10.1177/0308275X06061483 There have never been so many images of Clifford, James. 2004. “Looking several ways: heritage. There have never been so many images Anthropology and native heritage in .” and so many possibilities to capture, store, Current Anthropology 45:1,5–30. DOI: and process them and to create associations 10.1086/379634 with other images and digital objects. There Edwards, Elizabeth. 1997. “Beyond the boundary: A have never before been so many creators of consideration of the expressive in photography images. The images we take in the field might and anthropology.” In Howard Morphy have already been taken by tourists or by our & Marcus Banks (eds.) Rethinking Visual informants themselves or may have been Anthropology. New Haven, CT: Yale University posted on YouTube and shared via Facebook. Press, 53–80. For these reasons, images of collecting might Gowlland, Geoffrey 2015a. “Imaging/imagining seem relatively unremarkable, as there might craftwork.” Visual Anthropology 28:4, 267–276. be little that distinguishes them from the DOI: 10.1080/08949468.2015.1052305 images produced by others. Nonetheless, this is Gowlland, Geoffrey 2015b. “Unpacking craft skills: what makes them remarkable; they are images What can images reveal about the embodied that we might not think twice about yet convey experience of craft?” Visual Anthropology 28:4, the agency of the persons represented in them 286–297. DOI: 10.1080/08949468.2015.1052324 to shape at a distance both the artefacts and Gowlland, Geoffrey 2017. Reinventing Craft in how audiences might encounter them. This China: The Contemporary Politics of Yixing Zisha remarkable unremarkableness might lead Ceramics. Wantage: Sean Kingston Publishing. Heritage image-making

Grimshaw, Anna 2001. The Ethnographers Eye: Ways Strathern, Marilyn 1993. “One-legged gender.” Visual 59 of Seeing in Anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge Anthropology Review 9:1, 42–51. DOI: 10.1525/ University Press. var.1993.9.1.42 Hui, Yuk 2012. “What is a digital object?” Thiemeyer, Thomas 2015. “Work, specimen, witness: Metaphilosophy 43:4, 380–95. DOI: How different perspectives on museum objects 10.1111/j.1467-9973.2012.01761.x alter the way they are perceived and the values Ingold, Tim 2007. “Materials against materiality.” attributed to them.” Museum and Society 13:3, Archaeological Dialogues 14:1, 1–16. DOI: 396–412. 10.1017/S1380203807002127 Thomas, Nicholas 2010. “The museum as method.” Kopytoff, Igor 1986. “The cultural biography of Museum Anthropology 33:1, 6–10. DOI: things: Commoditization as process.” In Arjun 10.1111/j.1548-1379.2010.01070.x Appadurai (ed.) The Social Life of Things: Turner, Terence 1992. “Defiant images: The Kayapo Commodities in Cultural Perspective. Cambridge: appropriation of video.” Anthropology Today 8:6, Cambridge University Press, 64–91. 5–16. DOI: 10.2307/2783265 Myers, Fred 2002. Painting Culture: The Making of Tythacott, Louise and Kostas Arvanitis 2014. an Aboriginal High Art. Durham, NC: Duke Museums and restitution: New practices, new University Press. approaches. Farnham: Ashgate. Ngata, Wayne, Hera Ngata-Gibson, and Amiria Varutti, Marzia 2015. “Crafting heritage: Artisans Salmond 2012. “Te Ataakura: Digital Taonga and and the making of indigenous heritage in cultural innovation.” Journal of Material Culture contemporary Taiwan”. International Journal 17:3, 229–244. DOI: 10.1177/1359183512453807 of Heritage Studies 21:10, 1036–49. DOI: Peers, Laura & Alison Brown, 2003. Museums and 10.1080/13527258.2015.1050055 Source Communities: A Routledge reader. London: Venkatesan, Soumhya 2015. “After the event: Video Routledge. and its potential for uncovering information.” Pink, Sarah 2007. Doing Visual Ethnography: Images, Visual Anthropology 28:4, 298–307. DOI: Media and Representation in Research. London: Sage. 10.1080/08949468.2015.1052326 Rasmussen, Anders Emil 2015. “Images as things: Photographing and filming kastom in Papua New Guinea.” Visual Anthropology 28:4, 336–350. DOI: Geoffrey Gowlland, Ph.D., Honorary Research 10.1080/08949468.2015.1052325 Fellow Strathern, Marilyn 1990. “Artefacts of history: Events [email protected] and the interpretation of images.” In Jukka Siikala (ed.) Culture and History in the Pacific. Helsinki: Cultural History Museum Transactions of the Finnish Anthropological University of Oslo Society, 25–44. P.O. Box 6762 Strathern, Marilyn 1992. “The decomposition of an St. Olavs plass event.” Cultural Anthropology 7:2, 244–254. N-0130 Oslo Norway Nordisk Museologi 2018 • 2–3, s. 60–72

Femte Thuleekspedition – mod nye fællesskaber

Martin Appelt, Anne Mette Jørgensen, Christian S. Pedersen, Pernille G. Feldt & Jakob R. Wang

Abstract: Since 2014, the National Museum of Denmark has collaborated with the Canadian organisations Kitikmeot Heritage Society (Cambridge Bay, Nunavut) and Geomatics & Cartographic Research Centre at Carleton University to make materials from the Inuinnait () area collected during the 5th Thule Expedition (1921–1924) digitally available firstly to people in Cambridge Bay, and secondly to a wider public. The ambition is now to make the totality of the 5th Thule Expedition material digitally available through the so-called Tumisiut- project, in order to integrate it into a wider framework of a new Nordic curatorial and research collaboration around Arctic and Sub-Arctic collections. Pivotal aspects of these collaborations are discussions on various domains of ownership rights such as “world heritage”, “cultural rights”, and “copyright”. The initial steps have recently been taken by the National Museum of Denmark and the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo.

Keywords: Sub-arctic and Arctic collections, Nordic collaboration, The 5th Thule Expedition, ownership rights, source communities.

I 2014 modtog Nationalmuseet en invitation de mange genstande er indsamlet iblandt.1 fra det canadiske Kitikmeot Heritage Society Det arbejde opfattes som centralt for at ska- (KHS) om at medvirke til et samarbejde om be et fundament, der gør dem istand til at tilgængeliggørelse af museets materialer fra imødegå de politiske, sociale og økonomiske den såkaldte Femte Thuleekspedition (1921- udfordringer, de står overfor. Nationalmuse- 1924). Ekspeditionen gik gennem det område, et har igennem en årrække ønsket at skabe hvor KHS har hjemme, i Cambridge Bay, på en fuld digital tilgængeliggørelse af det om- Victoria Island i Nunavut, og Nationalmuseets fattende fotografiske, etnografiske og arkæo- arktiske samlinger er en helt afgørende kilde til logiske materiale, som er indsamlet i arktisk disse og andre inuitters historie. Canada, Alaska og Sibirien. Materialet er af KHS er en lokalt forankret institution, som særlig betydning for oprindelsessamfundene, igennem en længere årrække og i en række og derfor udgør deres nutidige efterkommere forskellige formater har udført kulturarvsar- naturligvis essentielle samarbejdspartnere og bejde blandt efterkommerne af de mennesker, målgrupper for publiceringen. Henvendelsen Femte Thuleekspedition – mod nye fællesskaber

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Fig. 1. Det tætte samarbejde mellem nationalmuseerne i Nuuk og København har blandt andet resulteret i pro- duktionen af fire grafiske noveller, som i dag anvendes i folkeskoleundervisningen i hele Grønland. Kunstneren Nuka K. Godtfredsens enestående streg og fortælleevner er i de fire album kombineret med historierne fra årtiers kulturhistorisk forskning, og udgivet i samarbejde med det det grønlandske Undervisningsmiddelsforlaget, Ilinniusiorfik, og den grønlandske avis Atuagagdliutit. Den konkrete scene udspiller sig for 1000 år siden ved en af de centrale fiskepladser i det sydvestlige Victoria Island på et sted, folk fra Cambridge Bay også i dag fisker. Kunstner: Nuka K. Godtfredsen. Copyright: Nationalmuseet & Ilinniusiorfik. fra KHS er derfor en særdeles kærkommen af repatrieringsprocessen har de to national- anledning til at prioritere dette arbejde. KHS museer i fællesskab, bl.a. i tæt samarbejde med fremstår som en stærk partner og har allerede, forskellige lokalmuseer, over flere årtier gen- i samarbejde med Geomatics and Cartograp- nemført en række arkæologiske forsknings- hic Research Centre ved Carleton University og formidlingsprojekter og flere feltskoler for udarbejdet en overbevisende digital platform både gymnasie-elever og universitets-stude- (fig. 1).2 rende. Andre eksempler fra de seneste år, om Nationalmuseet har omfattende og langvari- end af en ganske anden karakter, er de såkaldte ge erfaringer med samarbejder med en række Ghana-, Tranquebar- og Serampore- initiati- oprindelsessamfund. Det mest prominente ek- ver, hvor fokus særligt var på den arkitektoni- sempel er repatrieringsprocessen, som foregik ske kulturarv (f.eks. Jørgensen 2014, Fihl 2017, i samarbejde med Grønlands Nationalmuse- Wolff et al. 2017). I et vist omfang har museet um og Arkiv og forløb over 20 år (f.eks. Grøn- også samarbejdet med medkuratorer fra op- now & Lund 2008). Parallelt og i forlængelse rindelsessamfund, eksempelvis i forbindelse Martin Appelt, Anne Mette Jørgensen, Christian S. Pedersen, Pernille G. Feldt & Jakob R. Wang

62 med udstillingen Edderkoppekvindens spind digitale repræsentationer af genstande bruges (Gabriel 2014, 2016). til at reflektere over, erindre eller genskabe en Som de fleste større museer i verden har Na- materiel og immateriel kultur i regionen, der tionalmuseet de senere år investeret omfatten- har været truet af kulturel appropriation og de ressourcer i at digitalisere samlingerne un- glemsel. Hovedkurateringen af atlasset ligger der overskriften Det digitale Nationalmuseum. hos KHS, mens Nationalmuseets forsknings- Hovedparten af det digitaliserede materiale til- mæssige nysgerrighed er en anerkendt del af gængeliggøres i høj opløsning på museets plat- projektet, som åbner op for både analogt og di- form Samlinger-online.3 De udgives her under gitalt feltarbejde i ekspeditionens fodspor. en variant af Creative Commons-licenser, som Samarbejdet er samtidig for Nationalmuseet gør det muligt for brugerne at anvende de fleste blevet til et eksplorativt udviklingsprojekt, der af billederne efter eget ønske, herunder også til på mange måder stiller spørgsmålstegn ved de kommercielle formål.4 Denne form for tilgæn- kategorier, museet tænker sit virke igennem. geliggørelse er i udgangspunktet en traditionel Denne artikel vil, gennem en praksis-nær be- envejskommunikation fra en privilegeret insti- skrivelse af projektet, diskutere de problemstil- tutionel position, men intentionen bag brugen linger og muligheder for at nytænke den mu- af CC-licensering er dog en demokratisering seumsetnografiske praksis, som udspringer af af adgangen til kulturarven, hvor brugerne selv samarbejdet og de forskellige forståelser af be- kan anvende det tilgængelige materiale i den greber som ”digitalt” og ”kulturarv”, der sættes form og til det formål, hun/han måtte finde re- i spil. Hvordan kan vi således sætte begreber levant. På Samlinger-online har brugeren mu- på digitaliseringen og dens nye ”digitale gen- lighed for at tilføje informationer til de publi- stande”? Hvilke nye betydninger kan den digi- cerede billeder i form af geodata og emneord, tale kuratering tilføje de repræsenterede gen- og dermed kan billederne i et begrænset om- stande? Og i hvilken forstand kan man forstå fang blive gjort til genstand for en crowd-sour- digitaliseringen som en ny måde at forhandle cing af en ikke defineret offentlighed. betydninger af kulturarv mellem museum og Nationalmuseets erfaringer er beskedne i oprindelsessamfund på? forhold til internationale digitale samarbej- Ved siden af disse begrebslige spørgsmål der, hvor tilgængeliggørelsen er rettet mod et føjer sig en række spørgsmål om ressourcer, afgrænset samfund. Invitationen fra KHS gi- drift af projektet og kontrol og ejerskab til de ver afsæt til at opnå praktiske erfaringer, som digitale objekter. Samarbejdet giver anledning vi kan anvende i fremtidige lignende projek- til overvejelser over, hvilke publikum et natio- ter, og et vigtigt incitament til dialoger om nalt museum først og fremmest skal servicere, metodiske og teoretiske præmisser for disse om Nationalmuseets internationale ansvar, og samarbejder. Nationalmuseet og de to canadi- et heraf afledt spørgsmål om hvilke sponsorer, ske partnere er nået frem til et fælles mål: At der vil sikre samarbejdets finansielle grundlag? udvikle og berige det digitale atlas over det af Særlige problemkomplekser gælder de lov- Femte Thuleekspeditionen indsamlede materi- givningsmæssige og etiske aspekter for rettig- ale fra Kitlineq (Kobber inuit) –regionen med hedshavere og andre interessenter i projektet. de samlinger og informationer, som huses i en Spørgsmål om kulturelle rettigheder og ju- række danske institutioner og i ældre analo- ridiske rettigheder – som blandt andet copy- ge publikationer. For KHS vil de publicerede right – står i visse situationer i direkte mod- Femte Thuleekspedition – mod nye fællesskaber

sætning til et generelt ønske om, at museer og onsdeltageres publikationer og utallige senere 63 andre offentlige myndigheder er transparente publikationer. Vi skal i det følgende derfor kun og tilgængeliggør deres ressourcer digitalt, fremhæve enkelte pointer, der sætter rammen gerne uden begrænsninger. Spørgsmål om for det indeværende projekt. samlingernes tilgængelighed bliver spændt ud Udkastet til ekspeditionens format blev mellem et universalistisk tankesæt og en for- formuleret allerede i 1910 (Rasmussen 1910), ståelse af kulturelle rettigheder, der henviser under direkte indtryk af Knud Rasmussens til diskussioner om de historiske omstændig- oplevelser og aktiviteter i Thule-området, heder, hvorunder de etnografiske samlinger hvor Thule (Handels-) Station blev etableret kom til Nationalmuseet. I visse tilfælde giver samme år. Det videnskabelige udgangspunkt samlingerne kun mening, hvis man forstår og hovedargument var at søge ”eskimokultu- dem inden for rammerne af datidige asymme- rens” oprindelse med afsæt i den ”Ur-eskimo- triske magtforhold mellem indsamlerne og de iske” levevis, som Rasmussen mente havde sin grupper af mennesker, genstandene indsamle- oprindelse i Rensdyr-eskimoerne på Barren des i blandt. Endelig accentuerer samarbejdet Grounds i det centrale canadiske Arktis, og et behov for samtaler om, hvordan de digitale derfor bedst kunne studeres her (Rasmussen gengivelser stiller sig til analoge og sensoriske 1921:59). Inspirationen kom direkte fra geo- erfaringer og oplevelser? grafen Hans Peter Steensbys afhandlingOm De mange dialoger internt på Nationalmu- eskimokulturens oprindelse: En etnografisk og seet, med KHS og Geomatics & Cartograp- antropogeografisk Studie, der var udkommet få hic Research Centre, og ikke mindst med en år inden (Steensby 1905). række danske og nordiske partnere, har ført til sammensatte den viden- skabelsen af det såkaldte ”Tumisiut-projekt”. skabelige del af ekspeditionsholdet således, at Med projektet er det en ambition at skabe et han selv havde hovedansvaret for de folklori- fællesnordisk forum, der på den ene side har til stiske undersøgelser, mens Kaj Birket-Smith hensigt at skabe et fuldstændigt overblik over blev ansat til at foretage etnografiske undersø- de etnografiske og arkæologiske samlinger gelser og Therkel Mathiassen de arkæologiske. fra Arktis, der findes på de nationale museer Birket-Smith og Mathiassen var begge elever i Norge, Sverige, Finland og Danmark. På den af Steensby (Gulløv 2015) og havde dermed anden side er det en ambition, at der inden for særlige forudsætninger for videnskabeligt at rammerne af det nordiske samarbejde sker en undersøge spørgsmålet om den ”Ur-eskimoi- fælles kompetenceopbygning og udvikles en ske” oprindelse. vifte af best-practices for samarbejde om di- Peter Freuchen fungerede som ekspeditio- gital deling af samlinger med oprindelsessam- nens næstkommanderende. Han var hoved- fundene. ansvarlig for ekspeditionens logistik og havde videnskabeligt ansvar for de biologiske under- søgelser. Ekspeditionen omfattede desuden en Femte Thuleekspedition og dem, række deltagere, hvis opgaver var afgørende de mødte som tolke, sekretærer, slædeførere, syersker Planerne for og gennemførelsen og resultater- med videre. Det gjaldt Jacob Olsen fra Vest- ne af Femte Thuleekspedition er særdeles vel- grønland, Arnarulúnguaq, Arqioq, Arnánguaq, beskrevet både gennem de danske ekspediti- Nasaitdlorssuarssuk, Aqataq og Qavigârssuaq Martin Appelt, Anne Mette Jørgensen, Christian S. Pedersen, Pernille G. Feldt & Jakob R. Wang

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Fig. 2. Ulig de mange ekspeditioner til havs gik 5 Thule ekspeditionen over land, med hundeslæder. Foto Leo Hansen. Copyright: Nationalmuseet.

(alle fra Avanersuaq). Endelig inkluderede giver et fuldt overblik over de genstande og holdet forfatteren Helge Bangsted og fotogra- videnskabelige prøver, som ekspeditionen fen Leo Hansen (Mathiassen 1946:12). donerede til forskellige museale institutioner Den samlede gruppe bestod således af fem i Danmark efter rejsen (Mathiassen 1946:110 danske deltagere, to vestgrønlandske og seks -111). Til Nationalmuseet blev i slutningen af (fra Avanersuaq/Thuleområdet). Den 1920’erne overdraget 3.093 etnografiske gen- næsten ligelige fordeling af danske og inug- stande og 11.093 arkæologiske. Dertil kommer, huitske deltagere tog afsæt i, at de væsentligste at Knud Rasmussen efter ekspeditionen ind- dele af ekspeditionen skulle gennemføres ved købte og overdrog Nationalmuseet en større brug af en inuitisk rejsemåde, dvs. ved brug af gruppe beklædningsdele fra den sibiriske del hundeslæder, og at provianten skulle skaffes af Arktis. Geologisk Museum, i dag en del af ved jagt. Også finansielt spillede Avanersuaq Statens Naturhistoriske Museum, fik overdra- en særdeles markant rolle for ekspeditionens get ca. 1.900 mineralogiske prøver (herunder gennemførelse. Ifølge Therkel Mathiassens også fossiler og muslingeskaller) og ca. 2.500 opgørelse beløb de samlede omkostninger sig dyreskeletdele (herunder ca. 1.200 kvartærzo- til 800.000 kr., hvoraf de 650.000 kr. blev ge- ologiske knogler). Til Københavns Universitets nereret ved videresalg af ræveskind fra Thule Museum for Normal Anatomi (i dag Antropo- Stationen (Mathiassen 1946:12). Man kunne logisk Laboratorium/Retsmedicinsk Institut) med nutidens briller hævde, at der var tale om blev indsamlet 29 humane skeletter og kranier. grønlandsk(inughuitisk)-dansk ekspedition. Sidstnævnte er alle siden genbegravet på Nau- Det er ligeledes Therkel Mathiassen, der jan i 1991 (Hansen 1997:141-142). Foruden Femte Thuleekspedition – mod nye fællesskaber

de omfattende genstandssamlinger findes et mennesker) (Rasmussen 1932:70). Rasmus- 65 stort antal fotos fra ekspeditionen (heraf på sen gør dog opmærksom på, at dette tal er Nationalmuseet lidt mere end 2.300 stykker), lavt sat, og at miut-undergrupperingerne må foruden skitser, noter, film og dagbøger fordelt opfattes som relativt flydende. Eksempelvis på en række danske institutioner som Arktisk havde Ahungahungârmiut, tidligere kaldt sig Institut, Knud Rasmussens Hus og Det Kon- Piuvlermiut, men efter en flytning væk fra Vic- gelige Bibliotek. Sidstnævnte har gjort Knud toria Island tog de navn efter det nye sted, de Rasmussens dagbøger digitalt tilgængelige.5 var kommet til – Ahungahungâq. I dag bruges På den del af ekspeditionen, der gik igen- betegnelsen Inuinnait oftest i stedet for ”Kob- nem de egne, hvor Inuinnait (Kobber Inuit) var ber-eskimoer”, ”Kilitnermiut” og ”Moskusok- bosat, bestod holdet kun af Knud Rasmussen, se-folket”. Arnarulunguaq, Qavigarssuaq og Leo Hansen Det er umuligt at overføre den oven for be- (fra Kap Kent). Selvom Knud Rasmussen gan- skrevne afgrænsning direkte til nutiden. Først ske ofte nævner betydningen af de to Inughuits og fremmest er der tale om et øjebliksbillede deltagelse, kender vi stort set intet til, hvordan af bosættelsesmønstre i 1924, og dernæst tager de to oplevede ekspeditionen (Frederiksen det naturligvis ikke højde for de meget store 2006). I forbindelse med Tumisiut-projek- forandringer, der er foregået i denne og andre tet forsøger vi at råde bod på denne mangel, dele af arktisk Canada frem til vor egen tid. Når bl.a. igennem samtaler med efterkommerne Nationalmuseet alligevel vælger at følge Ras- af Arnarulunguaq og Qavigarssuaq (Olsvig in mussens afgrænsning, skyldes det, at der ikke prep.). umiddelbart forekommer et egentlig alternativ. Ved arbejdet frem mod en fuldstændig Endvidere er det Tumisiut-projektets endemål, digital tilgængeliggørelse af materialet fra at alle væsentligste dele af materialet fra Fem- ekspeditionen har det i første omgang væ- te Thuleekspedition skal være tilgængeligt for ret påtrængende at afgrænse, hvilke dele af den bredest mulige offentlighed. I de følgende materialet samarbejdet med KHS omfatter. år vil vi derfor indgå samarbejder med flere af Om end det langtfra er uproblematisk, har vi de lokalsamfund, som ekspeditionen mødte valgt at følge den afgrænsning, som anvendtes undervejs fra Canada til Sibirien for endelig at ved den oprindelige publicering af materialet kunne udvikle en publiceringsprocedure, der fra ”Kobber-eskimoerne”. Rasmussen bruger bl.a. tager hensyn til de potentielt forskellig- foruden begrebet ”Kobber-eskimoer” også artede opfattelser af kulturelle rettigheder, der ”Moskusokse-folket”, og han beretter endvidere, måtte være i disse samfund. at folk fra de omgivende samfund kaldte denne grupper af mennesker for ”Kilitnermiut”, dvs. Det analoge, det digitale og det folk fra Kitlineq (Victoria Island) (Rasmussen sensoriske 1932:12). På det tidspunkt hvor Rasmussen besøgte Kilinermiut, omfattede det følgende Mens Tumisiut-projektet er formuleret af Kul- miut-undergrupperinger: Agiarmiut, Qorlor- turhistorisk Museum i Oslo og Nationalmuse- tormiut, Nuvungmiut, Nägjurtôrmiut, Kanger- et i fællesskab, arbejdes der i de kommende år juarmiut, Kangarjuätjiarmiut, Qqalugtôrmiut, på at udvide netværket til alle nordiske museer Ahiarmiut, Umingmaktôrmiut, Kiluhigtormi- med arktiske samlinger, som også huser sam- ut og Ahungahungârmiut (i alt lidt over 800 linger fra områder uden for egne nationale Martin Appelt, Anne Mette Jørgensen, Christian S. Pedersen, Pernille G. Feldt & Jakob R. Wang

66 grænser. Formålet er at udvikle et indgående tråd til forfædrene, Netsilik Inuit, og føjer der- kendskab til og gøre bedre brug af de særlige med historisk dybde til centrets udstillinger, ekspertiser og ressourcer, der er udviklet i hver der desuden omfatter interaktive installationer af de deltagende institutioner. Dette er blandt af et snehus, et skindtelt og pelsdragter, et stør- andet begrundet i, at de statslige nordiske mu- re rum for nutidskunst, samt værktøj og smyk- seer, som andre offentlige institutioner, er un- ker fremstillet fra 1970erne og frem. der pres for at udvikle en endnu højere grad af relevans og effektivitet, samtidigt med at de er Forskningsambitioner presset på ressourcer. Rammerne for og ressourcerne til mu- Tumisiut-netværket vil arbejde med en række seernes virke er i al væsentlighed nationa- test cases, som vil afdække hvilke digitale tek- le og retter sig mod en national brug. Med nologier og formater, der mest effektivt kan Tumisuit-netværkets arbejde er sigtet for de tilgængeliggøre vore museers samlinger til op- involverede institutioner at opnå en balanceret rindelsessamfunds glæde og gavn og samtidig vægtning af formidlingen til/dialogerne med gøre os klogere. Er web-baserede platforme oprindelsessamfund, de nationale brugere og med fotografier og andre arkivalier for eksem- en bred international offentlighed. Fokus vil pel optimale i Cambridge Bay og oplandet, el- særligt være på at videreudvikle digitale tek- ler giver det bedre mening at udvikle applika- nologier og metoder, der understøtter deling tioner, der kan fungere på folks smart phones af genstande og arkivalier med oprindelses- uafhængigt af opkobling på netværk? Hvilke samfund, for dernæst at bruge disse erfaringer platforme fremmer feedback til os? Finder vi i videreudviklingen af målrettede digitale og effektive dialogiske former, kan vi udvide vo- analoge dialoger med nationale og internatio- res viden om de materielle genstande og opnå nale offentligheder. nye etnografiske, historiske og arkæologiske Nationalmuseet i København trækker i forståelser. Tumisiuts mange dimensioner, på høj grad på erfaringer fra den omfattende og tværs af tid og rum, rejser spørgsmål om erin- 20 år lange Utimut proces (f.eks. Grønnow & dring, materialitet, kulturarv, identitet, digita- Jensen 2008), mens Kulturhistorisk Museum lisering og tilgængeliggørelse for blot at nævne i Oslo bringer helt præsente erfaringer ind i nogle af de mangfoldige aspekter, som vi vil netværket. Siden 2010 har de samarbejdet med tage fat på i en række tværkulturelle og tvær- Nattilik Heritage Society i Gjoa Haven om til- faglige forskningsprojekter. bagelevering af genstande, fotografier og andre Et eksempel er, at vi netop igennem samar- arkivalier indsamlet af den norske polarforsker bejdet med KHS har privilegerede muligheder Roald Amundsen 1903-1905 i denne del af for at undersøge samspil mellem erindring, Nunavut. Samarbejdet har resulteret i en søg- materialitet og brugen af digitale medier. For bar digital portal, som rummer hele Amund- Pamela Gross, som er direktør for KHS, var sens Gjøahavn-samling af genstande og foto- det en stor oplevelse at finde et foto af sin bed- grafier. Højdepunktet var museets repatriering stefar blandt de mange fotografier fra Femte af 16 originale genstande fra Amundsensam- Thuleekspedition under et besøg på Natio- lingen ved indvielsen af the Nattilik Heritage nalmuseet i 2015. Ud over den umiddelbare Centre i Gjoa haven i oktober 2013(se Wang glæde igangsatte det sort-hvide foto en serie af dette nummer). Disse genstande trækker en næsten glemte minder. Flere vil komme til at Femte Thuleekspedition – mod nye fællesskaber

de længe med en ting, vendte og drejede, snu- 67 sede og sansede, og bedst som vi troede, det var tid at finde en ny genstand frem, begyndte ordene at flyde. Materialitet har i Arktis haft (og har til en vis grad stadig) væsensforskellige betydninger end i eksempelvis Nordeuropa og Nordameri- ka. Retten til at bruge ting og tilgå landområ- der har været knyttet til en persons deltagelse i og rimelige bidrag til fællesskabet (se f.eks. Wachowitch et al. 2001:132-4) og til aktuelt Fig. 3. En delegation for Kitikmeot Heritage Society og vedblivende brug (se f.eks. Petersen 1963, fortolker en gruppe jagtvåbens udformning, anven- 1965, Brøsted 1985:327 ff.) snarere end til indi- delse og oprindelse i Nationalmuseets magasiner. Foto Arnold Mikkelsen. Copyright: Nationalmuseet. viduel ejendomsret. I relation til vores digitale tilgængeliggørelser er det derfor relevant for os at undersøge, om ejerskab er mindre væsent- (gen)se slægtninge og andre kære, og fotogra- ligt end spørgsmålet om at få adgang, enten di- fierne vil blive rekontekstualiserede og anvendt gitalt eller fysisk? Muligvis er det mest væsent- i nye sammenhænge, på telefoner, Facebooks, lige at se, sanse og håndtere genstandene? Eller i albums, udstillinger og i glas og ramme på at få mulighed for at bruge fotos, fortællinger private stueborde. Brugen af fotografierne for- og genstande som kulturelle redskaber? (Con- ventes at blive katalysator for folks erindringer nerton 1989). Det var som nævnt tydeligt, at og kan måske forankre en ændret og dekoloni- det var emotionelle øjeblikke, der gennemle- serende historisk bevidsthed (f.eks. Jørgensen vedes i Nationalmuseets magasiner i decem- 2017, med referencer). ber 2017, men vi fik ikke nogen sikker viden Digitale tilbageleveringer er imidlertid no- om, hvad det var, mere nuanceret og præcist, get ganske andet end repatriering af genstan- at vores gæster følte. Sådanne umiddelbare ob- de. Det vakte store følelser, da vore gæster fra servationer af interaktioner mellem genstande Cambridge Bay fik en spækhammer i hænder- og mennesker er utilstrækkelige, hvis vi vil ne i Nationalmuseets magasiner (fig. 3). Før forstå fundamentalt anderledes ”sansede epi- man fik elektricitet, var spæklampen hjemmets stemologier” (Stoller 1997), for kroppen kan centrale kilde til lys og varme, ja nærmest hjer- ikke bare aflæses som en tekst, når vi arbejder tet i hjemmet, og at have hammeren i hænder- i tværkulturelle sammenhænge. En dybere for- ne fremkaldte emotionelle erindringer. Ham- ståelse kalder på feltarbejder i Cambridge Bay meren blev igen og igen svunget mod det ima- og på flere udvekslinger med folk derfra i den ginære spæk så olien flød og nærede vægen. nære fremtid, hvor efterkommere i Kitikmeot Erindring er nært forbundet med ikke-sprog- området nu får adgang til arkivalier om de- lig sansning og KHSs besøg i vores samlinger res forfædre og -mødre. Vi vil gerne eksperi- overbeviste os om, at der skete noget helt sær- mentere med at introducere hybrider mellem ligt, når de kunne røre (det taktile), håndtere analoge og digitale genstande, som eksempel- (det motoriske), dufte (det olfaktoriske) og vis 3D printede kopier og rekonstruktioner af samtale (det diskursive) om tingene. Ofte sad genstande fra vores samlinger og undersøge, Martin Appelt, Anne Mette Jørgensen, Christian S. Pedersen, Pernille G. Feldt & Jakob R. Wang

68 hvordan folk sanser dem, og om de, som ori- kussioner om museet som en demokratisk in- ginalerne, kan aktivere erindring og viden? Vil stitution, der skulle invitere til pluralistiske for- der vise sig at være stor forskel på unge og æl- ståelser af samlingerne, faldt sammen med en dres erindringspraksisser, hvilke autoriteter er begyndende implementering af det digitale på væsentlige, og hvordan overleveres erindring store museer i USA og England (Parry 2007). I og historie i Cambridge Bay? Vi håber, at vi Danmark skete en tilsvarende udvikling lidt se- ved at forfølge disse spørgsmål vil blive i stand nere, som f.eks. på Statens Museum for Kunst til at bidrage med væsentlige nye erkendelser og Nationalmuseet,6 men generelt betød det, at i krydsfeltet mellem erindrings- og materiali- et empirisk baseret vidensparadigme, hvor en tets-studier. genstand angiveligt kunne beskrives udtøm- mende igennem observation – d.v.s. igennem opmålinger og med noteringer af proveniens og Kulturelt fælleseje og datering – erstattedes af et ønske om at åbne op universalisme som pejlemærke? for nye kontekstualiseringer af museumsgen- Den digitale udvikling, som museer har gen- standen (Hooper-Greenhill 1999). nemgået de seneste mange år, har ofte været I dag er en betydelig del Nationalmuseets båret frem af spørgsmål og problemer relateret arkiver digitaliseret, og der er gennemført en til det konkrete praktiske arbejde på museerne række eksperimenter med crowdsourcing og med registrering og formidling af samlinger- tagging af f.eks. fotos. I modsætning til den ne og fokuseret på selve implementeringen af kanoniserede fortælling, som placeringen i den digitale teknologi. Rationaliserings-, op- montren eller i arkivet vanligvis omslutter mu- timerings- og moderniseringsagendaer som seumsgenstande med, synes de mangfoldige work-smarter og heraf afledte spørgsmål og digitale kontekstualiseringer at vise, at vi ikke søgen efter løsninger på ophavsretlige spørgs- kan anskue genstandene isoleret fra de kultu- mål og problemer har diskussionerne om det relle betydninger, som samfund og individer digitale. Mange spørgsmål vedrørende f.eks. tillægger dem. Iværksættelsen af samarbejdet copyright er på et praktisk plan blevet løst, mellem Nationalmuseet og KHS er et eksem- selvom der endnu står nogle uløste tilbage, og pel på en anerkendelse af dette forhold. Gen- mange af de ønsker og mål, man satte sig om stande ejet af Nationalmuseet, og dermed af f.eks. digitalisering af samlingerne, har man på den danske offentlighed, men af betydning for museerne langt hen ad vejen opnået. Derfor oprindelsessamfundet, er et fælles anliggende. er det fremover ikke længere teknologien selv Man kan sige, at museet anerkender et fælles eller i så høj grad spørgsmål om ophavsretten, ejerskab, og at genstandene udgør en egentlig som behøver at være omdrejningspunktet. fælles kulturarv. Forhandlingen af et sådant Ud over rationaliseringsfordele og rå regi- kulturelt fælleseje, som bringes til veje af digi- strering af samlinger i digitale arkiver har der tale muligheder for samarbejde, stiller spørgs- været et ønske og en forhåbning om, at det di- mål om, hvordan museet udfylder sin rolle. gitale skulle afstedkomme en demokratisering Det kalder på et andet rammesæt end ophavs- af museet som institution, en mulighed som ret og rationalisering, nemlig kulturelle rettig- er til stede i digitale medier med deres inddra- heder, der juridisk set er rodfæstet i menneske- gelse af brugerne i selve kernen af deres design. rettighederne. Parallelt med en øget fokus på 1960’ernes og ’70’ernes postmodernistiske dis- denne specifikke form for kulturelt fælleseje Femte Thuleekspedition – mod nye fællesskaber

diskuteres også på Nationalmuseet, hvordan le kulturarv. Endvidere, at det særlige ved den 69 dette fællesskab stiller sig til universalistiske immaterielle kulturarv er, at den ikke er statisk forestillinger om en ubunden international og konstant indgår som element i en identi- tilgængelighed. Måske kan arbejdet med og tetsskabende proces: ”[...] intangible cultural diskussionerne om kulturelle rettigheder og en heritage, transmitted from generation to gene- mere almen tilgængelighed udgøre et endnu ration is constantly recreated by communities stærkere fundament for museets arbejde med and groups in response to their environment, oprindelsessamfund og digital forvaltning og their interaction with nature and their histo- strategier. ry, and provides them with a sense of identity I 2011 udgav FN en rapport om kulturel- and continuity” (Shaheed 2011:4). På denne le rettigheder, som kan illustrere, hvad der baggrund fastslår Shaheed, at kulturarv må ses ligger i en sådan rammesætning. Rapporten som ressourcer, der skaber forudsætningerne er skrevet af den uafhængige ekspert, Farida for, at individer og samfund kan udvikle sig og Shaheed (2011). Den baserer sig på 30 stater skabe en kulturel identitet, som de ønsker at vi- og interessenter (f.eks. menneskerettigheds- dereføre til fremtidige generationer. Yderligere organisationer) og deres syn på kulturarv og citerer rapporten fra ”The Council of Europe kulturelle rettigheder. Den giver en række an- Framework Convention of the Value of Cul- befalinger til medlemslandene og til alle, som tural Heritage for Society” (Council of Europe har med kulturarv at gøre. Først og fremmest 2005), hvor kulturarv defineres ”as a group of slår rapporten fast med henvisning til ‘The In- resources inherited from the past which pe- ternational Covenant on Economic, Social and ople identify independently of ownership, as Cultural Rights Comment No. 21’ (2009), at a reflection and expression of their constantly det er enhvers ret at have adgang til kulturar- evolving values, beliefs, knowledge and traditi- ven, og at ”the concept of culture must be seen ons. It includes all aspects of the environment not as a series of isolated manifestations or resulting from the interaction between people hermetic compartments, but as an interactive and places through time” (Shaheed 2011:5). process whereby individuals and communities, Shaheeds rapport bygger på forståelsen af while preserving their specificities and purpo- kulturarv som både immateriel og materiel, ses give expression to the culture of humani- men med vægt på den menneskelige dimen- ty” (Shaheed 2011:4). At selve deltagelsen i sion. Kulturarv er noget, som vi skal have ad- kulturlivet vægtes så højt, skal ses som en gang til for at få mulighed for at bevare, udvikle nødvendig og komplementerende tilgang til en og udtrykke vores identitet og historie. Det ses tidligere definition af kulturarv, hvor den først f.eks. i hævdelsen af retten til at have adgang og fremmest sås som fysisk, som genstande el- til kulturarv, der ikke er et direkte ejerskab til. ler steder, der skulle bevares og havde behov I stedet bringes et begreb om kulturelt ejerskab for beskyttelse. på banen. Kulturelt ejerskab er berettiget, når Shaheed lægger dermed særlig vægt på den kulturarven er af afgørende betydning for de menneskelige dimension ved kulturarven og værdier, tro, viden og traditioner, som man er citerer UNESCO Convention for the Safeguar- forbundet med. Kulturarv findes, bevares og ding of the Intangible cultural Heritage (2003), (gen)opstår i interaktivitet og i udvekslinger. som slår fast, at målet er at sikre respekt for Samarbejdet mellem KHS og Nationalmuseet individers, samfunds og gruppers immateriel- lever op til den måde, kulturarv her beskrives Martin Appelt, Anne Mette Jørgensen, Christian S. Pedersen, Pernille G. Feldt & Jakob R. Wang

70 på, som et kulturelt fælleseje, men det er sam- gende, at den fornyede indsats også vil kunne tidigt også et digitalt samarbejde, som museet manifesteres igennem en (forhåbentlig) større må angribe fra en praktisk vinkel. Det digitale samproduceret formidlingsmæssig indsats. har generelt givet museet nogle foræringer i I takt med at oprindelige samfund i mange forhold til at forløse rapportens anbefalinger. dele af verden udvikler øgede råderum, såvel Men for at undgå et snævert målfokus, hvor som juridisk og moralsk legitimitet bag ønsket det digitale med dets muligheder og begræns- om en revitalisering af egen historie, oplever ninger sætter kursen, vil det måske for fremti- vi stadigt hyppigere og mere markante ønsker den være nyttigt at tænke kulturelle rettighe- om at få adgang til den del af deres kulturarv, der ind i digitale strategier. Forhandlingen af et som befinder sig på museerne i de nordiske sådant kulturelt fælleseje kalder på, at museet hovedstæder. Det stiller krav til museerne om overordnet set reflekterer over, hvordan det mere umiddelbart at kunne stille samlinger, ar- udfylder sin rolle, og også her kan kulturelle kiver og ikke mindst specifik ekspertise til rå- rettigheder udgøre det fundament, som muse- dighed. Dette sker parallelt med, at museerne et kan stå på. stilles over for krav om en øget administrativ transparens og effektivitet, formidlingsmæssig appeal og synlighed, og ikke mindst en forsk- Opsummering og perspektiver ningsmæssig relevans og konkurrencedygtig- Det er denne artikels præmis, at vi i de kom- hed baseret på økonomiske rammer, som først mende år står over for nødvendigheden af og og fremmest er nationale. Det er netop for at mulighederne for at skabe et tæt samarbejde imødekomme disse øgede forventninger, at mellem de nordiske museer med særligt hen- denne artikels forfattere foreslår, at vi igennem blik på forvaltningen af og forskningen i den etableringen af et tæt nordisk kuratorisk sam- subarktiske og arktiske kulturarv, som vore arbejde og forsknings-netværk gør brug af de museer huser. enkelte institutioners særlige regionale og te- Anledningerne til samarbejdet gives blandt matiske ekspertiser på tværs af de deltagende andet af de vigtige erfaringer, som Kulturhisto- institutioner. Vi foreslår endvidere, at vi inden risk Museum i Oslo senest har gjort igennem for rammen af et nordisk samarbejde i første samarbejdet med Gjoa Haven; at Nationalmu- omgang prioriterer de subarktiske og arktiske seet i København står over for at iværksætte en samlinger. række samarbejder med flere oprindelsessam- Den omfattende digitaliseringsindsats, der fund i Canada og Alaska inden for rammerne igennem en årrække er pågået i de nordiske af Tumisuit-projektet; og at Nordiska Museet lande, fremmer et sådant tættere kuratorisk i Stockholm netop nu er i færd med at skabe samarbejde, ligesom vi gennem forskning i Arktis-udstillingen med arbejdstitlen ”Hem- nye formater for dialoger kan skabe et kultu- ma i Arktis”. Hundredeåret for begyndelsen på relt fælleseje med oprindelsessamfund i Nord. Femte Thuleekspedition i 2021 er for National- En sådan forskning vil berige vores samlinger museet og en række canadiske organisationer og arkiver med ny indsigt og implementere nye en åbenbar anledning til at genfortolke og re- genrer af viden. Vi skal dog forberede os på, at vitalisere forskningen i det omfattende mate- disse kulturelle fællesejer udfordrer blandt an- riale, med afsæt i at samlingerne og arkiverne det universalistiske og juridiske baserede, såvel udgør et kulturelt fælleseje. Det er nærlig- som kulturelt partikulære, forestillinger om Femte Thuleekspedition – mod nye fællesskaber

ejendomsret. Det giver os anledning til at un- Frederiksen, Kurt L 2006. Edderfuglens Rejse. 71 dersøge, hvilke kvaliteter (og manglende kvali- København: Borgen. teter) digitale gengivelser besidder i relation til Gabriel, Mille 2014. ”Fortiden, fremtiden og det de analoge samlinger og arkiver. etnografiske museum. Samtidsindsamling, videndeling og medkuratering.” Nordisk Museologi 2, 4-20. https://doi.org/10.5617/nm.3011 Noter Gabriel, Mille 2016. ”New futures for old collections. 1. se eksempelvis www.kitikmeotheritage.ca Contemporary collecting and community 2. www.thuleatlas.org involvement at the National Museum of 3. www.samlinger.natmus.dk Denmark.” Museum & Society 14:2, 275-293. 4. se venligst betingelser på https:// Grønnow, Bjarne & Einar Lund Jensen 2008. ”Utimut: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. Repariation and collaboration between Denmark 5. http://www.kb.dk/da/nb/materialer/ and Greenland.” In Mille Gabriel & Jens Dahl haandskrifter/HA/e-mss/knud_rasmussen/index. (eds.) Utimut. Past Heritage – Future Partnerships html#5 – Discussions on Repatriation in the 21st Century. 6. Nationalmuseets planlægning af et fælles Copenhagen: IWGIA/NKA,180–191. edb-register over genstande blev påbegyndt Gulløv, Hans Christian 2015. ”The concept of 1985, Rapport om Dokumentationsprosjektets Paleo- and Neo-Eskimo cultures: The Danish Registrering, 1988. Nationalmuseet. På Statens tradition from H. P. Steensby and his students, museum for Kunst indførtes registrering i 1988, G. Hatt, K. Birket-Smith and T. Mathiassen, to Kunst Indeks Danmark. En håndbog, 1988. their successors, H. Larsen and J. Meldgaard.” In Statens Museum for Kunst. Igor Krupnik (ed.). Early Inuit Studies. Themes and Transitions, 1850s-1980s. Washington, D.C. Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, 139-164. Referanser Hansen, Jens Peder Hart 1997. ”Repatriation of Anon 1988a. Rapport om Dokumentations-projektets ancient human remains: Recent cases from the Registrering. København: Nationalmuseet. Arctic region.” In Rolf Gilberg, & Hans Christian Anon 1988b. Kunst Indeks Danmark. En håndbog. Gulløv (eds.). Fifty Years of Arctic Research. København: Statens Museum for Kunst. Anthropological Studies from Greenland to Brøsted, Jens 1985. ”Territotial rights in Greenland. Siberia. Copenhagen: Publication of the National Legal basis – view points and considerations.” Museum, Ethnographical Series 18, 141-148. Nordic Journal of International Law 54, 43-51. Hooper-Greenhill, Eilean 1999. ”Communication in Connerton, Paul 1989. How Societies Remember. theory and practice.” In Eilean Hooper-Greenhill Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (ed.). The Educational Role of the Museum. Council of Europe 2005. The Council of Europe London & New York: Routledge, 28-43. Framework Convention of the Value of Cultural Jørgensen, Anne Mette 2014. Danskernes huse på Heritage for Society. Council of Europe Treaty Guldkysten, 1659-1850. København: Forlaget Series - No. 199. Vandkunsten & Nationalmuseet. Fihl, Esther 2017. The Governor’s Residence in Jørgensen, Anne Mette 2017. Moving Archives. Agency, Tranquebar. The House and the Daily Life of emotions and visual memories of industrialization its People, 1770-1845. Copenhagen: Museum in Greenland. Ph.D.Thesis from University of Tusculanum Press. Copenhagen. Martin Appelt, Anne Mette Jørgensen, Christian S. Pedersen, Pernille G. Feldt & Jakob R. Wang

72 Mathiassen, Therkel 1946. Report on the Expedition. Re- Wolff, Bente, Aalund, Flemming & Rastén, Simon port of the Fifth Thule Expedition 1921-24, I:1, 1-135. 2017. ”Serampore – på sporet af Danmarks Parry, Ross 2007. Recoding the Museum. Digital ukendte koloni i Indien.” Nationalmuseets Heritage and the Technologies of Change. Arbejdsmark 220-235. Routledge; London and New York. https://doi. org/10.4324/9780203347485 Olsvig, Ivalo Karen Fog. In prep: Hovedfagsspeciale Martin Appelt, Ph.D., Senior Researcher and fra Eskimologi og Arktisk Studier. Københavns Curator Universitet. [email protected] Petersen, Robert 1963.”Family ownership and right of disposition in Sukkertoppen District, West Greenland.” Tidsskriftet Folk 5, 269-282. Anne Mette Jørgensen, Ph.D., Project Petersen, Robert 1965. ”Some Regulating Factors in Researcher and Curator the Hunting Life of Greenlanders.” Tidsskriftet [email protected] Folk 7, 107-124. Rasmussen, Knud 1910. ”Forslag til en dansk ekspedition til Central Eskimoerne.” Geografisk Christian Sune Pedersen, Ph.D., Head of Tidsskrift 20, 92-94 Research & Collections Rasmussen, Knud 1921. ”Den V. Thule-Ekspedition. [email protected] Den danske Ekspedition til Arktisk Nordamerika under Ledelse af Knud Rasmussen.” Geografisk All at Department of Modern History and Tidsskrift 26, 57-60. World Cultures Rasmussen, Knud 1932. Intellectual Culture of The National Museum of Denmark the Copper Eskimos. Report of the Fifth Thule Frederiksholms Kanal 12, Expedition 1921-24, no. 90. DK-1220 Copenhagen K, Denmark Shareed, Farida 2018. Report on Access to Cultural Heri- tage of the Independent expert in the field of cultural rights. March 2011, United Nations, UNDOC A/ Jakob Wang, MA. Coordinator of Digital HRC/17/38. https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/ Initiatives doc/UNDOC/GEN/G11/122/04/PDF/G1112204. [email protected] pdf?OpenElement (tilgået 10. januar 2018) Steensby, H. P. 1905. Om Eskimokulturens Oprindelse. The National Museum of Denmark En Etnografisk og Antropogeografisk Studie. Vester Voldgade 101 København: Salomonsen. DK-1552 Copenhagen V, Denmark Stoller, Paul 1997. Sensuous Scholarship. Philadelphia: Pennsylvania University Press. UNESCO 2003. Convention for the Safeguarding of Pernille Feldt, MA. Science Assistant the Intangible Cultural Heritage. UNESCO [email protected] Wachowich, N., Awa, A. A., Katsak, R. K., Katsak, S. P. 2010. Saqiyuq: Stories from the lives of three Inuit University of Copenhagen women. McGill-Queens Native and Northern Series, Humanistisk fakultet, Karen Blixens Vej 4 19. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press. DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark Nordisk Museologi 2018 • 2–3, s. 73–89

Mapping the fields: Geographies of knowledge production Et forskningsprosjekt om romlige-digitale-arkivale sammenfiltringer

Kristina Skåden

Abstract: Mapping the Fields: Geographies of Knowledge Production, is a humanities experiment, exploring fieldworks of the nineteenth century. By studying fieldworks, the project investigates production and circulation of knowledge, and the role of space and place in these practices. Furthermore, and that is the concern of this article, Mapping the Fields is one possible answer to an ongoing discussion about how the building of a database, data model, and digital maps may be fruitful for research related to Norwegian Folklore Archives. The project engages the general idea of mapping as a process within network relations. In this article, it is argued that concepts developed in relations between geography and literature studies are fruitful within a Culture History approach to Spatial History. The article problematizes how “the digital” stabilizes “facts” and contributes to inspiration, new research questions and new knowledge.

Keywords: Digital humanities, spatial humanities, spatial history, digital maps, mapping, cultural history, history of knowledge, fieldwork.

Arkiver og samlingers vending mot det digi- temaer som eventyr, sagn, ballader og fortel- tale er veletablert.1 Mange, inkludert Institutt linger om magi og folketro.2 Det er blitt hevdet for kulturstudier og orientalske språk ved Uni- at å produsere kart som bringer ulike former versitetet i Oslo, eksperimenterer med digital for kvantitative og kvalitative data sammen, humaniora (DH). Mapping the Fields: Geo- sjelden gir svaret på de forskningsspørsmål graphies of Knowledge Production er et prosjekt som stilles (Gregory & Geddes 2014:112). Vi- som tar utgangspunkt i folkeminnesamlingen dere har det blitt trukket en distinksjon mel- (NFS) og prøver ut hvordan databaser og di- lom visualiseringer som er representasjoner av gitale kart kan anvendes for å utvikle ny kunn- det som allerede er kjent, og de visualiserin- skap. Folkeminnesamlingen består av om lag gene som er kunnskapsgenererende (Drucker 700 000 sider håndskrevne dokumenter med 2014:65). Disse distinksjonene diskuteres i Kristina Skåden

74 Mapping the Fields, der vi er opptatt av hvor- avgjørende premiss for all kartproduksjon, dan kart genererer ny kunnskap. også innenfor Mapping the Fields. Sagnkartet er Prosjektet tar utgangspunkt i feltarbeids- en digital geografisk visualisering av et utvalg praksis på 1800-tallet, og ser på stedets og sagn i Norge og Sverige. Sagnenes lokalitet plassens rolle. Feltarbeidspraksis er her forstått sier også noe om tidligere tiders feltarbeid som reiser med et vitenskapelig formål, som og innsamlinger innenfor folkloristikk og har resultert i kilder som reisedagbøker, inn- etnologi. Jeg vil komme tilbake til dette. samlet materiale og illustrasjoner og i enkelte Utgangspunktet for dette digitale kartpro- tilfeller vitenskapelige publikasjoner. Prosjekt- sjektet var et felles ønske fra to institusjoner, ets to caser er feltarbeidet Catharine Hermine Institutet för språk och folkminnen og NFS, Kølle (1788–1859) gjorde i Sverige i 1838 og om å utvikle nye verktøy for å søke i arkivma- i Europa i 1841, samt professor i folkloristikk terialet og skape en digital plattform for å gjøre Moltke Moes (1858–1913) feltarbeid i Telemark deler av instituttenes omfattende arkivmate- i 1889. Gjennom disse to casene søker prosjek- riale mer tilgjengelig for allmennheten. Høs- tet å kartlegge faghistorie og dens geografiske ten 2017 ble det svenske kartet lansert og den forankring. Nøkkelspørsmål i prosjektet er: norske delen av Sagnkart-prosjektet 30. januar Hvordan nærmer vi oss feltarbeidets landskap, 2018.3 topografi og rom? Hvordan kan feltarbeidets Et sagn er en kort fortelling med et mer eller mobilitet, dets sikk-sakk ruter og de hendelser mindre fast handlingsmønster som har levd i som kommer frem gjennom historiske kilder folks minne, og ofte er overlevert muntlig. Sag- som reisedagbøker, feltarbeidsnotater og bil- net er vanligvis knyttet til et navngitt sted, og der bli forvandlet til kart som visualiserer reell det forteller ofte om navngitte personer.4 At geografi, forestilte og metaforiske landskap? sagn har blitt kategorisert ved å knyttes til spe- Hvordan kan digitale kart fungere som analy- sifikke steder gjør dem egnet til en kartografisk tiske verktøy slik at vi kan legge merke til nye visualisering. Klikker man på de geografiske eller andre objekter i det materialet vi under- steder sagnene er georeferert til på det digitale søker? Og hva kan vi som kulturhistorikere kartet, får man opplysninger om hvor sagnet gjøre med historisk materiale med en digital er samlet inn, hvem som var innsamler, når humaniora tilnærming? Artikkelen er delt i to sagnet ble nedtegnet, hvilket arkiv originalma- bolker, hvorav første del tematiserer enkelte re- terialet tilhører, arkivreferanser og ikke minst lasjoner NFS står i som har bidratt til å produ- er selve sagnet tilgjengelig i form av en tekst. sere interessen for digital kartlegging. Andre Sagnene er delt inn i kategorier som er valgt og del viser mer i detalj hvordan vi har arbeidet gitt titler med formål om å vekke publikums fram databasen og datamodellen i Mapping the oppmerksomhet, og disse, som ”døden og de Fields. døde”, ”troll & kjemper” er søkeord inn i den samlede databasen. Kartet har videre ulike vi- sualiseringsfunksjoner som viser forekomsten Kartets kraft av innsamlede sagn.5 Sagnkartet er først og Før jeg videre introduserer Mapping the Fields fremst en tilgjengeliggjøring av fortellinger og vil jeg presentere et annet aktuelt digitalt en synliggjøring av en av mange kategorier av kart, Sagnkartet. Mottakelsen av Sagnkartet fortellinger som befinner seg i arkivene. Imid- viser sider ved karts kompleksitet, som er et lertid, ved at det er gjort en rekke arkivale og Mapping the fields: Geographies of knowledge production

digitale tilpasninger og slik produsert et digi- også etablert medial praksis hos aviser og an- 75 talt kart, knyttes sagnet til stedet der slike my- dre nyhetsformidlere og inngår i debatter om tiske vesener skal ha forekommet. fake news.9 Bruno Latour (1990) argumenterer Sagnkartet ble en umiddelbar suksess. Det for at kart blir tatt i bruk i vitenskapskontro- fikk stor medieomtale og publikum responder- verser – der noen forsøker å overbevise andre te via Facebook og flere hundre emailer med om å gå for et standpunkt. I kartet blir stedets spørsmål og kommentarer.6 Mange gledet seg mangfoldighet transformert ved bruk av et over kartet, men om det ikke viste ”deres” sted, homogent språk (lengdegrader, breddegrader fikk NFS straks beskjed om at kartet ikke var og geometri). Kartet presenterer fraværende fullstendig.7 De data som er visualisert gjen- ting (f.eks. sagn fortalt av en informant til en nom Sagnkartet var dog ingen sammenstilling folkelivsgransker en gang på 1800-tallet, eller av all kjent kunnskap om sagn i Norge og Sve- fortidige feltarbeid), kartet er mobilt og samti- rige, men heller et lite utvalg av mytiske sagn. dig uforanderlig, det gjør den tredimensjonale I Sagnkartets tilfelle ble kartets konstruerte verden flat og kan bli reprodusert til en liten kunnskap autorisert av NFS og Institutet för kostnad, som igjen muliggjør at man får ting språk och folkminne, og derved ble det av fle- til å skje. Kartlegging er en prosess, som admi- re fortolket som en fremstilling av fullstendig nistrerer store mengder av data om et sted som viten. Sagnkartet, dets store gjennomslagskraft søker å representere en virkelighet. Det som la- og de innspill det utløste om forhold mellom ges ved hjelp av punkter, linjer og areal. Kartet kart og antatt terreng, er en påminnelse om er slik aldri et ferdig produkt, men vedvarende kartets kraft. Kart er et mektig retorisk gra- i tilblivelse gjennom en rekke ulike relasjoner fisk bilde som former vår forståelse av den (Kitchin & Dodgd 2007:335). menneskelige og fysiske verden; det bidrar til Med de praktiske erfaringene knyttet Sagn- å skape mentale bilder av steder og konstru- kartet og det teoretiske poenget om kartets erer vår følelse for romlige relasjoner (Dodge, kraft og kart som prosess, vil jeg reflektere over Kitchin & Perkins 2011:104). Dette argumen- hvordan Mapping the Fields produserer kunn- tet er velkjent og har like stor gyldighet for skap og bygger troverdighet. Kan kunnskaps- digitale kart.8 Den kritiske kartografien har produksjon kartlegges? Og kan digital kartleg- undersøkt hvordan kartlegging og kart er sam- ging produsere kunnskap? Denne artikkelen menvevd i makt- og kunnskapsrelasjoner og undersøker kartleggingens ulike relasjoner og erkjent og brukt som fasinerende og virksomt praksiser, med vekt på etableringen av databa- makt-, formidlings- og kunnskapsgenererende semodell, innhold i databasen, visualisering av verktøy av en rekke aktører som statlige or- data på kart og undersøkelse av hvilke resulta- ganer og kunnskapsinstitusjoner. Slik har de ter dette gir. inngått i en rekke militære, koloniale, rasistis- ke og diskriminerende praksiser (Harley 1989, Humanioras digitale kart og Schneider 2006, Wood 2010). virksomme relasjoner Kart produseres med en intensjonell mål- setning, som blant annet innbefatter politisk Den økende interessen for bruk av ulike ver- propaganda (Skåden 2015). Produksjon og sjoner av digitale kart innenfor humanistisk sirkulasjon av kart blir etablert og forstått som praksis, som også Norske Folkeminnesamling fakta (Skåden, 2012, 2017). Digitale kart er og Mapping the Fields knyttes til, kan under- Kristina Skåden

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Fig. 1. Det nordiske sagnkartet, et digitalt kartprosjekt, er et samarbeidsprosjekt produsert av Institutet för språk och folkminnen og Norske Folkeminnesamling. Lanseringen av sagnkartet utløste stort engasjement og medie- omtale. Mange var opptatt av hvorvidt kartet var ”korrekt”, og om deres sted var representert på kartet. Foto Institutt for kulturstudier og orientalske språk.

søkes ved å identifisere og utforske relasjoner av ”digital humaniora”. DH er en tilnærming denne praksisen gjøres gjennom. Her vil jeg utviklet i skjæringsfeltet mellom humaniora skjematisk løfte frem relasjonen mellom hu- og datateknologi som tar sikte på å utforske manistisk-digital-kart-praksis og politikk, og hvordan digitale metoder kan brukes og styrke begreper som diskuterer det digitale, romlig forskning i disipliner som kunst- og kulturhis- teori, teknologi og faghistorie. torie, historie, språk, samt andre humanistiske Spørsmålet om hvordan man skal beskjefti- fag (Terras 2013:67ff).10 Nasjonalbiblioteket ge seg med ulike former for historiske samlin- i Norge snevrer definisjonen av feltet inn til ger og slik historiske kilder i fremtiden, er en forskning relatert til digitale verktøy (det vil si aktuell problemstilling i politisk, forvaltings- nettverk av redskaper til datasamling og -ana- og forskningspraksis (St.meld. 22 (1999– lyse som stadig blir tilgjengelig i tett parløp 2000), St.meld. nr. 24 (2008–2009), St.meld. med utviklingen på nettet (Birkbak & Munk nr. 49 (2008–2009), St.meld. 10 (2011–2012), 2017:28)) og kilder ved formuleringen ”digital St.meld. 23 (2012–2013)). Spørsmålet søkes humaniora er en samlebetegnelse på humanis- besvart i relasjon til faglige, økonomiske og tisk forskning som nyttiggjør seg digitalt mate- andre samfunnsmessige tendenser (Gleinsvik, riale (tekster og annet) eller databaserte verk- Wedde & Nagell 2014:11ff). I om lag to tiår har tøy, metoder og teorier i forskningen”.11 Digi- svaret ofte tatt utgangspunkt i ”det digitale”, og tale tilnærminger brer om seg som akademisk innenfor de humanistiske fag, gjerne i form praksis og forskningspolitikk.12 Fra politisk Mapping the fields: Geographies of knowledge production

hold ble ”digital humaniora” for alvor introdu- jekt. Kartlegging undersøkes som et ordnende 77 sert gjennom Stortingsmeldingen Humaniora mønster, en modell for organisering av viten i Norge (Stortingsmelding nr. 25, 2016–17). (Bachmann-Medick 2009:299). Den innfly- Stortingsmeldingen er en samlet analyse av telsesrike tyske historikeren Karl Schlögel humaniora i Norge med den hensikt å klar- reintroduserte undersøkelser av romligheten gjøre sektorens rolle som uavhengig kunn- i all menneskelig historie, ved å spørre hva vi skapsprodusent, samt å bidra til mer forskning vinner av historisk forståelse og innsikter ved innen hovedgruppene 1) integrasjon, migra- at vi endelig (igjen) tar sted og rom på alvor sjon, konflikt, 2) det store teknologiskiftet og (2009:11).15 Mapping the Fields er nettopp en 3) klima, miljø og bærekraft. Som en sentral undersøkelse av dette spørsmålet. Disse teo- inngang til alle disse problemstillingene po- retiske ressursene ville for humanister med engteres bruken av digitale verktøy, teknolo- ambisjoner om romlige DH-prosjekter, hatt gier og digitale analyser. Her forstås DH på liten verdi om ikke teknologiske systemer og den ene siden som de ulike forskningspraksi- verktøy, som det geografiske informasjonssys- ser som tar i bruk digitale verktøy og metode temet GIS og andre internettbaserte kartverk- og på den andre siden hvordan humanister tøy stadig hadde blitt mer tilgjengelige. Dette kan forske på det digitale i dets mangfoldige har endret relasjonen mellom geografisk infor- tilsynekomster (Meld. St. 25, 2017:18).13 ”Det masjon og historisk forskning, særlig med vekt digitale” kan ikke desto mindre betraktes som på kvantitativ metode (Richardson 2011:209ff., et tidligere historisk moment der digitale be- Knowles 2018).16 regninger ble forstått i opposisjon til analoge, Innenfor begrepet digital humaniora be- snarere enn som komplementære. Imidlertid tegner Spatial Humanities den retningen der er det digitale alltid sammenvevd med det interessen for rom og sted bringes sammen analoge. Begge formers mulighetsrom bør tas med GIS/kartbaserte studier. For historiefors- i betraktning, for eksempel ved å kombinere kning som har blitt influert av GIS-teknologi papirarkiver med digitale arkiver (Berry & Fa- og metoder og andre romlige teknologier, bru- gerjord 2017:2).14 kes betegnelsen Spatial History, her oversatt DH-kartprosjekter er relatert til den såkalte til romlig historie. I det omfattende bidraget romlige vendingen (the spatial turn), eller mer The Routledge Companion to Spatial History presist: ulike romlige vendinger der en rek- problematiseres feltet: (1) Romlig historie er ke aktører fra slutten av 1980-tallet kritiserte ofte bedre til å frembringe ny kunnskap enn kategorien ”tid” som privilegert analytisk res- til å problematisere denne kunnskapen. Utfor- surs. De argumenterte for en kritisk analytisk dringen ligger i å forklare hvordan og hvorfor undersøkelse av ”sted” og ”rom”, forstått som GIS-basert kunnskap gir nye svar til gam- sosiale konstruksjoner så vel som geografis- le spørsmål, eller gir ny innsikt. (2) Innenfor ke steder (Döring & Thielmann 2008:7ff, romlig historie fokuseres det mer på visuali- Hubbard & Kitchin 2011:1ff.). Interessen har sering av romlige egenskaper enn å forklare vært rettet mot romkonstituerende praksi- og måle ulike former for påvirkning og makt ser; med en kulturvitenskapelig tilnærming knyttet til disse egenskapene. (3) Et videre po- har representasjonsteknikker og representa- eng er relasjoner mellom de kvantitative mål- sjonsformer, herunder kartlegging og kart, setninger innenfor GIS og de kvalitative data konkret og metaforisk, blitt forskningens ob- som er sentrale for humanistisk forskning. Kristina Skåden

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Fig. 2. Et oppslag i C.H. Kølles reisedagbok fra reiser i 1838 og 1841. Akvarell med tittel ”Majens Kirke ved Gøtheborg”. Avdeling for spesialsamlinger. University of Bergen Library. http://marcus.uib.no/instance/ manuscript/ubb-ms-utst-0040.html (Nedlastet 2. november 2018.).

Den sterke tilbøyeligheten til å bruke kvan- f.eks. tallmateriale som forteller om demo- titative data innenfor romlig historie har ført grafisk endring eller næringsutvikling), mens til en rekke studier om emner som demogra- innenfor romlig historie må forskeren selv eta- fi, urban historie, miljøhistorie og transport. blere en database basert på kvalitative kilder Imidlertid har det nå foregått en dreining som litterære tekster, feltdagbøker og foto. Det mot å bruke ulike former for kvalitative data kan ta år å bygge opp disse databasene, det gis i konstruksjoner av digitale kart (Gregory & lite uttelling for arbeidet innenfor det akade- Geddes 2014:9). DH-feltet har blitt åpnet for miske system, sikring av tilgang til dataene er et bredere spekter av (historiske) undersøkel- uklar og det er nærmest ingen beskyttelse av ser ved at prosjekter har undersøkt hvordan den intellektuelle eiendom (De Bates, Gregory, ulike former for handling, artefakter og opp- Lafreniere 2018:3–5). Jeg kommer tilbake til levelser kan kartlegges i tid og i forhold til disse innvendingene. sted og hvordan GIS-systemer kan bidra til Det vil føre for langt her å utdype hvordan mer mangfoldige analyser av kvalitative kil- tidligere tiders etnologer og folklorister bru- der og slik visualisere mangfoldighet, usikker- ker sted som analytisk begrep og kartlegging het og tvetydighet (Bodenhammer 2010:29, som vitenskapelig metode ved den geografiske Bodenhamer et al. 2015). I samfunnsvitenska- metode/den historisk-geografiske metode. Po- pelige studier basert på kvantitative data kan enget her er å minne om at heller ikke i den- forskeren ofte overta offentlige databaser (som ne sammenhengen var kartlegging en uskyl- Mapping the fields: Geographies of knowledge production

dig virksomhet. I 1928 presenterte den tyske de med et digitalt humaniora-(kart)prosjekt 79 folkloristen og kulturhistoriker Wilhelm innebærer å utvikle flere komponenter som Peßler (1880–1962) et foredrag på den inter- følger hverandre kronologisk. Som ved de fles- nasjonale Volkskundekongress, som senere ble te forskningsprosesser, griper hver komponent publisert som Die Geographische Methoden in tilbake, tidligere etablerte deler blir justert og der Volkskunde i 1932. De vesentligste punk- påfølgende komponenter fremkommer på ter ble gjentatt i flere utgaver at Handbuch der andre måter enn først tenkt. DH-prosjekters Deutschen Volkskunde og fikk derigjennom særskilte tilleggskomponent er prosjektenes stor utbredelse. Peßler argumenterte for at de sammenveving av arbeid med kildemateriale etnologiske og folkloristiske studier i Europa i og utvikling av teoretisk apparat med teknis- økende grad brukte, og skulle bruke, en geo- ke løsninger som utprøves, justeres og justeres grafisk tilnærming og ha en målsetning om å få igjen. I samarbeidet mellom IT-kompetanse oversikt over felt karakterisert ved en uendelig og humanister er det vesentlig at humanister mengde individuelle fenomener. Ved å kart- sjelden omtaler kilder som ”data”, slik det er legge disse fenomenene skulle det være mu- vanligere å gjøre innenfor natur- og samfunns- lig å visualisere romlig skala, å sammenligne fagene. Brukes betegnelsen ”data” impliserer og å markere bevegelser, grenser og regioner. for IT eksperter at de mange meningsfulle Kartet var hensynsløst ærlig om forskningens kvaliteter som kildene inneholder kan redu- stand, mente Peßler; det ble veldig synlig om seres til en endelig liste, og en forståelse av at enkelte områder var uutforskede, om det var om de samme operasjoner utføres på samme hvite forsknings-flekker på kartet. Forsknin- data, så vil resultatene bli de samme. Det er gens mål var å fylle forskningens hull, og å ikke slik humanister tenker om materialet de etablere et ”Gesamtbild ” – et komplett bilde jobber med. Det er blant annet i arbeidet med – av den folkloristiske historie, og dette altså å undersøke hvordan historiske kilder kan gjø- ved å produsere kart (Peßler 1932). Peßlers res søkbare at humanister trenger hjelp for å arbeider bidro til etableringen av Atlas der etablere datamodeller og databaser.17 Derfor Deutschen Volkskunde og feltet Kulturraumfor- er det nødvendig å sette av tilstrekkelig tid i et schung – forskning om regionale forskjeller og DH-prosjekt til at de involverte personer med karakteristika. I det nazifiserte Tyskland fikk IT-faglige kompetanser og humaniora-per- dette feltet og folkloristiske kart over den tyske spektiver kan finne en felles forståelse av og et folkekultur agens som argument i en rasistisk språk for hvordan kildene skal behandles og nasjonalistisk retorikk og politikk (Schmoll hvilke forskningsspørsmål de skal belyse. Tid 2009). I en nordisk sammenheng var arbei- er også en kritisk faktor for å imøtekomme tid- det med Atlas över svensk folkkultur (Erikson ligere nevnte punkt 1 i Routledge Companion. 1957–1976) et stort ambisiøst prosjekt for å Her ble den selvrefleksive samtalen etterlyst kartlegge folkekultur i Sverige. som del av prosessen underveis i prosjektet. Databasemodeller er bygd opp med flere en- titetstyper som er satt i relasjon til hverandre. Fra database design til digitalt Disse tekniske løsningene – infrastrukturen kart – og forskningsresultater som skal til for at data kan legges inn – er La oss vende oppmerksomheten mot erfarin- samtidig det verktøyet som skal kunne bidra ger gjort gjennom Mapping the Fields. Å arbei- til nye analyser og kunnskap. Gjennom dem Kristina Skåden

80 skal kildematerialet kunne visualiseres i form kartlegging? Og hvem er det for (Cooper et al. av nye former for sammenstillinger og digitale 2016:9ff)? kart. I ett ferdig grensesnitt synes en database Et kritisk argument mot litteraturgeografien og dets entiteter sammensatt til en modell som er at de litterære rom og den faktiske geografi- stabiliserer fakta. I det følgende vil jeg forsøke en er grunnleggende forskjellige og ikke har å bidra til litt mer transparens – åpne prosjek- noe med hverandre å gjøre (Piatti 2012:267). tets ”svarte bokser” – ved å beskrive enkelte av For kulturhistoriens feltarbeid er situasjonen komponentene og databasens entiteter for en det motsatte: feltarbeidet er tradisjonelt ute et- leser uten særskilte IT-faglige kunnskaper, for ter å undersøke ulike fenomener på spesifikke å reflektere over enkelte aspekter ved disse. steder og forskningens resultater er nettopp forbundet med fortolkninger av stedet. Gjen- nom arbeidet med databasen søker vi imidler- Litteraturkartografi og tid å utforske stedets mangetydighet. At feltar- feltarbeid beidet har en relasjon til sted, er trivielt. Gjen- Mapping the Fields undersøker feltarbeid på nom et feltarbeid undersøkes gjerne hvordan 1800-tallet med avsats i en forståelse av ”feltar- noe ”er” eller forekomsten av noe på et særskilt beid” som situasjoner hvor kunnskap produse- sted. Vårt anliggende er å etablere en datamo- res, forflyttes, sirkuleres og modelleres (Sarasin dell og database for slik å kunne kartlegge hvor & Kilcher 2011:9ff, Östling et al. 2018). Innen- gitte feltarbeid ble gjennomført, og å kartlegge for disse prosessene er Mapping the Fields fo- stedsforståelser og -funksjoner som fremkom- kus rettet mot å undersøke forståelser av ”rom” mer i de kilder som feltarbeideren har etterlatt og ”sted,” og hvilke roller disse har i feltarbei- seg. Spørsmålet er hvordan disse ulike formene det. Enkelte av de romlige vendingenes inn- for sted kan kartlegges og hvilken rolle stedet sikter søkes inkludert i prosjektet ved å hente spiller for det kunnskapsfeltet som feltarbeidet teoretiske ressurser fra litteraturgeografien- og har bidratt til å konstituere. kartografien. Litteraturgeografi analyserer ste- der og handlingsrom i litterære tekster, samt Case: fra kildemateriale til relasjoner mellom faktiske geografiske steder datasett og litteraturens fiktive geografi. Litteraturkar- tografien forsøker seg i tillegg på en vitenska- Vi har valgt to caser/s for å undersøke det digi- pelig motivert kartlegging av litteraturen ved tales potensiale i Mapping the Fields. Vår inspi- å spørre om hvordan skueplasser i litterære rasjon har vært DH-prosjektet Auf den Spuren fiksjoner kan illustreres kartografisk, og om von Julius Euting durch den Orient – eine vir- hvilke nye erkjennelser man kan oppnå (Piatti tuelle Forschungsreise, som kartlegger feltarbei- 2012:263). Eksempler på litteraturgeografiske dene til orientalisten Julius Euting.18 I tillegg digitale prosjekter er A literaty Atlas of Europe, Mapping the Republic of Letters hvor ulike vi- Literatur-Landkarten der Schweiz og Mapping tenskapspersoners korrespondanse er kartlagt the Lakes: A Literary GIS. Det er mange inn- for å utforske vitenskapelige nettverk.19 Fagan- ganger til digital litterær kartlegging, og feltet svarlig for NFS, Line Esborg har undersøkt er i tilblivelse, men sentralt står spørsmålet om Nordens første professor i folkloristikk Moltke hvorfor man skal bruke ressurser på å geo-vi- Moes (1858–1913) feltarbeid i Telemark i sualisere tekst? Hva er hensikten med digital 1889. Kildene til dette feltarbeidet er et fotoal- Mapping the fields: Geographies of knowledge production

bum, dagboksnotater og nedtegnelser av sagn kribering, men programmet muliggjør en rask 81 og eventyr lokalisert ved NFS. Jeg undersøker og kostnadseffektiv transkribering av store Catharine Hermine Kølles (1788–1859) reise mengder manuskripter til en stadig bedre kva- til Stockholm i 1838, og hennes tur til Tyskland litet, der teksten blir søkbar og kan indekseres og videre til Prag i 1841. Kildene for Kølles (Toselli et al. 2018:173f.) Det er ved hjelp av feltarbeid er ”Kølle-samlingen,” bestående av en stadig veksling mellom en digital og analog 1800 håndskrevne sider og 250 akvareller som transkribering, (jamfør Berry & Fagerjords er del av Bergen Museums og Bergen Univer- tidligere presenterte forståelsen av ”det digita- sitetsbiblioteks samlinger (Paasche & Søndenå le”) at Kølles tekst blir tilgjengelig for analyse 2017:133–144).20 Kølle foretok flere reiser og og bearbeiding både innenfor og utenfor da- skrev dertil reisedagbøker. For reisene beskre- tabasen. Den automatiske transkriberingen gir vet over, fikk hun notatene sine renskrevet og muligheter for raskt å kunne skumme gjennom teksten innbundet. Moes reise er forstått som større tekstmengder til tross for de feil og man- del av den vitenskapelige praksis som konsti- gler som denne transkriberingsmetoden også tuerte folkloristikken som fag. Kølles langt mer medfører. Når tekstsitater skal brukes må man omfattende reisevirksomhet derimot, har til nå gå tilbake til originalmaterialet for å etterprøve blitt fortolket som en eksentrisk, uvanlig form den automatiske transkriberingen. Samtidig, for tidlig turisme (Ryall & Veieberg 1991:43). når den transkriberte teksten skal inkluderes Jeg ønsker snarere å argumentere for at Kølle i databasen må man bestemme seg for hvilket gjennom sine utallige reiser utførte et konti- nivå av korrekthet som er hensiktsmessig. I en- nuerlig feltarbeid som fremmet sirkulasjon av kelte tilfeller vil det kanskje være nok at teksten kunnskap mellom kunnskapsinstitusjoner og er lesbar, mens i andre tilfeller søker man feil- formidlet ”folkelige” kunnskapspraksiser. fri gjengivelse av originalmaterialet. Å bruke Kølles reisedagbok er digitalisert med svært Transkribus synes som en god mulighet for å god oppløsning, og det er dermed mulig å for- engasjere studenter og allmenhet til å arbeide større originaldokumentet. Men dette betyr med vanskelig forståelig tekstmateriale.23 ikke at teksten er lesbar for alle. Den sirlige håndskriften fordrer en leser som er godt trent Databasens entiteter og modell i å lese datidens gotiske skrift. Skal teksten be- arbeides digitalt og brukes som database, må I databasen er de enkelte feltarbeid registrert den transkriberes og skrives inn i et digitalt som et eget prosjekt under entiteten Reiser.24 skriveprogram som Microsoft Word.21 Innen- Navet i datamodellen er entiteten Etapper, den for Mapping the Fields ble om lag 30 sider av strekning som ble tilbakelagt i et gitt tidsrom. Kølles reisedagbok transkribert manuelt, og Etappene er forbundet med Reiser, slik at man denne transkriberingen dannet grunnlaget for ser etapper pr. feltarbeid. Etapper registreres en utprøving av en digital automatisk transkri- enten ved hjelp av datoer eller ved å gi kilde- bering ved hjelp av det automatiske tekstgjen- materialet en rekkefølge ved hjelp av numme- kjenningsprogrammet Transkribus (Innbefat- rering: 01, 02, 03. Derigjennom kan sted og ter funksjonene Handwritten Text Recognition tid knyttes sammen og feltarbeidet vil kunne (HTR) og Keyword Spotting (KWS)).22 Den avtegnes som en bevegelse i tid og rom på det manuelle menneskelige transkriberingen kan digitale kartet. Slik vil det etableres en krono- ikke erstattes av et digitalt program for trans- logi i deres reiserute, til tross for at tid/sted Kristina Skåden

82 Reiser

Har Tilhører Kilde-

Inneholder materiale Er en del av

Natur- inneholder beskrivelser av Er definert i inneholder Beskriver formasjon beskrivelser av

Inneholder Beskriver person- Etapper rolle i

Refererer til beskriver person Refererer til Person blir Forekommer i er beskrevet i omtalt i

Vær- inneholder fenomen stedsforestilling Person- inngår i etappe rolle

Refererer til sted Beskriver steds- rolle i etappe Omhandler I Steds- forestilling Steds- roller i Etappe- Personer kilde- fremkommer ulikt i kildene fra Kølle og Moe stedsrolle materiale (Kølles reise kan følges mer eller mindre fra Beskriver Blir beskrevet av Beskriver etappe- Refererer til sted dag til dag i hennes reisedagbok, mens Moes rolle for sted inngår i kilde- Har etappe- materiale feltarbeidsrute må rekonstrueres etter de ste- stedsrolle der som fremkommer i fotoalbumet). Knyttet til Etapper, er også entitetene Værfenomener og Naturformasjoner. I kildematerialet etter Kølle Steder blir ofte dårlig vær som regn og snø beskrevet. Dette hadde direkte betydning for fremdrif- ten av reisen. Dårlig vær førte til uforutsette Fig. 3 og 4 viser ulike steg i utviklingsarbeidet der den digital databasen med dets entiteter og relasjoner overnattinger og stopp. Videre gir Kølle tette etableres og defineres i form av en datamodell. Dette beskrivelser av naturfenomener, som hvilke humaniora/teknologi-arbeidet fremstår som en lukket tresorter som var å se, beplantning av hager, ”black box” når den endelige databasen visualiseres forekomsten av blomster og nyttevekster. Ved ved digitale kartet. Foto Kristina Skåden. å registrere vær som en egen entitet, vil vi kun- ne få vite mer om hvordan været spilte inn på Person kan knyttes sammen med entiteten reisens rytme. Hennes detaljerte nedtegnelser Personrolle. Herunder kan opplysninger om over naturfenomener vil kunne skilles ut av personens stilling etc. registreres, hennes/ den totale tekstmengden, og slik analyseres i hans plassering på et gitt bilde, samt forskerens relasjon til blant annet hennes store interesse kommentarer. Potensielt kan personene knyt- for naturvitenskapelige forhold. tes sammen i nettverkskart der relasjoner kan I entiteten Personer kan personnavn med visualiseres, mens maktrelasjoner, eller hvor- eventuelt kallenavn og dato for fødsel og død dan personene var forbundet og influerte hver- registreres, samt ytterliggere kontekstualise- andres praksiser, er informasjon som forskeren rende opplysninger om personen. Entiteten må tilføre som kommentarer i databasen. Mapping the fields: Geographies of knowledge production

I entiteten Kildemateriale registreres opp- også arbeidet med å georeferensiere historiske 83 lysninger som referanser til kilden, ytterligere navn på moderne kart. Videre er det i kilder kildeopplysninger som hvor kilden befinner ikke nødvendigvis oppgitt en eksakt posisjon, seg/arkivnummer, om kilden er et foto, manus men stedsnavnet viser til et større område. Når eller trykksak og hvor i kilden det eventuelt kilden da georeferensieres ved å gis en eksakt registrerte innholdet er å finne. Her registre- posisjon, vil den historiske situasjon som kil- rer også tekst hentet fra kilden. En og samme den er relatert til fremstå som mer presis i en person kan knyttes til ulikt kildemateriale og digital kartfremstilling enn det kilden tilsier. inneha flere roller. I et kildemateriale kan f.eks. Det samme gjelder ved tidsangivelser (Janni- en person være avbildet på et fotografi, mens i dis, Kohle & Rehbein 2017:307–308). Når disse et annet tilfelle så er hen informant til et even- skal registreres i databasen for å kunne lage di- tyr. gitale tidsakser, der enkelte kilder kan dateres For å undersøke flertydigheten av ”sted” nøyaktig, kan andre kanskje plasseres innenfor ved å forsøke å utforske feltarbeidets landskap, et tiår eller århundre, vil den digitale tidsaksen topografi og rom, blir begrepet transformert visuelt fremstå som ”korrekt” og skjule date- til flere entiteter i databasen. For det første ringsproblematikk. I Mapping the Fields har vi som fysisk geografisk Sted (georom) som skal valgt å bruke dagens stedsnavn ved registrerin- knyttes til geodata. Fordi kildegrunnlaget til gen i databasen. Samme stedsnavn vil kunne stedsangivelser i vår database er historiske kil- knyttes til ulike kilder. I det digitale kartet vil der, ”stemmer” ikke de historiske stedsnavn stedets ruter dels vises med informasjon fra nødvendigvis med dagens betegnelser på kart. moderne kart og dels på kart fra 1800-tallet. Stedsinformasjon fra en historisk kontekst Innenfor litteraturgeografien og kartografi- kan inneholde en flertydighet ved at fortidens en er det etablert en ordliste for ulike former stedsnavn viser til andre steder eller ander for tekstrom til bruk for analyse av romlighets stedsformasjoner enn de som er kjent i dag. funksjon i fiktive tekster (Piatti 2008:131ff, Det er etablert en rekke databanker over (his- 361–363). Basert på en fortolkning av littera- toriske) stedsnavn som ressurs og enkelte har turteoretikeren Marie-Laure Rayns katego-

Kategorier Forklaringer

Romlig ramme Det stedet i kilden der en faktisk hendelse (feltarbeidet) skjer.

Sosio-historisk ramme Beskrivelser av steder i kildene der det legges vekt på sosiale og historiske sammenhenger

Fortellingens rom Beskrivelser av steder som ikke er fysisk del av feltarbeidet, men som har betydning for feltarbeidet og omtales i kildene. F.eks. steder som huskes, refereres til, lengtes etter.

Fortellingens verden Den verden som blir fullført ved forskerens lesning av kildene basert på hennes kunnskaper og erfaringer. Her kan fortolkninger, ytterligere kilder og opplysninger registreres. Kristina Skåden

84 risering av narrativt rom, har vi i databasen administrativ og humanistisk fagkompetanse. valgt å etablere entiteten Stedets rolle, med Vårt prosjekt er knyttet til Norsk Folkloristisk underkategorier: Romlig ramme; Sosio-histo- Samling og slik til kulturhistorie/etnologi/fol- risk ramme; Fortellingens rom; Fortellingens kloristikk. For disse fagene, som tradisjonelt verden (2016:23ff). Ved å knytte entiteten Sted har arbeidet lite med DH, ligger utfordringen sammen med Stedets rolle kan vi få frem hvor- i å få fagenes perspektiver og teoretiske ressur- dan ett og samme sted har ulike roller – lag av ser til å samspille og utvikles gjennom digital stedsforståelser – i kildene og hvordan ulike problemløsning. I Mapping the Fields har me- stedsroller fremkommer. toden krevd et omfattende håndarbeid for å Basert på de problemstillinger et DH-pro- transformere kildematerialet til database og vi- sjekt søker å utforske, er det å etablere entitete- dere visualisering i form av kart. Dette er svært ne i databasen og de relasjoner som synes hen- forskjellig fra analyser basert på algoritmer og siktsmessige i en datamodell, et arbeid basert maskinlæring og undersøkelser av ”big data” på IT-faglig kompetanse. Samtidig forutsetter fremfor ”small data”. denne teknologiske komponenten av prosjek- Jeg har innledet med å understreke kartets tet forskerens allerede godt etablerte kjennskap kraft og kartets politikk. Med dette er det be- til kildene. Å lese teksten og legge inn tekst- timelig å spørre om hvordan våre kart er virk- fragmenter i databasen innenfor de etablerte somme og politiske? Ikke minst er spørsmålet entitetene er dernest et videre fortolkningsar- om digitale kart kan overskride analoge karts beid som krever diskusjon og analyser. politikk? Digitale kart er, som andre kart, del av relasjoner som er mer eller mindre transpa- rente i det endelige kartresultatet. Disse rela- Kunnskapsproduksjon gjennom å sjonene er også politiske, der aktørene har ulik visualisere makt, ulike ressurser og handlingsrom. På den Jeg har argumentert for at kulturhistoriske un- andre siden er digitale kart potensielt fleksible, dersøkelser av feltarbeid kan hente ressurser interaktive og alltid i tilblivelse. Databasen kan fra digital litteraturkartografi gjennom å vise utvikles og slik vil de visualiseringer som frem- hvordan Mapping the Fields er skrudd sammen stilles kunne være i stadig endring. I Mapping av IT-tekniske prosesser, teoretiske refleksjo- the Fields viser kartene feltarbeidenes relasjon ner og en kjede av små og store gjørende i mø- til det fysiske landskap og dels nettverk av re- tet med ulike kilder. Så hvordan kan Mapping lasjoner mellom personer knyttet til feltarbei- the Fields foreløpige resultater oppsummeres? dene, uten å stedfeste dem i et reelt landskap. Prosjektet har konkretisert hvordan en rekke Gjennom databasen undersøkes dels det en- relasjoner er virksomme selv i et lite DH-pro- kelte feltarbeid, og dels summen av feltarbeid, sjekt. De politiske føringene er tydelige på at med romlige dimensjoner. Prosjektet har så det digitale og humaniora skal veves sammen langt gitt detaljert kunnskap om et begrenset for derigjennom å bidra til samfunnsutviklin- antall feltarbeid, men det har potensiale til å gen. Vår erfaring er at dette fordrer en ny og analysere og visualisere et mangfold av feltar- offensiv satsning på digital humaniora-kom- beid for slik å kunne sammenstille feltarbeids petanse i utdanningsinstitusjonene og en insti- ruter, kildemateriale og forståelse av sted og tusjonell organisering som kan fremme gode rom. samarbeidsrelasjoner på tvers av IT-faglig, Prosjektet har en åpen slutt, data (flere Mapping the fields: Geographies of knowledge production

feltarbeid) kan tilføres og verktøyet (slik vi ved IKOS, UiO. Deler av samlingen er valgt inn 85 nå har blitt vant til at ulike dataverktøy stadig i registret over Norges Dokumentarv, og slik del oppgraderes) videreutvikles. Det har for oss, av Memory of the World, som del av UNESCOs som for mange andre som har arbeidet med internasjonale arbeid. visualiseringer, romlige relasjoner og spatial 3. http://www.hf.uio.no/ikos/tjenester/kunnskap/ history, blitt tydeligere at visualiseringer ikke samlinger/norsk-folkeminnesamling/Sagnkart/ handler om å produsere illustrasjoner eller sagnkart.html Nedlastet 25.juni 2018. kart over noe du allerede har kommet frem til Ansvarlig for Sagnkartet ved Institutet för språk och ved andre metoder. Det er et middel til å gjøre folkminne er Fredrik Skott (prosjektleder) og Trausti forskning. Dagsson (systemutvikler), og faglig ansvarlig ved Norsk Folkeminnesamling Line Esborg. 4. https://www.hf.uio.no/ikos/tjenester/kunnskap/ Noter samlinger/norsk-folkeminnesamling/eventyr- 1. Enkelte norske eksempler er: Nasjonalbibliotekets sagn/sagn/ Nedlastet 25. juni 2018. digitalisering av utgitte bøker i Norge, samt 5. http://www.hf.uio.no/ikos/tjenester/kunnskap/ annet materiell fra biblioteket i ”Nettbiblioteket”. samlinger/norsk-folkeminnesamling/Sagnkart/ ”Digitalt Museum” en felles portal til en Nedlastet 25. juni 2018. database for norske og svenske museer og Norsk Folkeminnesamling har også utviklet det samlinger åpen for allmennheten, ”MARCUS”, digitale kartet Eventyr og sagn, Digital samling av Spesialsamlingenes, Universitetsbiblioteket eventyr og sagn. Dette kartet er utviklet av NFS i Bergen, portal til digitalisert materiale. og Digitale medier i læring og forskning, HF-IT, I Nasjonalmuseets offentlig tilgjengelige Universitetet i Oslo. Kartet inneholder en langt nettbase er det mulig å søke blant nesten 40 større database enn Sagnkartet gjør, men fremstår 000 verk, mens den samlingen består av 400 i dag som foreldet grunnet grensesnittets design. 000 objekter. Til tross for at det er lagt ned 6. Artikkel om Sagnkartet på Det Humanistiske et stort arbeid i digitalisering, var det i 2014 Fakultets nettside er den mest leste nyhetssaken bare 13 % av objektene i museer med tilskudd på HFs nettside noensinne. Sagnkartet fikk også fra Kulturdepartementet som er registrert omfattende medieomtale i lokale medier. (Det digitalt (Gleinvik, Wedde & Nagell 2014:10). Humanistiske Fakultet, 12.februar 2018). Prosentandelen av digitalisert materiale i museer 7. https://www.facebook.com/folkeminnesamlin- regnes fremdeles som lav. Nasjonalbiblioteket, gen/?hc_ref=ARTvnGf_uKiCw_GVR_SwbblN- nedlastet, 3. august 2018. .https://www.nb.no/ cr0CIST6tvA61P3lIxgyujeesKFmDlBnKFbIt8I- search, DigitaltMuseum, nedlastet 3.august 2018. v9OY Nedlastet 25. juni 2018. https://digitaltmuseum.no/, Spesialsamlingene 8. Jeg er ikke alene om å argumentere for at innsikter ved Universitetsbiblioteket i Bergen, nedlastet 03. fra kritisk geografi er nyttige for arbeidet med august 2018. digitale kart. Se f.eks. Crampton 2010. http://marcus.uib.no/home 9. Bruken av (digital) kart i media synes å være Nasjonalmuseet, nedlastet 03. august 2018. http:// langt mer utbredt og diskutert i Tyskland enn i samling.nasjonalmuseet.no/no/) Norden. Et eksempel er seminaret NIAM – News- 2. https://www.hf.uio.no/ikos/tjenester/kunnskap/ Infographics-Analytics-Maps, 18.01.2018. Berlin, samlinger/norsk-folkeminnesamling/om/ arr: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kartographie – Nedlastet 23. juli 2018. Samlingen er lokalisert Sektion Berlin-Brandenburg. Kristina Skåden

86 10. Digital humaniora (DH) er en oversettelse av etterkrigstidens tyske historieforskning forklares det engelske begrepet Digital Humanities. DH ved at innen den klassiske historismen har omtales også med begreper som “Humanities historie blitt forstått som utvikling av den Computing”, “Digital Resources in the menneskelige vilje gjennom tid. Og det har Humanities”, “Cultural and Heritage Informatics”, hersket et ”romtabu” etter Weimar Republikkens “eHumanities”. Disse begrepene er knyttet til en og Nasjonalsosialismens forødende geopolitikk lengre relasjonell historie mellom humaniora (Osterhammel 1998:374). og digitale tilnærminger (Terres 2013: 67ff.) I 16. GIS vil si datamaskinbaserte systemer og norsk sammenheng har begrepene ”EDB for metoder, som brukes til forvalting og analyse av humanister”, ”Humanistisk informatikk”, til stedfestet informasjon, og som har et grensesnitt ”Digital kultur” og ”Digital Humaniora” (se: der stedfestet informasjon kan visualiseres i form internettkilder i sluttnotene). av kart. Forschungsprojekt ETH Zurich, Institut 11. https://www.nb.no/forskning/digital-humaniora/ für Kartografie und Geoinformation 2018: ”Ein Nedlastet 31.07.2018. Literarischer Atlas Europas.” Nedlastet 03. august 12. Institusjonelt kommer satsningen på ”det digitale” 2018. http://www.literaturatlas.eu/?lang=de, ved humanistiske fakulteter til uttrykk i etablering Schweizerische Botschaft in der Bunesrepublik av ulike former for senter og laboratorier for Deuschland og Barbara Piatti, Anne-Kathrin digital humaniora. Dette er gjort i alle nordiske Weber, ”Literatur-Landkarten der Schweiz.” land foruten i Norge. I Norden er DH-feltet blitt Nedlastet 03.august 2018 http://www.literatur- samlet og utviklet gjennom organisasjon Digital karten.ch/de, Lancaster University, ”Mapping the Humanities in the Nordic Countries etablert 2015 Lakes: A Literary GIS.” Nedlastet 03. august, 2018, med dertil hørende konferanser. http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/mappingthelakes/ 13. Oppfølging av de politiske intensjoner finner 17. http://miriamposner.com/blog/humanities-data- vi hos Kulturrådet i form av blant annet a-necessary-contradiction/ Nedlastet: 26.07.2018 Museumsprogrammene Digital Utvikling og 18. http://www.escience.uni-tuebingen.de/projekte/ Digitalisering og digital samlingsforvalting. Et julius-eutings-tagebuecher.html Nedlastet 2. eksempel fra Forskningsrådet er programplanen august. https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/ IKT og digital innovasjon – IKTPLUSS. Her index.php/dco/article/view/18453 Nedlastet 2. forstås ”digitalisering” som ”vår tids største august 2018. . Jeg vil her takke Dr. phil. Mattias samfunnstransformerende prosess”(Norges Lang, Dr. phil. Fabian Schwabe og Dr. phil. Dieta Forskningsråd 2018:4). Frake Svoboda ved eScience- Center, Eberhard 14. Det er viktig å merke seg at digitale verktøy, Karls Universität Tübingen for studieopphold ved analyser og graden av digital integrasjon- og senteret i juni 2016. historie er svært ulik innenfor de humanistiske 19. http://republicofletters.stanford.edu/casestudies/ fag. Min intensjon er ikke å fremstille index.html Nedlastet 31. juli, 2018. fremveksten av DH som en uproblematisk 20. Universitetets Biblioteket, Spesialsamlingene, i utviklingshistorie, også her kjemper ulike Bergen og Universitets Museet i Bergen har gitt aktører om ressurser og faglig autoritet. Se f.eks. et vesentlig bidrag til „Kølle-forskingen“ gjennom Arguing with Digital History working group, å ha kuratert den digitale utstillingen “Catharine ”Digital History and Argument” white paper, Roy Hermine Kølle (1788-1859)” (2017) og ved å ha Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. digitalisert store deler av Kølles bilder og deler av 15. Fraværet av ”rom” og bruken av kart i manuskriptene. Spesial ved Universitetet i Bergen: Mapping the fields: Geographies of knowledge production

”Mysteriet Catharine Hermine Kølle”. Nedlastet 03. Hamburg: Rowohlt Taschenbuch 87 august 2018. http://marcus.uib.no/exhibition/chk-08 Verlag. 21. Deler at Kølles brev er tidligere blitt transkribert Berry, David M. & Anders Fagerjord 2017. Digital og finnes som skrivemaskinskrevne dokumenter. Humanities. Knowledge and Critique in a Digital Skrivemaskinens teknologi muliggjør rask Age. Cambridge: Polity Press. lesning av brevene, men teksten må skrives inn Birkbak, Andreas & Munk, Anders Kristian 2017. digitalt om den skal kunne brukes som del av en Digitale metoder. København: Hans Reitzels database. Dette illustrerer teknologiens sårbarhet, Forlag. hvordan stadig nye versjoner av skriveteknologier Bodenhamer, David J. 2010. ”The potential of Spatial ikke nødvendigvis er kompatible med tidligere humanities.” I Bodenhamer, David J., Corrigan, tiders versjoner. John & Harris, Trevor, M. (eds.). The Spatial 22. Jeg vil her takke førstearkivar Cæcilie Stang og Humanities.GIS and the Future of Humanities førstekonsulent Inger Martinsen for den manuelle Scholarship. Bloomington & Indianpolis: Indiana transkriberingen, og praktikant ved NFS Camilla University Press, 14–30. Christensen for den videre transkribering Bodenhamer, David J., Corrigan, John, Harris, Trevor med Transkribus. Transkribus er del av READ M. (eds.) 2015. Deep Maps and Spatial Narratives. prosjektet finansiert av European Union’s Horizon Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University 2020 Research and Innovation programme. IKOS Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1zxxzr2 har som resultat av Mapping the Fields blitt READ Bøe, Hilde 2018. ”eMunch Edvard Munchs Tekster. Member with a Memorandum of Understanding Digital Arkiv” Munchmuseet, Nedlastet 03. (MoU). Transkribus: ”Transcribe. Collaborate. august 2018. https://www.emunch.no/welcome. Share… …and benefit form cutting edge xhtml research in Handwrittien Text Recognition!”, Cooper, David, Donaldson, Christopher & Murrieta- TRANSKRIBUS Team at University of Innsbruck. Flores, Patricia 2016. ”Introduction. Rethinking Nedlastet 03.august 2018. https://transkribus.eu/ Literary Mapping.” I Literary mapping in the Transkribus/ Digital Age. London & New York: Routledge. 23. I Norge har Munchmuseet gjennom prosjektet https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315592596 eMunch.no testet ut og anvendt Transkribus som Crampton, Jeremy W. 2010. A Critical Introduction verktøy i workshops for transkribering av Munchs to Cartography and GIS. West Sussex:Wiley- brev. Blackwell. 24. Databasen og modellen er opprettet i DeBates, Don, Ian Gregory & Don Lafreniere 2018. programmet STIG – System for Translation ”Introduction. Spatial history, history and GIS.” Information in General, utviklet av DMLF, UiO for I Gregory, Ian, Don Debats & Don Lafreniere forsknings, formidlings og undervisningsformål. (eds.): The Routledge Companion to Spatial DMLF, HF. ”STIG System for Translation History. London and New York: Routledge, 1–6. Information in General” Universitetet i Oslo. Det humanistiske fakultet, kommunikasjonsavdelin- Nedlastet 03. august 2018. https://stig.hf.uio.no/ gen 2018. IKOS’ lansering av Sagn-kart: Slik gikk kommunikasjonsarbeidet. Oslo:UiO, 12. februar. Dodge, Martin, Rob Kitchin & Chris Perkins 2011. Litteratur ”Preface. Introducing The map Reader.” I Dodge, Backmann-Medick, Doris 2009. Cultural Turns. Martin, Rob Kitchin & Chris Perkins (eds.). The Neuorientierungen in den Kulturvissenschaften. Map Reader. Theories of Mapping Practice and Kristina Skåden

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Digitale visjoner. En kartlegging Identitet, tilgjengelighet, og digitalt demokrati

Taran Wold & Gro Ween

Abstract: As part of a Nordic Council funded collaboration between the Danish Nationalmuseet and the Norwegian Kulturhistorisk museum, a mapping of Nordic museum intitutions’ approaches to the digital was undertaken. This article presents a section of the report, focusing on the grand ambitions of Nordic digital approaches, the challenges institutions are and have been facing in fulfilling these ambitions and finally, we point to the one part of Nordic digital initiatives that rarely have received attention; that of the audience. In this article we show that the many challenges that Nordic digital ambitions suffer under have had the result that museum audiences have been largely ignored. We present Nordic digital ambitions, emphasising how the audiences in fact are central to these aspirations, and summarise the Nordic research currently available about our digital museum users.

Keywords: Digital museums, Nordic solutions, audience research, digital policy, the manual digital.

Digitaliseringstrender fra andre samfunns- gen av disse for et bredere publikum, eksem- områder, fremveksten av sosiale medier, de- pelvis i skannet, transkribert eller fotografert lingskultur og endrede digitale vaner har gitt form. Digitalisering er først og fremst et mid- grobunn for nye, storslagne digitale visjoner. I del til å skaffe bedre oversikt over samlinger disse visjonene tillegges det enorme tilfanget av og effektivisere institusjonenes interne drift, kulturhistoriske kilder, foto og objekter som lig- mens tilgjengeliggjøring er til for et ukjent, ger spredt mellom verdens arkiver, biblioteker heterogent, og i mange tilfeller forestilt globalt, og museer, både forskningsmessig, utdannings- nasjonalt eller lokalt publikum, av alt fra ark- messig, kreativt og demokratisk potensiale. tiske urfolk til forskere, skoleelever, kunstnere, Når man snakker om digitalisering innen utviklere og privatpersoner. museums- og kulturarvssektoren snakker man Denne artikkelen er et utdrag av en større både om den interne digitaliseringen av regis- rapport finansiert av Nordisk Råd, gjennom et tre, kataloger og arkiver, og tilgjengeliggjørin- nettverkssamarbeid mellom Nationalmuseet i Digitale visjoner. En kartlegging

Danmark, Kulturhistorisk museum i Oslo, og sjoner. Fremveksten av gratis, åpne og globalt 91 Nordiska museet i Stockholm. Kartleggingen tilgjengelige kunnskaps- og mediakilder som omfatter primært digitaliseringstrender, prak- Google, Wikipedia og Wikimedia Commons siser og diskurser knyttet til tilgjengeliggjø- gjør det enklere enn noen gang å se for seg tje- ringsaspektet av kulturarv, slik disse forestilles nester som tilbyr sømløst integrert, spesialisert i politiske styringsdokumenter og andre digi- men brukertilpasset kunnskap – tilgjengelig tale visjoner. Artikkelen undersøker hvordan for et globalt publikum. Dette er imidlertid disse forhandles, praktiseres, prioriteres – eller langt fra den virkeligheten digitale museums- ikke – av museer og andre kulturarvsinstitu- satsinger befinner seg i. sjoner i Norge, Sverige og Danmark. Sentralt I de senere år har det i de nordiske landene er også hvordan de ulike digitaliseringsdiskur- også vokst frem en rekke nasjonale og flerna- sene og -praksisene påvirkes og formes. Hvor- sjonale fellesportaler som samler flere museers dan preges de av fremveksten av transnasjo- eller også andre AMB-institusjoners samlinger nale fellesportaler og tversektorale samarbeid under en fane: På Island bruker et stort antall som EU-prosjektet Europeana, som på mange museer fellesportalen Sarpur.1 I Finland bru- måter har blitt retningsgivende for digitalise- kes fellesportalen FINNA,2 en kryssøkbar, tver- ringsarbeid, og det digitaliseringsklimaet som sektoriell ABM-portal i Europeanastil som er Brown (2012) kaller ”digital democracy”. tilgjengelig i finsk, svensk og engelsk versjon. Digitalisering av kulturarv er et område I Danmark skal de gamle fellesløsningene Mu- der vidløftige visjoner og høye politiske ambi- seernes Samlinger og Kunstindeks Danmark fa- sjoner ofte står i skarp kontrast til de mange ses ut når Projekt SARA er klart til lansering praktiske, tekniske og økonomiske utfordrin- (Slots- og Kulturstyrelsen, 2018). I Norge og gene, som sektoren som helhet står overfor. Sverige bruker henholdsvis 200 og 63 museer Noen satsinger har vært svært vellykkede og fellespportalene DigitaltMuseum.no3 og Digi- fremgangsrike, andre kortlivede, og noen har taltMuseum.se4 som er tilgjengelige i svensk, til og med blitt skrinlagt før det virkelige ar- norsk, nynorsk og engelsk versjon. Denne ar- beidet i det hele tatt var påbegynt. Hindringer tikkelen fokuserer primært på fellesløsningen er knyttet til en rekke aspekter, fra økonomi og DigitaltMuseum, som er basert på det digitale ressursbruk, styring og samarbeid, lagringska- samlingsforvaltningssystemet PRIMUS, som pasitet, og strategisk utvikling i et omskiftelig leveres av nå svensk-norske KulturIT. landskap. I denne artikkelen er vi opptatt av hva som Det kan knapt finnes noe annet samfunns- ønskes med disse digitale satsingene og spesi- område i vår tid hvor vidløftige ord som fikt hva vi vet om publikum. Vi viser til Brown- ”visjon” og ”misjon” går igjen med større bill & Peacocks (2007) betimelige spørsmål; regelmessighet enn digitaliseringsområdet. hvordan og hvor godt kjenner vi webmuse- Med den globale utbredelsen av internettfor- umsbrukeren? De eksisterende og ofte trange bindelser, smarttelefoner og sosiale medier økonomiske rammene, og digitaliseringsar- har praktisk talt hele verden blitt det Amira beidets endeløshet gjør at publikumsforskning Salmond (2012) kaller ”digitale subjekter”. sjeldent blir prioritert. Samtidig er publikums Buzzwords som “Web 2.0”, ”crowdsourcing” bruk av basene, deres digitale tilstedeværelse og ”social networking” er allestedsnærværen- og engasjement, en grunnleggende betingelse de, selv i tidligere trauste forvaltningsinstitu- for basenes eksistens. Taran Wold & Gro Ween

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Fig. 1. Forside Europeana.

Fra bevaring til digitalt demokrati kunnskapseling og demokratisk tilgang til kunnskap, samt behovet for å utvikle en ny, I 2018 markerer EU European Year of Cultural kreativ kulturell økonomi basert på åpent til- Heritage. Det offisielle slagordet ”Our herita- gjengelige kulturarvdata- og bilder (Europeana ge: Where the past meets the future” og hash- 2015). Med Europeana har EU på mange må- taggen #EuropeForCulture, understreker den ter satt en gullstandard som andre digitalise- identitetsbyggende betydningen av kulturarv ringsprosjekter kan måles etter, men represen- på nasjonalt, regionalt og lokalt nivå, og i siste tasjon i Europeana Collections har også blitt instans betydningen kulturarvens rolle i styr- et mål i seg selv. Alle de nordiske landene har kingen av det felleseuropeiske prosjektet og egne, nasjonale aggregater som høster data fra konstruksjonen av ”A sense of belonging to a ulike steder og leverer til Europeana. Slik får common European space”.5 Digital heritage de- selv små, lokale museer muligheten for å nå et fineres som ”resources that were created in di- globalt publikum. gital form, or that have been digitalised as a way EU’s visjoner om kulturarvens demokra- to preserve them” (EU 2018). Når kulturarv, in- tiske og transformative potensial finner også kludert den digitale, feires med brask og bram gjenklang i nordiske kulturpolitiske visjoner i 2018, skjer det som en del av en større visjon og målsettinger. I det svenske Kulturdeparte- om et kulturelt og digitalt integrert Europa. mentets dokument Digit@lt kulturarv. Natio- Europeana fremhever verdien av åpne data, nell strategi för arbetet med att digitalisera, di- Digitale visjoner. En kartlegging

gitalt bevara och digitalt tillgängliggöra kultur- som IKT-meldingen) og Nasjonal strategi for 93 arvsmaterial och kulturarvsinformation 2012 digital bevaring og formidling av kulturarv, ses –2015 (2011), erklærer det svenske kulturde- som en parallell til Europeanas kunnskapsvi- partementet: sjon. Her beskrives den digitale allmenningen som ”eit bidrag til å føre eit norsk samfunnssyn Det är en av regeringens ambitioner att Sverige ska og fellesskapsforståing inn i ein digital tidsal- vara ledande både nationellt och internationellt i fråga der” (St.meld. nr 24, 2008–2009:9). om att ta tillvara de möjligheter som digitaliseringen ger. Regeringen har därför i september 2011 fattat Forskning, utvikling og digital beslut om IT i människans 10 Digit@lt kulturarv kulturarv 2011 tjänst – en digital agenda för Sverige. Agendan slår fast regeringens övergripande IT-politiska mål Innledningen til norske St. meld. nr. 24 (2008– fram till 2015 – Sverige ska vara bäst i världen på 2009), Nasjonal strategi for digital bevaring og att använda digitaliseringens möjligheter – och formidling av kulturarv formulerer et annet tydliggör ambitioner i förhållande till 22 områden vanlig argument for kulturarvens og fortidens med strategiska utmaningar (Kulturdepartementet betydning for samfunnsutviklingen: 2011:10). Samlingene i landets arkiv, bibliotek og museer Sverige skriver også sin digitale visjon inn i den (ABM-samlingene) utgjør en vesentlig ressurs for bredere Europeiske strategien. I 2011 ble det forskning, undervisning og kultur- og samfunnsut- statlige samordningsorganet Digisam opprettet vikling. Kultur- og kunnskapskildene i arkiv, biblio- for å koordinere den opptrappede innsatsen. tek og museer gir både forankring og muligheter til Samordningsorganets visjon er et ekko av Eu- denne samfunnsutviklingen ved at de representerer ropeanas: ”Kulturarvet är digitaliserat, tillgäng- vår historie, kultur og identitet som utgangspunkt ligt och användbart för alla” (Digisam 2017). for kontinuerlig fortolkning og forståelse (St.meld. I Norge mangler det heller ikke på visjoner. nr. 24 2009:9). I Stortingsmelding nr. 24 (2008–2009), Nasjo- nal strategi for digital bevaring og formidling av På liknende vis understreker det danske Di- kulturarv heter det for eksempel at: gitaliseringsudvalget (2008) potensialet for individuell, så vel som samfunnsmessig beri- Visjonen for regjeringens IKT-politikk på kulturfel- kelse, styrking av internasjonale perspektiver, tet er å gjøre mest mulig av samlingene i våre ar- og utvikling av nye forskningsfelter (Digitali- kiv, bibliotek og museer tilgjengelige for flest mulig seringsudvalget, 2008:10–11). Disse perspek- ved fremtidsrettet bruk av IK-teknologiske løsnin- tivene går også igjen i den svenske nasjonale ger. Samlingene skal være søkbare og tilgjengelige digitaliseringsstrategien fra 2011, som under- på tvers av hele ABM-feltet, og innholdet skal for- streker digital kulturarvs muligheter til å bely- midles på en brukerorientert måte (St.meld. nr 24, se nye sammenhenger i så vel humanistisk som 2009:10). naturvitenskapelig forskning, til å ha nyttever- di i utdanning og undervisning, og represen- Den digitale allmenning, slik den blant annet tere et grunnlag for samhold og økt forståelse skisseres i norske St.meld. nr. 17 (2006–2007) i et samfunn i endring (Kulturdepartementet Eit informasjonssamfunn for alle (også kjent 2011:183). Taran Wold & Gro Ween

94 Visjoner og virkelighet stitusjonene forvalter (Digitaliseringsudvalget 2008:37). Heller ikke i 2015 ser innsatsen ut til Ambisjonene på digitaliseringsfronten er høye. å ha blitt oppfattet som tilfredsstillende, og i Særlig i Norge, Finland og Sverige ligger visjo- Politiken 30. april 2015 innrømmet kulturmi- nene tett opp til ”digital democracy-idealet”. nister Marianne Jelved at digitaliseringen ikke Målet er hva den danske arbeidsgruppen bak holder ønsket tempo (Hjortshøj 2015). Ambi- Digitaliseringsutvalget (2008) kaller massedi- sjonen om massedigitalisering blir også i 2009 gitalisering. Her inkluderer hovedfokuset også erstattet med et mål om selektiv digitalisering digitalisering som middel til effektivisering og på grunnlag av en brukerorientert strategi. oversikt over samlingene innad i institusjone- Med det menes at brukernes interesser i større ne (Digitaliseringsudvalget 2008, 2009). Dan- grad skal styre hva som digitaliseres, heller enn ske kulturmyndigheter ser ut til å ha en sys- at digitalisering bedrives for digitaliseringens tematisk og langsiktig tilnærming, blant annet skyld (Digitaliseringsudvalget 2008). basert på obligatoriske digitale fellesregistre Danmark er ikke alene. Trass honnørord og for alle statsfinansierte museer, håndheving av lovprising av digitaliseringens transformative felles nasjonale standarder, systematisk sentral muligheter fra politisk hold, holdes realiserin- planlegging og tilrettelegging for interoperabi- gen av de digitale visjonene om en fulldigitali- litet mellom nåværende og eventuelt fremtidi- sert, åpent tilgjengelig, samlet og kryss-søkbar ge løsninger, samt høsting til Europeana (Digi- kulturarv tilbake i alle de nordiske landene. taliseringsudvalget 2008, 2009). Problemene er hyppigst av praktisk, strategisk Men tross nøye utredninger og realistiske og økonomisk art, men også mangel på utstyr, diskusjoner har ikke digitaliseringsarbeidet ekspertise og menneskelige ressurser, van- skutt fart eller blitt igangsatt på en systematisk skeligheter med å skaffe finansiering og util- måte. I 2009, ett år etter at den endelige rappor- strekkelige statlige bevilgninger trekkes også ten fra Digitaliseringsutvalget hadde blitt lagt fram som årsaker til manglende satsing. I til- frem, uttalte Erland Kolding Nilsen, direktør legg kommer begrensningene som ofte ligger ved Det Kongelige Bibliotek, at en bevilgning i ABM-sektorens samlingers ulike egenskaper, på ”mindst 570 millioner kroner over de næste institusjonenes varierende kapasitet og størrel- ti år, er nødvendig som et absolut minimum se og ulike muligheter til å håndtere utfordrin- til at oppnå en tilfredsstillende begyndelse på ger knyttet til opphavsrett og metadata. den opfattede digitaliseringsproces” (Bæk- I Norge og Sverige fremstår fremdeles full holm 2009). Senere meldtes det flere ganger digitalisering som et mål i seg selv. Det er om manglende finansiering og politisk styring, lite snakk om prioritering – snarere later det med overskrifter som ”Danske museer famler til at et ønske om å digitalisere mest mulig, med de digitale teknologier” (Bech-Danielsen fortest mulig, og med høyest mulig kvalitet 2014), ”Danmark mister sin hukommelse” og er premisset for diskursen. Men i kontrast til ”Den danske kulturarv er i fare for at forsvinde de storslåtte visjonene står en virkelighet der ud i glemslens tåger” (Faber 2009). tempoet ofte er for langsomt, kvaliteten for I 2008 konstaterte Kulturministeriet at på dårlig og prioriteringen for lav – og myndig- tross av en betydelig innsats, måtte effekten på hetene tilsynelatende er uvillige til å bevilge det større digitaliseringsarbeidet regnes som midlene sektoren oppgir at de behøver. Den begrenset i forhold til mengden materiale in- svenske konklusjonen fra Digit@lt kulturarv Digitale visjoner. En kartlegging

(2011) trekker tilsvarende konklusjoner som i dringspotensial, og ifølge undersøkelsen skal 95 Danmark: museene oppfatte ”manglende oversikt” som det største problemet med tjenestens bruker- Trots tidigare stora insatser för digitalisering bedö- vennlighet: mer samordnings Sekretariatet Digisam vid Riksar- kivet att endast en mindre del av kulturarvsobjekten Dei peikar særleg på at søkjefunksjonen gir for få i Sverige i dag finns i digital form. Mot denna bak- målretta treff, og at det dermed blir tidkrevjande å grund vill regeringen framhålla att det är viktigt att finne dei mest interessante treffa. For eksempel vil arbetet kan fortsätta i hög takt (Kulturdepartemen- eit fritekstsøk etter namnet Munch like gjerne gi treff tet 2011:184). på fyrstikkøskjer med motiv frå måleriet Skrik som på kunstverk av Edvard Munch som er stilte ut ved En norsk evaluering av framgangen på digita- Nasjonalmuseet (NOU 2016–2017: 3/4, 2017:82). liseringsfeltet i ABM-sektoren siden Nasjonal strategi for digital bevaring og formidling av Riksrevisjonen på sin side er opptatt av formid- kulturarv, konkluderer med at digitaliserings- ling, definert som ”at innhaldet er omarbeidd arbeidet ikke er blitt tilfredsstillende utført, og tilpassa definerte brukargrupper, og at in- med begrunnelsen at ”en stor del av kultur- stitusjonen eller ein annan innhaldsleveran- arven fremdeles ikke er digitalisert” (NOU dør aktivt vender seg til målgruppene tilbo- 2016-2017 3/4:8), mye av det eksisterende di- det er tenkt retta mot” (NOU 2016–2017:3/4, gitale materialet ikke er tilgjengeliggjort for 2017:82). ”Nokre museum publiserer katalog- publikum, og store deler av arkivsektoren og informasjon utan at objekta blir sette i nokon museumssektoren ikke har ”prioritert digitali- kontekst, og det er for stor variasjon i korleis re- seringsarbeidet slik det er føresett” (Riksrevi- gistreringane er gjorde” (NOU 2016–2017:3/4, sjonens undersøking av digitalisering av kultur- 2017:82). Hvem disse målgruppene er, og hva arven 2017). Rapporten avdekker også en rek- slas informasjonstilpasning de har behov for, ke bakenforliggende årsaker til den manglende sier rapporten imidlertid ingen ting om. prioriteringen, som i stor grad også deles av Offentlige evalueringer har, som Svenske museumssektoren både i Sverige, Norge og Digisam6 (2014) og den norske Riksrevisjo- Danmark. nens undersøkelse av digitalisering av kultur- arv (2017), en tendens til å evaluere fremgang og utvikling etter kriterier som hvor mye som Hvem er egentlig publikum? er digitalisert og hvor mye som er ”tilgjengelig- Brukerne av den digitaliserte kulturarven og gjort”, ”kvaliteten” på informasjonen og dens hva de kan tenkes å bruke den til, er sentrale ”brukervennlighet” (NOU 2016–2017:3/4, i alle de retningsgivende digitale visjonene på 2017). Begreper som ”brukertilpasning”, ”sam- kulturarvsfeltet. Riksrevisjonen (2016–2017) hold”, ”større samfunnsforståelse” og ”synergi- vurderer for eksempel portalen DigitaltMuse- effekter” peker på publikums eller brukernes um som ”brukarvennleg samanlikna med an- sentrale rolle i digitale satsinger. dre liknande tenester internasjonalt, sjølv om Samtidig, som påpekt innledningsvis, vet vi plattforma har potensial til å bli betre” (NOU lite om hvem publikum er og hvordan de i så 2016–2017:3/4, 2017:82). Søkefunksjonalite- fall utøver et digitalt demokrati. Her er også ten blir trukket fram som et punkt med forbe- Riksrevisjonens unnlatelser symptomatisk Taran Wold & Gro Ween

96 for et større problem. Gitt at alle aspekter av Brownbill & Peacock (2007), ”a subject popu- en suksessfull webløsning – innhold, design, lation, waiting, perhaps eagerly, for something funksjonalitet og så videre er tilpasset bruke- which they can attend” (Brownbill & Peacock rens behov, er også kjennskap til publikum 2007:3). Det er også forbundet med passivitet en viktig forutsetning for å lykkes (Brownbill og enveis påvirkning. Brownbill & Peacock & Peacock 2007). Det er derfor paradoksalt mener at publikumsbegrepet er anakronistisk hvor lite kunnskap om brukerne som ligger til i konteksten av moderne internettbruk, og at grunn for de politiske visjonene. Ole Marius man i stedet bør bruke begreper og operasjo- Hylland ved Telemarksforskning (2017) kom- naliseringer som anerkjenner webbrukeres menterte denne problematikken i sitt svarinn- agens som tar formålene med aktivitetene de- legg til Riksrevisjonens rapport. Rapporten res alvorlig: ”In many ’visitor studies’ of muse- viderefører Regjeringens ønske om formidling um Web site users, there is too much emphasis tilpasset de ulike brukergruppene (Se NOU on who they are, and too little on what they 2016–2017:3–4, 2017:96) ved å gjøre det til ett want and do online, and the context in which av revisjonskriteriene, men uten å redegjøre they do it” (Brownbill & Peacock 2007:7). for hvem disse brukergruppene er. Som Hyl- Det kan synes mer passende å erstatte publi- land poengterer, er tilpasning svært vanskelig kum med besøkende, da det har mere aktive å få til når man hverken har nok kunnskap konnotasjoner. En besøkende har tatt et aktivt om de faktiske brukerne, deres faktiske bru- valg om å oppsøke museet, og behandles der- kermønstre og behov – eller hva slags type in- for som ærede gjester selv i sin virtuelle form formasjon indikatorer som sidevisninger, som (Brownbill & Peacock 2007:7). Med en øken- ofte brukes som et mål på suksess, egentlig gir de markedstenkning har museene også inn- oss (Hylland 2017). ført ideen om besøkende som forbrukere eller Det er heller ikke enighet om hvordan man kulturkonsumenter. Med på lasset følger ofte skal omtale digitale brukere. I konferansepa- et behavioristisk menneskesyn. Undersøkel- peret Audiences, Visitors and Users: Reconcep- ser utformet på dette grunnlag arter seg ofte tualising users of museum on-line content and som andre markedsundersøkelser (Brown- service (2007) stiller Brownbill & Peacock de bill & Peacock 2007:3). Andre museumseva- betimelige spørsmålene hvordan og hvor godt lueringspraksiser henter innfallsvinkler fra kjenner vi webmuseumsbrukeren? Hvor godt samfunnsvitenskapelige og pedagogiske eva- forankret er antakelsene våre, og kan brillene lueringer av læringsutbytte. Her defineres bru- vi ser dem gjennom faktisk hindre eller stå i keren typisk som borger og mottaker av ulike veien for en reell forståelse av dem? Brown- intervensjoner (Brownbill & Peacock 2007:3). bill & Peacock mener at kategoriene ”bruker”, En tredje variant er å omtale brukeren med ut- ”besøkende” og ”publikum” brukes om hver- gangspunkt i UCD-paradigmet, eller user-cen- andre, og inneholder skjulte antakelser som tered design. Brukeren konseptualiseres her representere metodologiske og epistemologis- som en aktiv agent, som målrettet forsøker å ke forskjeller, fundert i disipliner så forskjellige realisere en oppgave eller et mål. Her er bru- som økonomi, informatikk, samfunnsfag og keren det endelige mål på programvarens ef- software engineering. Disse representerer ulike fektivitet og brukervennlighet (Brownbill & paradigmer i synet på hvem digitale brukere er. Peacock 2007:3). Publikumsbegrepet konstruerer, i følge Disse ulike forståelsene av brukeren kan Digitale visjoner. En kartlegging

både sameksistere og overlappe, men uten en dersøkelsen er at de som brukte digitale mu- 97 egentlig interesse for hvem brukerne faktisk er. seumstjenester overlappet med de fysiske mu- Det er også lite interesse for å lære fra hver- seumsbrukerne, mens andelen rene web-bru- andres perspektiver (Brownbill & Peacock kere var ubetydelig. I det danske representa- 2007:5). tive utvalget utgjorde gruppen faktisk bare tre prosent, eller 52 av 2 121 respondenter. Dersom man deler Europeanas eller nordiske Brukerundersøkelser fra Norden kulturmyndigheters visjoner om demokratisk Skandinaviske studier av digitale muse- tilgjengelighet av kulturarv, kan det tenkes å umsbrukere er forsvinnende få. Moos & Lund- være både uventet og nedslående dersom det gaards undersøkelse fra 2010 belyser forhol- viser seg at digital kulturarv ikke når ut til et det mellom brukere av både fysiske museer bredere publikum enn de fysiske museene al- og museers webløsninger. Undersøkelsen tar lerede gjør. Moos & Lundgaard beskriver den utgangspunkt i et utvalg på 2,121 individer lille gruppen som kun besøker det digitale mu- valgt ut med segmenteringsverktøyet Gal- seum som interessant, og en gruppe som mu- lupKompas. Etter en spørreundersøkelse ble seene må ta i betraktning når de lager kommu- det satt sammen fokusgrupper av utvalgte re- nikasjonsstrategier (Moos & Lundgaard 2010). spondenter, hvor alle ble beskrevet som aktive Men i deres eget utvalg var den imidlertid så museumsbrukere. Deltakerne var brukere av liten at det ikke lot seg forsvare å studere den både av fysiske museer og museers nettjenes- separat. ter, og utvalgene hadde jevn representasjon av Av Moos & Lundgaards utvalg kunne alt- kjønn, aldre, utdanningsnivå, bosted og mu- så 33 prosent karakteriseres som brukere av seumspreferanser (kunst, kulturhistorisk, na- museenes nettsider. 54 prosent av dem som turhistorisk og så videre) (Moos & Lundgaard oppga å bruke museenes hjemmesider var 2010:9). Utvalget ble også delt i ni segmenter kvinner, mot 46 prosent menn, og som med gruppert etter syn på ulike samfunns- og mil- museumsbruk for øvrig var de yngste i klart jøspørsmål, offentlige tjenester og kulturvaner mindretall. Bare 17 prosent av web- og muse- (Moos & Lundgaard 2010:9). umsbrukerne var mellom 15 og 29 år. Utdan- Den kvantitative undersøkelsen plasserte ningsnivå spilte ikke overraskende også inn. respondentene i fire ulike kategorier: Andelen Blant andelen som brukte museumsnettsider rene web-brukere, altså borgere som oppsøker hadde dobbelt så mange høyere utdanning enn fysiske museer mindre enn en gang årlig, men blant ikke-brukergruppen. Et annet interessant som har brukt en museumsside i løpet av siste funn var at den lille gruppen rene web-muse- år. Denne gruppen var så forsvinnende liten umsbrukere var langt mindre tradisjonelle i at den ble utelatt fra den videre analysen. De sitt syn på samfunnsspørsmål enn ikke-bru- kombinerte museums- og web-brukere utgjorde kerne (Moos & Lundgaard 2010:11). 33 prosent av utvalget. De rene museumsbru- Moos & Lundgaard etablerte også fokus- kerne utgjorde hele 39 prosent. En tredjedel av grupper for å snakke om hva som kjenneteg- utvalget benyttet verken digitale eller fysiske ner gode og dårlige museumsnettsider. Un- museer i løpet av siste år (Moos & Lundgaard dersøkelsen er svært enkel, men vi lærer at 2010:8). en dårlig museumsside ble karakterisert som Ett av de mest interessante funnene i un- dårlig oppdatert, med tunge tekstpassasjer og Taran Wold & Gro Ween

98 en belærende tone. En god museumsnettside publikumsbidrag opplysninger om ”navn på derimot, ble beskrevet som moderne og godt avbildede personer, stedsangivelser, utfyllen- designet, enkel å navigere, og funksjonell på to de informasjon om bygninger eller steder som nivåer – både med praktiske opplysninger om er avbildet, osv. Det er også eksempler på at museet, åpningstider og utstillinger, og mulig- publikum har bidratt på korrigeringer av in- heter til fordypning i materialet gjennom tekst formasjon de mener har vært feilaktig. Noen og bilder (Moos & Lundgaard 2010:15). har også lagt ut spørsmål om saker de ”håper Norske KulturIT utførte en brukerunder- andre kan gi dem svar på” (Gleinsvik et al. søkelse på den norske versjonen av Digitalt- 2014:44). Museum i 2014. Denne undersøkelsen forholdt Spørreskjemaet kartla videre blant an- seg utelukkende til digitale brukere av Digitalt- net alder, kjønn og utdanning, og avslørte en Museum – en konkret, søkbar museumstjeneste overvekt av menn (60 prosent menn mot 40 i digitalt katalogformat, med store mengder prosent kvinner) blant brukere som respon- fotografier, og informasjon om konkrete sam- derte på undersøkelsen. Forfatterne påpeker linger fra mer enn to hundre norske museer. at funnene avviker fra tidligere undersøkelser DigitaltMuseums pop-up-undersøkelse ble be- av besøkende på kunstgallerier og museer i svart av 536 brukere og funnene fra undersø- andre sammenhenger et flertall av 62 prosent kelsen ble analysert av samfunnsanalysebyrå- av respondentene hadde høyere utdannelse. ene Proba Samfunnsanalyse og Devoteam. Re- Aldersfordelingen blant respondentene viser sultatene ble publisert som en del av rapporten også at DigitaltMuseum appellerte sterkest Digital infrastruktur for museer. En evaluering til et eldre publikum, nesten femti prosent av av kulturrådets satsning (2014). I følge Proba & brukerne var mellom 40 og 60 (Gleinsvik et al. Devoteams rapport var brukerundersøkelsen 2014:42–43). utformet for å besvare hvordan, og i hvilken Brukerne ble også spurt om hvor ofte de grad DigitaltMuseum har blitt tatt i bruk av besøkte DigitaltMuseum, og her ser man at ulike grupper, ”som kultur- og utdanningsin- DigitaltMuseums brukere besøker siden ofte- stitusjoner, det allmenne publikum og av tred- re enn respondentene i den danske undersø- jepartsutviklere”, hvorvidt og i hvilken grad kelsen. Om lag halvparten besøkte nettsidene tjenesten dekker brukernes behov, og i hvilken ”oftere enn en gang i uken”, en av tre besøk- grad de benytter seg av mulighetene til å forme te siden ”ukentlig eller oftere”, og en av fire og utvikle tjenestens innhold (Gleinsvik et al. ”noen få ganger i halvåret eller sjeldnere enn 2014:41–42).7 det” (Gleinsvik et al. 2014:42). Med andre ord I følge Gleinsvik et al. sin analyse, har 27 brukte flertallet tjenesten jevnlig og oftere enn prosent av respondentene bidratt med infor- en gang i året, og den største gruppen var fak- masjon gjennom DigitaltMuseums kommen- tisk den som oppga å bruke tjenesten oftest. tarfeltfunksjon. Når museer ønsker informa- Forfatterne av rapporten deler respondente- sjon om spesielle deler av samlinger, samles ne inn i tre hovedgrupper, etter hva de oppga disse på hovedsiden sammen med en oppfor- som formålet med besøket sitt og hva de lette dring om bidrag fra publikum. Respondente- etter. Rundt 2/3 av respondentene besøkte si- ne hadde enten bidratt på denne måten, eller den med det forfatterne beskriver som ”private ettersom de tilfeldig kom over gjenstander de formål”. Denne gruppen ble videre delt inn de kunne noe om .I følge forfatterne var typiske som leter etter noe spesifikt, og de som gan- Digitale visjoner. En kartlegging

99

Fig. 2. DigitaltMuseum webside. ske enkelt søker underholdning (Gleinsvik et Privat bruk. Liker å se igjen gamle bilder av steder al. 2014:42). Tre kvalitative begrunnelser fra som har forandra seg mye. Ser på landskaper og be- gruppen som ikke lette etter noe spesielt gjen- byggelse. Mimrer. Ser hva som står igjen, hva som er gis, med respondentenes egne ord: borte, hvordan noe er bygd om osv. Sammenligner før–nå (Gleinsvik et al. 2014:42–43). Et vell av spennende og nyttig historisk materiale. Må begrense meg så jeg ikke blir avhengig. For den andre gruppen private brukere, som lette etter noe spesifikt, ble formålet oppgitt Se på bilder, mimre, se hvordan ting var før i tiden, til å være slektsforskning, leting etter bilder dyrke min egen interesse for historie og dele på Fa- av avdøde familiemedlemmer, bilder av hvor- cebook. dan egne hjem og gater så ut for 100 år siden, informasjon om antikviteter osv. En bruker En annen respondent trekker også fram Face- oppga at han brukte tjenesten som tidsfordriv. book i sin begrunnelse: Han lette ikke etter spesielle gjenstander eller fotografier, men feil i kataloginformasjonen, Bare mimre. En Facebook-venn legger ut så man- som han forsøkte å rette opp (Gleinsvik et al. ge artige bilder. Trur han finner dem her. Og jeg vil 2014:43). bare se flere …. Av de to gruppene som besøker Digitalt- Museum i forbindelse med jobb eller studier Den tredje respondenten bruker også Digitalt- (til sammen en tredjedel av respondentene) Museum til å mimre: skal jobbrelaterte besøk ha vært det vanlig- Taran Wold & Gro Ween

100 ste. Disse drev med forskning av ulike slag, tes informasjonen de fant på DigitaltMuseum for eksempel til foredrag og bøker. Mange var var ”nyttig”. 78 prosent svarte at de fant det de også selv museumsansatte og besøkte siden i lette etter, og 82 prosent svarte at de syntes Di- forbindelse med forvaltning av egen samling, gitaltMuseum var en ”god” løsning (Gleinsvik sjekket hvordan andre hadde katalogisert lig- et al. 2014:44). Flere etterlyser imidlertid mere nende gjenstander, innhentet informasjon til og bedre informasjon om objektene. Andre forskningsprosjekter eller lignende (Gleinsvik lar seg frustrere av den sprikende kvaliteten i et al. 2014:43). informasjonen som er tilgjengelig. Det påpe- Funnene i den norske undersøkelsen sam- kes at hvis publikum skal kunne bidra med svarer med i noen grad med en undersøkelse tilleggsopplysninger, må også grunnopplys- foretatt i forbindelse med et digitaliseringspro- ningene være bedre. Mange ønsker også bedre sjekt ved Birmingham Museum and Art Gal- bildekvalitet, og opplever at de ikke får studert lery i 2004 (Nørskov & Larsen 2009:21). Den detaljer på objekter ordentlig fordi oppløsnin- britiske undersøkelsen hadde større presisjon gen er for dårlig til at zoomfunksjonen funge- i sin kategorisering av brukergrupper enn den rer (Gleinsvik et al. 2014:44). norske. Brukermønsteret var imidlertid ganske likt. Som i den norske undersøkelsen var såkal- Crowdsourcing og dialog i te ”browsers” en stor gruppe, og utgjorde ca. DigitaltMuseum 50 prosent av de besøkene. Den neste gruppen, kalt ”followers”, ønsket at museet skulle frem- Digitale museumsløsninger blir ansett som en heve visse gjenstander, med fortellinger og for- arena for crowdsourcing og dialog med muse- klaringer knyttet til disse. ”Followergruppen” ets publikum eller brukere, og kommentarfel- har ingen klar parallell i Gleinsvik et al. sine ter har etter hvert blitt populære tilskudd til di- (2014) kategorier. Denne gruppen utgjorde ca. gitale museumsløsninger. Både norsk-svenske 40 prosent av utvalget. Den neste gruppen, ”se- DigitaltMuseum og KulturIT-portalen Minner archers”, utgjorde ca. ni prosent, og var kjenne- har åpne kommentarfelter der besøkende kan tegnet ved at de besøkte museet for å lære om kommentere enkeltposter. På sine hjemmesi- bestemte gjenstander. Det overraskende i den der beskriver KulturIT DigitaltMuseum som britiske undersøkelsen var at gruppen, ”resear- ”et godt eksempel på crowdsourcing, altså at chers” bare utgjorde ca. en prosent (Nørskov man lar den kollektive kunnskapen komme in- & Larsen 2009:21). Enten formålet var privat stitusjonene til gode”.8 Personer og steder skal eller jobb/studierelatert, var brukergruppens være spesielt store publikumsfavoritter. Disse krav de samme som i den norske, og stilte lik- publikumsfavorittene er det imidlertid både få nende krav til kataloginformasjon, søkbarhet av og langt imellom. og fotokvalitet. På en vanlig objektside gis publikum anled- I forhold til de tidligere nevnte danske un- ning både til å legge til nøkkelord, og komme dersøkelsene var det norske publikums forslag med kommentarer eller forslag til endringer til forbedringer av DigitaltMuseum langt mer både på ”historikk” og generell kataloginfor- konkrete. Brukerkrav handler her om mer masjon. Ettersom museene ofte mangler infor- og bedre av det som allerede er – bilder, in- masjon om egne objekter, annonser noen, for formasjon og søkbarhet. Blant nøkkeltallene eksempel Nordiska Museet på DigitaltMuseum som presenteres, svarte 87 prosent at de syn- spesielt etter publikums hjelp. Forespørsler Digitale visjoner. En kartlegging

Antall kom- Objekter 101 mentarer pr. med (A) Objekt kommen- Total tarer

1 29 499 29 499

2 5 311 10 622

3 692 2 076

4 257 1 028

5 67 335

Fig. 3. Kommentar fra bildekarusellen «sist kom- mentert» på norske DigitaltMuseum 27. april 2018.9 6 32 192

7 17 119 om publikumsinformasjon er også innebygd i selve plattformen gjennom algoritmer: Etter at 8 8 64 Wold gjorde et stedssøk på sine hjemlige trak- ter, Hamar, ble hun ved neste søk forespurt å 10 7 70 hjelpe til med tilleggsinformasjon om nyopp- lastede fotosamlinger fra Hamar og Løten, 9 6 54 samt rundt 4000 andre objekter. Som med alt annet på DigitaltMuseum er det opp til det en- 14 6 84 kelte museum hvorvidt, hvordan og hvor raskt 12 4 48 de svarer på henvendelser, verifiserer, undersø- ker og inkluderer publikums informasjon. 13 4 52 I forbindelse med Wolds (2018) kartlegging av nordiske museale digitale tilnærminger 15 4 60 hentet produktansvarlig for DigitaltMuseum i KulturIT, Espen Nordenhaug, ut en samlet 11 2 22 oversikt over antall kommenterte gjenstands- poster i svenske og norske DigitaltMuseum, 21 2 42 samt antall kommentarer per gjenstandspost. Tallene gjenspeiler situasjonen per 23. april 16 1 16 2018. 22 1 22 Tallene bekrefter inntrykket som er gitt i det foregående. Av mere enn 4.7 millioner 33 1 33 poster totalt fordelt på de to nettportalene er det bare 29 499 poster som er kommentert 973467 av publikum. En overveldende majoritet av disse er enkeltstående, hvilket tyder på at ei- Taran Wold & Gro Ween

102 erinstitusjonen ikke har besvart kommenta- Konklusjon ren. Manglende svar betyr, som tidligere vist, ikke nødvendigvis at informasjonen ikke har Siden opprettelsen av Europeanasamarbeidet funnet veien inn i kataloginformasjonen eller har ideer om digitalisering som middel til å museets interne databaser men det er likevel sikre kulturarven for fremtidige generasjoner, grunn til at flertallet av kommentarene ikke dens demokratiske tilgjengelighet og åpenhet har blitt fulgt opp av museene i det hele tatt. og dens uforløste potensiale til å bidra til kunn- Videre er det kun 5 311 gjenstander med to skapsutvikling, kreativitet, identitet og integra- kommentarer, og antall gjenstander faller jevnt sjon satt sitt preg på kultur- og digitaliserings- i takt med antall kommentarer. Noen ytterst få politikk i de nordiske landene. Storsatsinger gjenstander ser ut til å faktisk ha blitt steder for som European Year of Cultural Heritage feirer diskusjon eller dialog, men det store bildet er kulturarvens mangfold og aktualitet, mens likevel at DigitaltMuseums kommentarfelter alarmistisk varsku om slitasje, forringelse, tap ikke fungerer etter intensjonen. og glemsel – berettiget eller ikke – gir diskur- Kommentarfeltene fungerer altså til dels til sen et skinn av tidspress og skaper forventnin- crowdsourcing og kunnskapsutveksling, men ger om et tempo institusjonene sjeldent makter hverken publikum eller museene ser ut til å å leve opp til. Selv om det oppfordres til galopp utnytte potensialet fullt ut. Noen besøkende fra politisk hold, fortoner det faktiske digita- bruker kommentarfeltene til å stille spørsmål, liseringsarbeidet seg snarere som en langsom, men disse blir ofte stående ubesvart av eierin- fragmentert prosess som tidvis går raskt, tidvis stitusjonen. De vanligste kommentarene er sakte, tidvis stagnerer og tidvis må begynnes korreksjoner av gale opplysninger eller ny in- helt eller delvis på nytt. De ulike nordiske kul- formasjon om objekter, personer og kjøretøy, turmyndighetenes strategier for å styre, styrke og de fleste kommentatorene ser ut til å være og koordinere digitaliseringsinnsatsen varie- privatpersoner. Det virker også nokså tilfeldig rer, men ingen av dem har i praksis vært villige om slike opplysninger finner veien inn i katalo- til å gå langt nok i å bevilge midlene som skal ginformasjonen eller ikke. Henvendelsene som til for å heve innsatsen til et nivå som nærmer blir tatt opp i katalogen blir også ofte ikke be- seg ambisjonene de selv skissere – og når in- svart, noe som undergraver dialogaspektet ved stitusjonene år etter år mislykkes i å leve opp kommentarfelter som crowdsourcing-verktøy. til de høye forventningene, vanker refs i ned- Det er mulig at museene som oppgir epost som slående rapporter og ramaskrik i mediene, alternativ kommunikasjonskanal er flinkere til krass kritikk rettes nærmest rutinemessig mot å svare på henvendelser her, men disse faller myndigheter og institusjoner. naturlig nok utenfor denne undersøkelsen. Med unntak av begrensede offentlige støtte- Videre ser kommentatorene primært ut til ordninger (som oftest tidsbegrensede) forven- å være eldre privatpersoner, ofte med biogra- tes det likevel at institusjonene skal finansiere fiske, erfaringsmessige eller familiære forbin- digitaliseringsarbeid, enten over ordinære delser med fotografier og objekter heller enn et driftsbudsjetter eller gjennom ekstern finan- ungt, globalt, kreativt eller digitalt født publi- siering. Dermed ender digitalisering ofte med kum slik EU-satsingen Europeana ser for seg. å bli utsatt av økonomiske årsaker eller utført Heller ikke diskusjoner mellom eksperter ser på prosjektbasis uten nødvendigvis å innlede ut til å finne sted på disse arenaene. de større, mer permanente endringene i or- Digitale visjoner. En kartlegging

ganisasjonsstrukturen (Riksrevisjonen 2017; ringsarbeidet ved at enkeltinstitusjoner slipper 103 Digitaliseringsudvalget 2008; Gleinsvik et al. å utvikle og drifte egne systemer (Digitalise- 2015) som har gjort at for eksempel det norske ringsudvalget 2008) og gjør det mulig å forene Nasjonalbiblioteket har lykkes i så stor grad samlingene til en mengde institusjoner under med sitt massedigitaliseringsprosjekt (Riksre- en felles, ofte nasjonal fane, ikke ulikt Euro- visjonen 2017). Slik det fremgår av offentlige peanaportalen. Både på Island og i Finland, utredninger og uttalelser fra institusjonene Norge, Danmark og Sverige har slike løsninger selv, holdes digitaliseringsarbeidet primært til- kommet på plass. Fellesløsningene regnes som bake av økonomiske årsaker, særlig for mindre både velkomne og vellykkede, men medfører museer med lave budsjetter og få faste årsverk. også en rekke utfordringer, blant annet knyttet Dette har ført til at flere har tatt i bruk diver- til tilpasning av systemene til svært forskjellige se lavbudsjettløsninger, hvori frivillige, folk på institusjoners og samlingers ulike behov. NAV-tiltak og andre uten museumsfaglig bak- Hvor toppstyrte og fokuserte de digitale fel- grunn er blitt satt til å utføre flere av de tid- lesløsningene er, varierer også. Lanseringen krevende manuelle digitaliseringsoppgavene av det danske samlingsforvaltningssysteemet (Riksrevisjonen 2017). SARA har blitt forsinket flere ganger, men Kul- Mange større museer har trosset ugunstige turstyrelsen har som mål å levere en fullsten- rammebetingelser og lykkes i å gjennomfø- dig ferdigutviklet løsning når systemet endelig re flere vellykkede digitaliseringsprosjekter lanseres (Slots- og Kulturstyrelsen 2018; Boye gjennom egenfinansiering og diverse ekstern 2018). Museene har vært involvert i utformin- finansiering. De fleste av dem har laget egne gen, men systemet leveres som et standardsys- skreddersydde databaser tilknyttet egne hjem- tem, og utviklingen skal være regnet som fer- mesider eller allerede eksisterende plattformer, dig innen systemet tas i bruk (Sandal 2015; hvor de tilgjengeliggjør samlingene sine for et Boye 2018). Når SARA fases inn, fases også de globalt, digitalt publikum. Noen, som det dan- gamle fellessystemene ut, og de statsstøttede ske Nationalmuseet, norske Kulturhistorisk mu- museene vil etter museumsloven ha innrap- seum og svenske LSH har også tatt i bruk inno- porteringsplikt i det nye systemet (Gleinsvik vative nye teknologier i produksjonen av langt et al. 2015). I motsetning til den sentraliserte, mer komplekse og detaljerte digitale objekter danske modellen står norsk-svenske Digitalt- enn det tradisjonelle museumskatalogformatet Museum, samlingsforvaltningssystemet Pri- tillater med fotogrammetri og 3D-modeller. mus, og resten av KulturIT’s etter hvert omfat- De fleste museers samlinger ligger imidlertid tende digitale økosystem. Løsningene er i kon- tett opp til det tradisjonelle katalogformatet stant videreutvikling, og utviklingen skal skje i med enkle digitalfoto og katalogopplysninger samarbeid med medlemsmuseene og styres av tilknyttet hver gjenstand. deres ulike behov (KulturIT 2018). Løsningen De senere år har det vokst fram en trend vurderes i det store og det hele som vellykket, hvor kulturmyndighetene utvikler eller støt- også av den norske Riksrevisjonen (2017), ter oppunder utviklingen av felles digital in- men det er også tydelig at løsningen brukes frastruktur i form av felles samlingsforvalt- av mange svært ulike museer med ulik tilgang ningssystemer og digitale kulturarvs- og/eller til utstyr, ressurser og kompetanse. Problemer museumsportaler, som svensk-norske Digi- med søkefunksjonalitet og store variasjoner i taltMuseum. Disse både forenkler digitalise- registreringspraksiser, fotokvalitet og oppføl- Taran Wold & Gro Ween

104 ging fra museenes side synliggjør de kaotiske Noter og uforutsigbare følgene av ukoordinert digi- taliseringsinnsats. 1. http://sarpur.is/ Det er den manuelle produksjonen av det 2. https://www.kansallismuseo.fi/en/collections/ digitale materialet som krever den desidert finna største arbeidsmengden, og selv dette er van- 3. https://digitaltmuseum.no/ skelig for mange institusjoner innenfor ram- 4. https://digitaltmuseum.se/ mene av dagens ressurssituasjon. Men digitali- 5. https://europa.eu/cultural-heritage/about sering fører med seg en rekke andre utfordrin- 6. http://ettdigitalarekulturarv.digisam.se/10. ger som er minst like vanskelige å imøtegå. shtml?location=28#10.2 Spørsmål knyttet til bærekraftig langtidslag- 7. Data fra undersøkelsen og Proba & Devoteams ring og håndtering av digitalt skapt kulturarv analyse brukes også av Riksrevisjonen i er blant de mest profilerte, men også områder Undersøking av digitalisering av kulturarven som rettighetsproblematikk, interoperabilitet, (NOU 3:4 2017:82). datakvalitet og felles standarder inneholder 8. https://kulturit.org/digitaltmuseum viktige utfordringer som må løses både av den 9. https://digitaltmuseum.se/011024608327/ enkelte institusjon og i fellesskap. postdiligens Men en av de aller viktigste utfordringene snakkes det lite om, på tross av at det utgjør en Litteratur viktig kjerne i prosjektet som sådan: Mangelen på kunnskap om publikummet den digitale til- Boye, Magnus 2018. ”Fremhævet som eksempel på gjengeliggjøringen retter seg mot, gjør det lite god offentlig it: Museumssystem ramt af årelang meningsfylt å snakke om tilpasning til ulike forsinkelse”. Version2. https://www.version2. brukergrupper og deres behov. Heving av foto- dk/artikel/fremhaevet-eksempel-paa-god- og metadatakvalitet krever minst like mye av offentlig-it-museumssystem-ramt-aarelang- institusjonene som førstegangsdigitalisering, forsinkelse-1083928 og uten kunnskap om hvem brukerne er og Brown, Deidre & Nicholas, George 2012. hva slags informasjon, kontekstualisering og “Protecting indigenous cultural property in kvaliteter de forventer blir det også en umulig the age of digital democracy: Institutional øvelse (Hylland 2017). and communal responses to Canadian First Samtidig viser våre undersøkelser av bruken Nations and Māori heritage concerns.” Journal av kommentarfeltene at brukerne i liten grad of Material Culture 17:3, 307–324. https://doi. henvender seg til museene, og når de gjør det- org/10.1177/1359183512454065 te, viser museene relativt sett liten interesse, Brownbill, Johnny & Peacock, Darren 2007. på tross av henvendelser om å bidra til crowd- “Audiences, Visitors, Users: Reconceptualising sourcing-initiativer. Hvis den overveldende Users Of Museum On-line Content and Services.” andelen tomme kommentarfelter er en indika- Konferanseinnlegg presentert på Museum and the sjon på noe er det muligens at heller ikke mu- web 2007 The international conference for culture seenes forestillinger om det digitale publikum- and heritage on-line. San Francisco, California. met verken klarer å gjenspeile eller engasjere https://www.museumsandtheweb.com/mw2007/ gruppen slik den virkelig er. speakers/index.html Bækholm, Christian 2009. ”Kulturel digitalisering Digitale visjoner. En kartlegging

vil koste mindst en halv milliard.” Politiken. Jensen, Jacob Thorek & Lundgaard Ida Brændholt 105 https://politiken.dk/kultur/art4959983/Kulturel- 2015. “Museum’s users and users’ museums.” digitalisering-vil-koste-mindst-en-halv-milliard I Museums, Citizens and Sustainable solutions. Digisam 2014. Ett digitalare kulturarv. Digisams København: Kulturstyrelsen, 18–82. verksamhet 2011–2015. 10. Statistik. http:// Kulturdepartementet 2011. Digit@lt Kulturarv. ettdigitalarekulturarv.digisam.se/10. digitlt-kulturarv---nationell-strategi-for-arbetet- shtml?location=28#10.2 med-att-digitalisera-digitalt-bevara-och-digitalt- Digitaliseringsudvalget 2008. Digitalisering tillgangliggora-kulturarvsmaterial-och-kultu- af kulturarven. Midtvejsrapport fra rarvsinformation-ku11.015. Digitaliseringsudvalget. København: https://www.regeringen.se/ Kulturministeriet. Tilgjengelig fra https://kum.dk/ contentassets/8af272b4832140acae16f36fc82c8c6d/ publikationer/2008/digitalisering-af-kulturarven- digitlt-kulturarv---nationell-strategi-for-arbetet- midtvejsrapport-fra-digitaliseringsudvalget/ med-att-digitalisera-digitalt-bevara-och-digitalt- Digitaliseringsudvalget 2009. Digitalisering tillgangliggore-kulturarvsmaterial-och-kultu- af kulturarven. Endelig rapport fra rarvsinforkation-ku11.015 Digitaliseringsudvalget. København: Moos, Thyge & Lundgaard, Ida Brændholm 2010. Kulturministeriet. https://kum.dk/ The Museum’s Web Users – A user survey of publikationer/2009/digitalisering-af-kulturarven/ museum websites. English summary. København: Europeana 2015. Europeana Strategy 2015–2020. Kulturstyrelsen https://english.slks.dk/fileadmin/ https://pro.europeana.eu/files/Europeana_ publikationer/publikationer_engelske/Reports/ Professional/Publications/Europeana%20 The_museum_s_web_users_2010.pdf Strategy%202020.pdf Nørskov, Vinnie & Larsen, Ane Heljskov 2009. Faber, Kim 2009. ”Danmark mister sin hukommelse”. ”Samlingen i en teknologisk tidsalder.” I Digital Politiken. https://politiken.dk/kultur/art5606518/ museumsformidling – i brukerperspektiv. Danmark-mister-sin-hukommelse København: Kulturstyrelsen, 18–24. https:// Gleinsvik, Audun, Wedde, Elise & Nagell, Bjørn 2014. slks.dk/fileadmin/user_upload/kulturarv/ Digital infrastruktur for museer. En evaluering av publikationer/emneopdelt/digitalisering/digital_ Kulturrådets satsing. Oslo: Kulturrådet. http:// museumsformidling.pdf docplayer.me/36103735-Digital-infrastruktur-for- Proba Samfunnsanalyse og Devoteam 2014. Digital museer.html infrastruktur for museer. En evaluering av Hjortshøj, Morten & Kjær, Birgitte 2015. kulturrådets satsning ”Kulturministeren ”gjenkjenner problemer” Riksrevisjonen 2017. Riksrevisjonens undersøking med digitaliseringen av kulturarven.” Politiken. av digitalisering av kulturarven. Dokument 3:4 https://politiken.dk/kultur/medier/art5573908/ (2016−2017). Bergen: Fagbokforlaget AS. Kulturminister-%C2%BBanerkender- Salmond, Amiria 2012. “Digital Subjects, Cultural problematik%C2%AB-med-digitalisering-af- Objects: Special Issue introduction”. Journal of kulturarv Material Culture 17:3, 211–228. DOI: Hylland, Ole Marius 2017. Revisjon, visjon og https://doi.org/10.1177/1359183512453531 virkelighet. Kommentar til Riksrevisjonens rapport. Sandal, Jesper Stein 2015. ”Millioner af danske Video. https://www.kulturradet.no/kalender/ museumsgenstande samles i nyt it-system –forud hendelse/-/digitaliseringsmeldingen-8-ar- for tidsplan og under budget”. Version2. https:// etter-200417 www.version2.dk/artikel/millioner-af-danske- Taran Wold & Gro Ween

106 museumsgenstande-samles-i-nyt-it-system- forud-tidsplan-og-under-budget St.Meld. Nr. 24, 2008–2009. Nasjonal strategi for digital bevaring og formidling av kulturarv. Oslo: Kultur- og Kirkedepartementet. St. Meld. Nr. 17, 2006–2007. Eit informasjonssamfunn for alle. Oslo: Fornyings- og Adnimistrasjonsdepartementet. St. Meld. Nr. 24, 2008–2009. Nasjonal strategi for digital bevaring og formidling av kulturarv. Oslo: Kultur- og Kirkedepartementet.

Taran Wold, MA, Seniorkonsulent på digitaliseringsprosjekt [email protected]

Gro Ween, Pph.d. Seksjonsleder for etnografi, numismatikk, klassisk arkeologi og universitetsvitenskap [email protected]

Kulturhistorisk museum P.O. Box 6762 St. Olavs plass N-0130 Oslo, Norway cusers_2010.pdf Special issue projects • Nordisk Museologi 2018 • 2–3, s. 107–114

Digital archaeology A democratic utopia

Irmelin Axelsen

Abstract: In this article a brief account of a seemingly low-impact news-report and the ensuing debate on Facebook is used to illustrate how online meaning exchanges may lead to increased polarization, and deep disagreement, between two particular groups: metal-detectorists and archaeologists. In addition some issues for how to conduct ethical online research, such as when information should be seen as public or private, is discussed. I conclude by suggesting possible ways to decrease the existing divide between two groups with similar interests.

Keywords: Digital archaeology, democracy, Facebook groups, deep disagree- ments, polarization, ethical online research, metal-detecting and archaeology.

Digitisation of cultural heritage and archae- inquiry, immediately and on a global scale”. ological material has been seen by many as a Hypertexts, with the possibility to connect a quick fix for a more inclusive and “democratic” document to a vast digital world of information academic field (see Taylor and Gibson 2017 via links are a commonly cited example of for references; Walker 2014:217–218). Almost a practice that enables multivocality and 20 years have passed since the wholly online community engagement (e.g. Newman 2009: and open access journal Internet Archaeology 180–181; see also Denning 2004). dedicated its very first thematic issue to the Much hope was – and still is – put on topic of “Digital Publication”. In it, Ian Hodder electronic dissemination and communication. (1999) expressed hope that the Internet could Within the somewhat overlapping branches lead to an “erosion of hierarchical systems of concerned with “public” or “community” archaeological knowledge” – paving the way archaeology, digital interaction has been for a new model of “networks and flows”. In the considered an almost effortless way to editorial, Judith Winters (1999) wrote: “On the include some of the “voices” referred to by web, rather than on the printed page, we can Winters. Faith that perhaps the next or latest come closer to fulfilling our concerns about technological innovation will finally offer dissemination, we can more easily incorporate solutions to our problems is still widespread many ‘voices’ and facilitate the opening up of (see e.g. Loader & Mercea 2011). The Internet, our work and our interpretations to critical social media, and smartphones have indeed Irmelin Axelsen

108 given us new arenas for conversing, and they affect our respective disciplines (e.g. Walker are accessible to a larger part of the public than 2014). pricey academic articles, but have they really Facebook has become a place where much changed how we communicate with each other of the knowledge exchange and public debate (Miller 2012:159)? about archaeology in Norway is taking place. As part of my ongoing PhD project, entitled This is not a conscious choice by any of the “What’s the deal with things?”, I am investigating country’s archaeological institutions, and it has the relationship between archaeologists and happened gradually without any critical debate metal detectorists in Norway. Much of the (cf. Bonacchi and Moshenska 2015; Walker tension between the two has become visible 2014). With its (current) over 4,400 members, on social media channels such as Facebook. the public1 Facebook group “Arkeologi i Norge” A telling example of this is a seemingly low- (“Archaeology in Norway”) is now the largest impact news report and the ensuing online forum for archaeologists in the country, and debate. In the following text this incident it is administered solely by one person. Its will be used to illustrate how online meaning (current) description states that it is intended exchanges may sometimes lead to increased as a “meeting place” for the various branches of polarization between two particular groups or archaeology. Many members are, however, not communities with deceptively similar interests. archaeologists, which also makes it a meeting This has created walls instead of breaking place between archaeology and parts of the them down and has cemented already existing public. Sharing articles, videos, and news that divides (Walker 2014:217–218). Contextual may be relevant to the group is encouraged. information is necessary, and a brief account Students and researchers frequently ask for of where the verbal altercation took place will tips about literature and parallel material be presented first. relating to a specific topic. Sometimes, a post sparks debate and engages both archaeologists and non-professional members. Facebook – A public or private A recurring topic that has caused some meeting place? tension since its creation in 2007 is the Technological advances and new digital private use of metal detectors to search for platforms are introduced at a rapid pace. Our automatically protected cultural heritage.2 adaptation is happening almost as quickly, Writing different versions of “metal-detecting” and a growing number of our everyday actions in the group search field yields a large number are taking place on the Internet. Regardless of posts with long threads underneath them. of one’s needs or wants, there seems to be an This debate and its factions, while local, will app for it (see Statista 2018). This also means be familiar to archaeologists across the world that we as researchers are, to a large extent, (see e.g. Makowska et al. 2016; Pitblado playing catch-up. Neither our research tools 2014; Thomas 2012; Wessman et al. 2016), nor ethical guidelines manage to quite keep albeit with some national nuances caused by up. Including information gathered from the variations in laws aimed to protect cultural Internet can provide valuable and perhaps heritage. Active metal detectorists, people that even much needed insight into increasingly use metal detectors to search for protected influential and social aspects that greatly cultural heritage, and archaeologists have Digital archaeology. A democratic utopia

been the main participants and instigators of It is interesting to note that Norwegian law 109 the discussions, with both sides often veering and judicial precedent take a very different towards polemics – “repeated contradiction stance. Statements made online are considered and gainsaying” (see Kraus 2012:92). Often, a public when posted in a place where it has the parallel debate will take place in an equivalent potential to reach more than 20–30 people (Ot. group, reserved for historically motivated prp. nr. 90 (2003–2004), Pt. 3(12.2.2.); The Penal metal-detecting in Norway, “Metalldetektor og Code 2005, Chap. 2(10)(2)). Status updates historie” (“Metal Detector and History”). Its made on a personal Facebook, Instagram, or member count as of August 2018 is more than Twitter profile and posts on pages or within 4,500, and the group is closed.3 groups, closed or not, exceeding this number of friends, followers, or members can therefore be quoted freely with the poster’s full name Ethical online research by the press (Fredriksen 2015). Now, possible A potential cause for the lack of qualitative legal implications are one aspect and ethical online research within some disciplines, as of ramifications are another; while something may yet, could be the varying and largely context- not be illegal, it can still be considered unethical dependent ethical considerations that have to when done in the name of research. be made. It can, for example, be difficult to It was largely to make this distinction ascertain whether information available online clearer that NESH updated their guidelines for about people should be considered public or research ethics in 2016 (NESH 2016:4). There private. Frequently, it can be considered both are, of course, many so-called grey areas, and or something in between (NESH 2014:4). ethical guidelines are continuously adapting to a When, why, and where a post was written and changing technological landscape. Sometimes, who is reading it are factors that influence this the potential benefits of research will outweigh perception. Users in a Facebook group may the need to protect the anonymity of the be prepared for reactions on a comment from individuals involved. In this particular case, other members, but they may not always be to err on the side of caution, the outline of the aware that friends or family of those people debate below is based on how it unfolded in could also be seeing the comment and be the open group, “Archaeology in Norway”, and reacting to it in their news feed. no individual users will be directly quoted in The National Committee for Research Ethics the text. in the Social Sciences and the Humanities (NESH) stressed that “the stricter the forum’s Looters and badgers restrictions on access, [...], the greater the participants’ expectations of protection or News about illegal metal-detecting at an anonymity” (2014:4). This differs from how we ongoing archaeological excavation in the usually view other public spaces, such as parks southern part of Norway was nationally or squares that are generally accepted as public, broadcast via NRKs4 TV and radio channels, as other people can see and hear individuals. and news site (Jakobsen 2017). The excavation There is therefore a greater tolerance for leader and county conservator described observation and data collection in these arenas the incident and stated that a police report (e.g. NESH 2016:14). had been filed, while an environmental Irmelin Axelsen

110

Fig. 1. Headline on NRK’s website “Despair over looting of antiquities”. The text reads: “Antiquities may have been looted from an archaeological excavation in Kristiansand. Somebody has used metal detectors to search for valuable objects – at night” (translation by the author). 11 October 2017, 05.30. Screenshot from the website nrk. no, reproduced with permission.

coordinator at the Agder police district asked the archaeologists’ ability to differentiate for tips from the public. Right before 7 AM on between animal and human activity and 11 October 2017 the news article was shared demanded better proof to be presented. If not, in “Archaeology in Norway” with the caption they claimed, the metal-detecting community “A metal detector has been used to search at was owed an official apology, as some felt the our excavation site in Kristiansand. The police news reports were incriminating all metal are now involved and we are hoping to receive detectorists. Pictures of “known” badger tips that can contribute to solving the case”. holes were posted, followed by comments The post immediately attracted attention, and mocking those who thought the disturbances in the end had 47 comments. It was shared 15 pictured in the news article could be anything times, and 145 people “reacted” to it. other than animal-made. Five hours after Instead of tips, the debate very quickly the original post, the project manager for became about whether the evidence held the excavation posted a longer explanation, up to scrutiny. Several people argued that including details of the disturbances at the the published photographs, which depicted site that had not made it into the news article. the holes that had been dug overnight and Comments were still published for another 24 were described as traces of metal-detecting hours and did not stop until a third warning activity, were more likely the result of badgers to end the discussion was issued by the group searching for earthworms. Some questioned administrator. Digital archaeology. A democratic utopia

Deep disagreement The private use of metal detectors to 111 search for protected cultural heritage has How could a seemingly innocent plea for help been both criticised (e.g. Gundersen et al. stir up such strong feelings? For a conflict, 2016) and heralded (e.g. Maixner 2015; Skre argument, or discussion to arise there needs 2016) by heritage management since the first to be disagreement. Usually, these are easily metal detector finds were handed in to the resolved, as they are prone to be minor archaeological museums in Norway during conflicts about facts, and there would normally the early 1980s (see e.g. Harby & Uleberg 1992; be an agreement about how they should be Vibe-Müller 1982). solved (Fogelin 1985:3). Disagreements are As the detecting-community grew and the certainly nothing out of the ordinary. Some number of metal finds increased accordingly, sort of conflict, argument, or discussion is an especially from 2010 onwards, the debate about everyday occurrence for most, and they can the legality, possible benefits, and drawbacks even be intense, long-lasting, and unresolvable of private metal-detecting intensified and without necessarily being deep (Fogelin coincided with a larger part of the population 1985:5). For that, a lack of common ground – a actively using Facebook (Vaage 2016:112– set of shared beliefs or knowledge – is necessary 113). This resulted in a move of the debate (Kraus 2012:92). For the uninitiated, the news from newspaper columns to an online forum. about potentially illegal metal-detecting was Two groups that, up until then, had primarily unremarkable. In Archaeology in Norway it dealt with each other either face-to-face or was seen by some as yet another attack by a via post or email now communicated directly. haughty academic environment aimed at the There was no bureaucratic involvement, entire metal-detector community. and individual archaeologists and metal A major concern for some of the participants detectorists had to answer questions directly seemed to be that the incident would “add from the other. For a while, escalating debates fuel to the fire” for those who opposed private seemed like a weekly occurrence. It was not metal detection. One user also alluded to until after the group administrator’s continued an earlier event when detectorists had been insistence that discussions about metal- accused of wrongdoing, and the culprits did detecting belonged somewhere other than in indeed turn out to be badgers. Responses a group for archaeology that the frequency of from parts of the metal-detecting community exchanges declined. showed a general mistrust of archaeologists, their intentions, and knowledge. In that sense, Conclusion the debate mirrored a trend of growing distrust towards science among the public (e.g. Nisbet When a disagreement runs deep, it is et al. 2015). Although a few archaeologists characterised by seemingly mundane factors commented that the observations were made being seen as controversial, and parties of a by experienced field workers, who had been conflict strongly oppose each other regardless on the excavation site for several weeks, the of the logic behind the arguments being validity of the report was still questioned. presented (Memedi 2007:1). Well thought- Such reactions were likely a culmination of an through posts in a forum may fall flat simply already underlying polarized debate. because the other members do not believe in Irmelin Axelsen

112 the content or mistrust the intentions of the Notes poster. Despite this, debates will frequently carry on and participants will “bluntly deny 1. Anyone can see the group, a membership list, and the rationality of the other side’s arguments all posts (Facebook 2018). and declare them plainly absurd” (Kraus 2. The Norwegian Cultural Heritage Act of 1978 2012:94). Not surprisingly, the result is more automatically protects all traces of human activity often than not an exchange of increasingly older than AD 1537. Sámi cultural heritage and polemic arguments, which only serves to standing constructions are offered the same deepen the divide. Perhaps this could explain protection when older than 1917 and 1649, the case outlined here. I would not suggest that respectively. such situations are unresolvable (Fogelin 1985) 3. Anyone can see the name and description of the or that metal-detectorists and archaeologists group, but only current members can see posts in Norway should therefore stop debating and a list of the other members (Facebook 2018). altogether. 4. Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. It may seem counter-intuitive, but the very same subject dividing “two polemic arguers” Litterature could be enough of a shared interest to create the common ground needed to resolve a Bonacchi, Chiara & Gabriel Moshenska 2015 “Critical disagreement. Even more common ground reflections on digital public archaeology”. Internet could be gained by subsuming “the competing Archaeology 40. positions under a more comprehensive or Denning, Kathryn 2004. “‘The storm of progress’ overarching problem” (Kraus 2012:102, with and archaeology for an online public”. Internet references). For archaeologists and metal- Archaeology 15. detectorists, this could prove to be an especially Facebook 2018. “What are the privacy settings for productive approach. Both groups undoubtedly groups?” Accessed March 13 2018, share an interest in protecting cultural heritage. https://www.facebook.com/ Instead of arguing, we could join forces and, for help/220336891328465?helpref=about_content. instance, lobby for more state funding reserved Fogelin, Robert J. 1985. “The logic of deep for the costs connected to metal-detecting disagreements.” Informal Logic 7(1):1–8. finds (Skre 2016). This could result in objects https://doi.org/10.22329/il.v7i1.2696 from private detectorists being processed Fredriksen, Rune 2015. “Nett-troll kan ikke gjemme faster than they currently are. This would seg i lukkede Facebook-grupper.” Accessed 14 remove one of the biggest – and again, shared November 2017, https://www.nrk.no/ostfold/nett- – frustrations for both groups. Detectorists troll-kan-ikke-gjemme-seg-i-lukkede-facebook- would likely be less frustrated with a slow- grupper-1.12506846 moving find intake, where it frequently takes Gundersen, Jostein, Josephine M. Rasmussen, & years before information about a specific find Ragnar Orten Lie. 2016. “Private metal detecting is available. Archaeologists would perhaps not and archaeology in Norway.” Open Archaeology feel that detecting finds were taking valuable 2:160–170. https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2016- time and limited financial resources from 0012 other mandatory assignments. Harby, Sjur & Espen Uleberg 1992. “Grav der det piper...” Nicolay arkeologisk tidsskrift 58(2):26. Digital archaeology. A democratic utopia

Hodder, Ian 1999. “Archaeology and global Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities) 113 information systems.. “Internet Archaeology 6 .” 2016. Guidelines for Research Ethics in the Social Jakobsen, Marianne 2017. “Fortviler over plyndring Sciences, Humanities, Law and Theology. Copies av fortidsminner.” Accessed October 19 2017, available from 978-82-7682-077-5. https://www.nrk.no/sorlandet/fortviler-over- Newman, Martin 2009. “Devil’s advocate or alternate plyndring-av-fortidsminner-1.13727654. reality.” In Emma Waterton and Laurajane Kraus, Manfred. 2012. “Cultural diversity, cognitive Smith (eds.) Taking Archaeology Out of Heritage. breaks, and deep disagreement: Polemic Newcastle Upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars, argument.” In Frans H. van Eemeren & Bart 170–191. Garssen (eds). Topical Themes in Argumentation Nisbet, Erik C., Kathryn E. Cooper & R. Kelly Garrett Theory: Twenty Exploratory Studies. Dordrecht: 2015. “The partisan brain: How dissonant science Springer Netherlands, 91–107. https://doi. messages lead conservatives and liberals to org/10.1007/978-94-007-4041-9_7 (dis)trust science.” The Annals of the American Loader, Brian D. and Dan Mercea 2011. “Networking Academy of Political and Social Science, 658:1, 36– Democracy? Social media innovations 66. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716214555474 and participatory politics.” Information, Ot.prp. nr. 90. 2003–2004. Om lov om straff Communication & Society 14:6, 757–769. https:// (straffeloven). Ministry of Justice and Public doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2011.592648 Security. Maixner, Birgit 2015. “Én lov – ulik Pitblado, Bonnie L. 2014. “How archaeologists and forvaltningspolitikk: om norsk artifact collectors can—and should—collaborate forvaltningspraksis rundt privat metallsøking to comply with legal and ethical antiquities codes.” i pløyejord og dens konsekvenser.” Fornvännen Advances in Archaeological Practice 2:4, 338–352. 110:3, 201–213. https://doi.org/10.7183/2326-3768.2.4.338 Makowska, Agnieszka, Agnieszka Oniszczuk, & Skre, Dagfinn 2016. “De frivillige detektoristene - Marcin Sabaciński 2016. “Some remarks on the våre gode allierte.” In Jes Martens & Mads Ravn stormy relationship between the detectorists (eds.) Pløyejord som kontekst. Nye utfordringer for and archaeological heritage in Poland.” Open forskning, forvaltning og formidling. Oslo: Portal, Archaeology 2:1, 171–181. https://doi.org/10.1515/ 107–110. opar-2016-0013 Statista 2018. “Number of mobile app downloads Memedi, Vesel 2007. “Resolving deep disagreement.” worldwide in 2017, 2018 and 2022 (in billions).” Proceedings of the Dissensus and the Search Accessed September 21 2018, www.statista. for Common Ground. University of Windsor com/statisics/271644/worldwide-free-and-paid- Conference Archives, 1–10. mobile-app-store-downloads/. Miller, Daniel 2012. “Social Networking Sites.” In Taylor, Joel & Laura Kate Gibson 2017. “Digitisation, Heather A. Horst & Daniel Miller (eds.) Digital digital interaction and social media: embedded Anthropology. London: Berg, 146–161. barriers to democratic heritage.” International NESH (Norwegian National Committee for Research Journal of Heritage Studies 23:5, 408–420. https:// Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities) doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2016.1171245 2014. Ethical Guidelines for Internet Research. Thomas, Suzie 2012. “Searching for answers: a survey Accessed 31 October 2018, www.etikkom.no/en/ of metal-detector users in the UK.” International ethical-guidelines-for-research/ Journal of Heritage Studies 18:1, 49–64. https:// NESH (Norwegian National Committee for Research doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2011.590817 Irmelin Axelsen

114 Vaage, Odd Frank 2016. Kulturvaner 1991-2015. Resultater fra kultur- og mediebruksundersøkelsene de siste 25 år. Oslo: Statistics Norway. Vibe-Müller, Karl 1982. “Metalldetektor: Et nytt hjelpemiddel i arkeologisk feltundersøkelse.” Nicolay arkeologisk tidsskrift, 37:9–15. Walker, Dominic 2014. “Antisocial media in archaeology?” Archaeological Dialogues 21:2, 217– 235. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1380203814000221 Wessman, Anna, Leena Koivisto & Thomas, Suzie 2016. “Metal detecting in Finland - An ongoing debate.” Open Archaeology 2:1, 85–96. https://doi. org/10.1515/opar-2016-0006 Winters, Judith 1999. “Editorial.” Internet Archaeology, 6.

Irmelin Axelsen, Ph.D. Candidate [email protected]

Cultural History Museum, University of Oslo P.O. Box 6762 St. Olavs plass N-0130 Oslo, Norway Special issue projects • Nordisk Museologi 2018 • 2–3, s. 115–120

Using digital technology as a mode of experimental display Thoughts on an exhibition on stave church portals

Jason Falkenburg

Abstract: This article reflects on the digital exhibitionary approaches that were explored as part of the exhibition Looking Through Portals held at the Cultural History Museum in Oslo in 2018. The exhibition experimented with new ways of displaying, representing and experiencing stave church portals. I discuss two of the exhibition’s installations that used digital technologies – a video display and a 3D print. These point to how powers of suggestion in museum displays can bring visitors to experience heritage in new ways.

Keywords: Stave church portals, display, digital installations, heritage, suggestion, experience.

This article reflects on the digital exhibition “museumification” transformed them into approaches explored as part of an experimental iconic Norwegian national heritage emblems. exhibition on stave church portals I curated However, throughout their lives as exhibition at the Cultural History Museum in Oslo.1 objects, curators have not done justice to the Norwegian stave churches and their portals display potential of portals. Often they have began to be made roughly around 1100 A.D., assumed a position close to and/or against the forming part of an elaborate institutional wall as stationary aestheticised ornaments. programme for Christianised Norway. In Such a display cuts off the original function their original medieval setting, the portals of the stave church portals as an entrance/exit functioned as entrance/exit ways, as markers way. I propose that one should aim to take up for the dividing line between the secular and the the challenge and determine ways to engage spiritual, the material and immaterial world. with their display potential as a museum object Heavily decorated with elaborate carvings, the and offer a challenge to the modern viewer portals have been transferred to and displayed regarding how their ambiguous identity and in museums since the nineteenth century, a agency as individual (“art”/“archaeological”) period in which monumental objects were objects and as thresholds between different sought after as Norway aimed at establishing worlds can be experienced. In the exhibition, their own national heritage collections. Their I explored ways to allow viewers to experience Jason Falkenburg

116 stave church portals in new ways, to engage with In her article, Jung questioned mainstream them as “living” cultural heritage through the academic ideas about the function and potential of digital display and digitalisation. aesthetics of choir screens in Gothic churches, In this article, I discuss two digital installations namely hindering the church goers’ visual that were part of the experimental exhibition access to the sacred ritual space of the choir, Looking Through Portals that I curated at only accessible to the clerics (2000:622). the Museum for Cultural History in Oslo in Instead, Jung postulated that these intricately spring 2018.2 The original intention of the sculpted screens first had a pertinent integral exhibition was to use an original portal from liturgical function: “the screens as architectural the museum’s medieval displays. The costs of structures […] are fundamentally complex moving a fragile item up two flights of stairs things fraught with paradox, markers of a proved to be prohibitive. This led us to explore highly charged site of transition and passage” display approaches that evoked portals in (2000:624). They were meant to visually their absence. The two digital display elements engage the perceiver and teach them through discussed here – a video display and a 3D empathy and identification. Their purpose print – point to ways in which viewers can was the opposite of excluding lay people experience the portals visually, physically, and from the sacred space of the choir, for they imaginatively. Theoretically, these point to spurred the perceiver on through suggestion the powers of suggestion of exhibitions, and and concealment. Church goers were invited, how they can enable visitors to experience perhaps lured to peer into the choir through heritage in new ways. Before discussing the the frame of the open doors of the screen. By exhibition, I briefly discuss the theoretical concealing them from the public’s gaze, the notion of “suggestion” and the implications for screen enhanced and mystified the liturgical exhibition curation. practices going on behind it. Jung further stipulated that the screen, broadly speaking, can be seen “as a sacred site for rites of The notion of suggestion passage” (2000:630). Starting from a distance The actual experience of crossing the threshold at the outer threshold, one would experience of stave church portals can be a potent act. The intensification as one moved closer and was led act of looking through the portal, I want to into and through the doorway (2000:632). The suggest, can be at least as potent as the actual sculpted imagery – functioning as devotional physical movement through and across it. instruments (meditatively and mnemonically) Evocation and suggestion may be considered – of the choir screens blurred reality, and key elements connected to the concept and one’s imagination triggered by the sculptures experience of “gazing”. Here, I briefly touch merged with the living moving body. The upon these themes by examining Gothic choir notions of suggestion and concealment, as screens discussed by art historian Jaqueline suggested by Jung, thus contrive towards the Jung (2000) that are not too dissimilar to stave perspective of evocation; they evoke a response church portals. This discussion provides a way that involves a feeling or need of exploration, of thinking theoretically about the power of of curiosity, and of wonder. These insights have suggestion in an exhibition and informed my much potential to inform exhibition making, experimental exhibition of church portals. in particular one about stave church portals, Using digital technology as a mode of experimental display

which in the past acted as thresholds between panorama filled with special visual and audio 117 the secular and sacred. Ideally, an exhibition effects. The projected animated video starts on portals can trigger in viewers the same once the viewer is situated in the space between emotions of curiosity and wonder as those these two screens, a space that the visitor must described by Jung. In the next section, I turn to envisage as being situated in an imaginary a museum example of the use of suggestion in landscape between the two encroaching war an exhibition and how digital technologies can parties (one coloured in blue, the other in red). play an interesting role in this function. As the war parties approach each other, the perceiver is immersed in a riveting aural, visual, and imaginative encounter. In particular, the Digital installation as powerful reverberating loud sounds of war screams and suggestion weapon clatter make for a gritty experience. The archaeological and ethnographic museum Apart from these sound bites, the actual battle in Moesgaard near Aarhus, Denmark, is a scene is visually abstracted and absent, further newly renovated museum that opened its stimulating the visitor’s imagination. The doors to the public in 2014. Its innovative and entire experience of the installation is therefore technologically rich exhibition scenography more than mere digital visual imagery. Instead, is basically orientated towards a collaboration because of the animated nature of the video between the spatial material setting, the setup and the abstract suggestion offered by this of lighting, high-tech audio/visual equipment, digital technology, it performs as an intricate and the display of objects, which creates a component of the imaginary world of the multi-sensorial, multi-aesthetic experience in perceiving visitor. The interplay between the which visual sensations are as important as physical scenographic reconstructions and auditory, tactile, and bodily ones, and imagined digital displays can be powerfully evocative, participation. In other words, the display echoing the past and blurring the imagination installations and material infrastructure can be and physical reality, something that explicit used as a source of inspiration for integrating text labels and panels cannot do. objects and digital technologies to create In the next section, I turn to my own physical, visual, and imaginative experiences. exhibition and how this insight from theory In one room, for instance, visitors can and from museum practice have informed my experience a full-fledged battle of the Viking approach to exhibiting portals in the absence age that affords spectators unique visceral and of an original artefact. aural embodied experiences. The space of the room is entirely engrossed between two huge Digital approaches to exhibiting screens on either side; they are so large that stave church portals one can only perceive one screen at a time. In between the screens runs a pathway from one The centrepiece of the exhibition on portals end of the room to the other that is equipped consisted of a wooden construction unit to quake under one’s feet – a feature which, installed at the centre of the gallery space. however, often tends to break down. This echoed the shape and contours of a The battle scenes are illustrated in a well- Christian church, although not a stave church designed animated video – a ten-minute-long specifically. It was an experimental design of Jason Falkenburg

118

Fig. 1. Panoramic viewing device. This was part of an experimental architecture (designed by Lars D. Holen) constructed in the middle of the “Red Zone” exhibition room. Photo Jason Falkenburg.

an amalgam of features; together they made an way that they asked the viewer to engage with infusion of church, museum, and laboratory. It the display and the presented material, helping was a serious but playful experiential machine shape the audience’s encounters with such apparatus that deployed particular design heritage and bridging the gap between the techniques that had the purpose of asking the physical (material) and digital (immaterial) viewer to really “work” with the presented form. objects on display. Dispensed outside and The first was a digital viewing device that inside the unit were various modules that was positioned inside the inner wall of the formed part and parcel of the construction construction unit. This device (Fig. 1 & 2) had – an immersive staged environment in and the shape of a funnel that presented the viewer of itself. These modules came in the form with a small digital screen at the end of it. The of detailed optical examinations, optical position and shape of the device played a central illusions, visual fragmented imagery, scaled role in integrating the viewer’s experience and down models of stave churches, copies and the digital technology. It was placed in such replicas of stave church portals and portal- a way that it asked the viewer to hunch over like structures, visual effects using digital and place his or her head directly against and technologies, and visual effects in relation partially into the viewing device. The different to distance and proximity. Two installations features of the box – it’s placement, it’s interior relying on digital technologies presented painted black, the funnel shape, and the fact inside the construction unit stood out in the that it brought the visitor to take a hunched Using digital technology as a mode of experimental display

119

Fig. 2. Example of a video image as seen through the viewing device. Photo Jason Falkenburg. position – were intended to fully immerse approaching the installation, the darkness the viewer in the content of the screen. The from the tunnel formed by the construction screen, which only measured 10 by 15 cm, unit accentuated the soft yellow light glowing played a video of a selection of stave church through the holes of its doors. The visitor was portal images that were digitally manipulated meant to open the doors where one would and edited to appear to float out of each other. have been met with a burst of golden light. The video started off by leading the viewer to In a similar way to a reliquary holder, the box look at and along the rich carvings of a stave presented a very special item, a 3D print of a church portal and then visually swooping digital scan of a gypsum copy of the Urnes stave through several “floating” portals, suggesting church portal produced by Riksantikvaren (the the experience of physically walking through Norwegian directorate for cultural heritage) the portals. in 2008 (Fig. 3). Reminiscent in style of the At the end of the construction unit, the cabinets of curiosity of the Renaissance where viewer was presented with another interactive one was allowed to handle objects, the viewer device that brought the viewer to experience was allowed to touch the digitally printed copy the portals in a different way. A large wooden and have the unique opportunity to feel the box in the shape of a chapel vault was presented intricate carvings with their fingertips. This is in such a way that the viewer was invited to something that, for obvious reasons, visitors engage both visually and physically with the cannot do with the original museum artefacts, display and the object shown inside. Upon and even if only a fragment of a portal was Jason Falkenburg

120 with the portals, making material the digital images seen elsewhere in the exhibition, and allowing touch that would otherwise not be permitted in a museum. Intriguingly, the 3D artefact was a printed copy of a digital copy of a physical gypsum copy of the original artefact; yet, despite this distance from the original portal and despite the very different material it is made of, this object offered a new way of experiencing an iconic heritage artefact. Taken together, these two examples point to the potential of digital exhibition techniques for creating immersive museum experiences that can bring heritage to life.

Notes

1. The exhibition was part of my Ph.D. project “Looking through portals: an investigation into Fig. 3. Scaled down 3D print of a gypsum copy of the the iconic stave church portals as display object in Urnes Portal displayed in a reliquary-like box that Norwegian museum settings” formed part of the experimental architecture. Photo Jason Falkenburg 2. The core team of the exhibition was made up of Peter Bjerregaard (Exhibitions Advisor at the Cultural History Museum), architect Lars D. made available to touch, visitors could imagine Holen, and myself what it might be like to be in the presence of the original portal and reach out to touch it. References

Jung, Jacqueline 2000. “Beyond the barrier: The Conclusion unifying role of the choir screen in Gothic Both these briefly described installations churches.” The Art Bulletin 82:4, 622–657. stand testimony to how digital technology can help bring the viewer to experience heritage objects in new ways, even in the absence of Jason Falkenburg, Ph.D. Candidate an authentic artefact. The two devices did this [email protected] in different ways, using different possibilities of the digital form. In the first, digital images Cultural History Museum, University of Oslo and video provided an immersive experience Box 6762, St. Olavs plass and, through the power of suggestion, allowed N-0130 Oslo, Norway visitors to use their imagination to explore the portals. In the second, digital scans actually offered an alternative physical encounter Nordisk Museologi 2018 • 2–3, s. 121–135

Artivism and the para-institution

The Partisan Café and Museum of Burning Questions, Bergen Assembly 2016

Charlotte Præstegaard Schwartz & Anne Scott Sørensen

Abstract: This article presents a case study of the assembled events of The Partisan Café and The Museum of Burning Questions, curated by the transnational group freethought as part of their contribution to the Bergen Assembly 2016. It is argued that the assemblage forms an experiment to materialize present theories of radical democracy and the radical art institution, respectively, and take the form of a para-institutional artivism. On this ground, and drawing on the concept of the assemblage, it is discussed what the outcome and learning of the experiment might be. The events played simultaneously in the city and on social platforms such as Facebook, mixlr and vimeo and together with released material on the internet from freethought these resources provide the empirical base of the case study. The authors participated in the opening week of September 2016 and the analyses are supported by on site observation.

Keywords: Contemporary art, Bergen Assembly 2016, assemblage, institutional critique, artivism, para-museum, The Partisan Café, Museum of Burning Questions, radical democracy, radical art institution, antagonism, dissent, the commons.

Note, 5 September 2016: The Partisan Café is any minute, were it not for the simple wooden to be found in the garage of Bergen’s old, red- chairs and tables in various colour, shape painted main fire station in the centre of town. and size that are located around the simple, On a black beam over the white painted open rough room. From a temporary red-painted gate, THE PARTISAN is carved in white letters. bar in one corner, coffee and beer is served, Inside the café, yellow, red and black firefighter and sometimes also bread and smaller meals. uniforms dominate the decor, hanging in wooden During the opening days of September 2016, it closets along the walls with the blue helmets on is buzzing with life and conversations, people a shelf above. As a guest, one inevitably gets are coming and going. Every day throughout the the impression that a fire alarm could start month, this buzz will be interrupted regularly Charlotte Præstegaard Schwartz & Anne Scott Sørensen

122 by talks, performances and screenings around form an alter- or para-institution (Lütticken todays “burning questions”, or by guided tours 2015). As such, the assembled project refers to of the station by the former firefighters. After a context of the social turn in art (Jackson 2011) September 2016, the café will be closed again. as well as so-called new institutional critique However, the station may be reopened as part of or new institutional criticism (Doherty 2004, a new city and fire museum, which the retired Möntmann 2009, Raunig & Ray 2009, Gielen firefighters have been actively fighting for since 2013). Within this framework, the possibility the closure in 2007. [Authors’ note from the of a radical art institution is investigated or, as opening, September 2016] it is conceptualized by the radical, neo-marxist The Partisan Café (PC) ran through the theoretician Gerald Raunig, an art institution month of September 2016 and was the core of and for “the commons” (Raunig 2013). “contact zone” of The Museum of Burning This concept points to such a not yet existing Questions (MBQ), which was set up by institution’s nascent character as an endeavour freethought to address “the future of museums to become of and for the common good. It and of burning questions in general” as part both grows out of and is a reckoning with of their contribution to Bergen Assembly what we today see as the public art institution, 2016 (catalogue, freethought). Freethought and which notably is squeezed in a neoliberal is an interdisciplinary platform for research, political economy and by a neoliberal pedagogy and art production1 and Bergen governance, notified by marketization and Assembly is a rather new triennial that took New Public Management. place for the second time in 2016.2 PC was We will in the following ask how PC and situated in Bergen city’s former main fire MBQ, as part of freethought’s contribution station, which the now retired firefighters at the to Bergen Assembly 2016, were assembled to time fought to make a museum. Throughout form such a radical artistic and institutional the assembly, freethought co-worked with experiment and with what effect. Members of the firefighters in organizing MBQ around freethought, including the initiator Irit Rogoff the café, which besides organized tours at the and the main curator of PC and MBQ Nora station featured a range of events concerned Sternfeld, have contributed substantially to with todays “burning questions” and further the agenda (Rogoff & Schneider 2008, Rogoff displayed an exhibition in the town hall. The 2012, Sternfeld 2013), which we as authors exhibition Museum of Burning Questions: The anchored in the field again sympathize with. Dancing Tables Archives (DTA), then, told the Our case study thereby is an example of what story of the firefighters in the service of the the cultural theoretician Mike Bal has termed public through centuries and their present “critical intimacy” (Bal 2002). It denotes an struggle to make the place a permanent intellectual endeavour that is sympathetic museum. but nonetheless also analytically qualified In this article, we put focus on the two through an outlined theory and methodology entangled venues, PC and MBQ, and address (Bal 2002:292). In this case, we make use of them through the lenses of an aesthetic assemblage theory and methodology and activism or “artivism” that is characterised ask how the assemblage is hold together by a by neither acting within nor against the art coding as “radical” (DeLanda 2013) and what institution, but rather above or next to it to the consequences are in terms of, on the one Artivism and the para-institution

hand, outreach to the public, and, on the other film screenings, musical and theatrical 123 hand, radical insight. Empirically, we make use performances, and talks with invited guests. of the distributed e-archive of the events that These assemblies formed the MBQ and were featured simultaneously on social media such organized as intellectual and sensual “dancing as Facebook and Instagram as well as on the tables” around the themes of Imaginary Public, video channel vimeo and the audio channel Shadow Citizenry and Acoustic Spectres.4 mixlr, as notified in the reference list. The Whereas the two first brought highly actual analysis is based on selective parts hereof to and politicised issues such as migration and be supported partly by realised material from European/international refugee-policies to the freethought on the internet and by the authors’ fore, the latter was controversial in the way it participative observations and notes from the challenged established aesthetic schemes and opening weekend in September 2016.3 sensual perception with a focus on music and sound. During these assemblies, the joint café and museum also grew into a “conflict zone”, The Partisan Café and Museum of where present scenes of public unrest and Burning Questions dissent were raised, and where critique of the In collaboration with the artists Jenny Moore actual political and economic (dis)order were (UK) and Isa Rosenberger (AU), Nora counteracted by visions of a possible radical Sternfeld, Professor of Art and Design (AU/ future. FI), is the conceptual originator of the two The MBQ was substantiated by a range of assembled venues that are in focus here: PC and performative exhibitions, curated by other MBQ. Throughout September 2016, PC served members of freethought and located in the as the centre of MBQ, which materialized in the same building complex as the fire-station, now abandoned fire station with its remaining to disclose other spectres of the aesthetic- artefacts, in addition to the newly curated political dynamic of dissent and radical vision: exhibition DTA. During September 2016, the The End of Oil, Archives of Substance, Spirit café was buzzing with life and conversations, Labour and Infrastructure of Feeling. The people were coming and going, and every same dynamics characterized the exhibition now and then this buzz would be interrupted DTA, which featured at the art hall nearby. It by scheduled performances, screenings and told the story of Bergen’s many fires and the conversations to be followed by discussions firefighters’ struggles with fires and authorities with and among the present public. over time, just as it presented a collection of The café was first a meeting place for the the firefighters’ present burning questions. changing triennial visitors who, as café guests, Furthermore, it made the visitors formulate were invited to sit down and intermingle at their own queries by using the offered pen and the simple but none less suggestive tables. The paper, spell out their affections, reflections and café simply served as the announced “contact visions in writing, and add to the collection. zone” with a possibility for visitor-guests These materials again were integrated in the to become also engaged in the scheduled succeeding events and have also since been program. Next, then, it was a venue for used by freethought in the group’s activities. gatherings or assemblies around “burning Freethought’s total contribution to Bergen questions”, raised by freethought through Assembly 2016 took place under the heading Charlotte Præstegaard Schwartz & Anne Scott Sørensen

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Fig. 1. Nora Sternfeld, Isa Rosenberger and the Retired Firemen of Bergen THE MUSEUM OF BURNING QUESTIONS. The Partisan Café, Educational and Performative Café, conceived by Nora Sternfeld in collab- oration with artists Isa Rosenberger and Jenny Moore. Design: Isa Rosenberger in collaboration with Heidi Pretterhofer. Realized by artists and educators Tora Endestad Bjørkheim, Freja Bäckman, Kabir Carter, John- ny Herbert, Jenny Moore (coordinator) and Arne Skaug Olsen. Photo Thor Brødreskift.

of “infrastructure”, which also shaped PC as catalogue). Throughout the programme, there well as MBQ. The intention was, as stated in was a focus on local and global dynamics in the catalogue, to investigate infrastructure this respect. The prospect of The End of Oil, in as the invisible force behind the current Norway as well as globally, formed the darker appearance of culture in a range from the scenario, whereas explorations of sustainable “the financialization of the cultural field to substances, commonality, spirituality and the subversive possibilities of thinking and affection evoked the history and future of a working with infrastructures as sites of affect radical cultural politics. and contradiction” (freethought, catalogue). The idea being, that such a wide-ranging Radical democracy and the investigation would help “wrest the term radical art institution away from the language of planners and technocrats to put to creative and critical In the wake of a neoliberal economy of depth use within the cultural sphere” (freethought, and a global crisis of war, migration and Artivism and the para-institution

political populism, which notably threatens theory or method, it is “a processual way of 125 to undermine liberal democracy and its observing and explaining the politics we all are institutions, critical philosophers such as embedded in” (Rogoff & Schneider 2008:347). Jacques Rancière and Chantal Mouffe have The authors share this agenda with other argued for a radical democracy. Mouffe (2013a) radical art and culture operators, who also argues more specifically for an agonistic politics discuss how the anticipating art and culture to be understood as an ongoing challenge institution could look, i.e. how it can re-think to neoliberal economy and governance by what it means to have access to, agency over means of alternate political alliances and and ownership of society’s key resources and political visions. Rancière (2011), on his side, institutions (Raunig & Ray 2009, Raunig has introduced the term dissensus to denote 2013, Rogoff 2012, Sternfeld 2013). Each their a politics that resists the given political order way, they propose to initiate an aesthetic and or “police” by claiming a radical equality communicative mode through which new on behalf of the ones who are not supposed forms of experience, knowledge and social to be included, such as the fugitive or the interaction can be opened other than those immigrant. Mouffe and Rancière both see the that signify the representative art and culture aesthetic as a space for disarticulation as well institution. as re-articulation of the political, understood According to art historian and museologist as a perceptual organisation of what applies as Claire Bishop (2013), the modern, representative common sense, just as they see art and cultural (art) museum, which culminated in the 20th institutions as possible spaces for radical century, is characterised by its historical interventions and experiments (Rancière 2011, mimetic endeavour. To think of the museum Mouffe 2013b). through representation means focusing on the In the wake of the theory of a radical museum as an object- and collection-based democracy, Irit Rogoff, the founder of authoritative mediator of national cultural freethought, suggests looking at current heritage and identity and on the assimilating forms of activism that play off in the present contemplation of the museum visitor in this as performative displays of commitment and regard. Faced with such a mode and influenced collaborative subjects that again might cause by Chantal Mouffe’s notion of a radical cultural “short, minute transformations” (Rogoff & politics, Bishop puts forth the idea that the Schneider 2008:348). Such a commitment owes museum can and must open for agonistic debate to but also challenges critical theory and politics about cultural values and promote new forms in that, rather than being absorbed by the of community formation, – thus challenging long-term battle with the central institutions itself along with the hegemonic order locally of power, it acts in the moment and invents and globally. According to Bishop, art and the new modes of being present and changing art institution in a broad sense is precisely the the world. In the same vein, Rogoff and place from which alternative futures can be Schneider propose reformulating critique or a imagined and made tangible (Bishop 2013:62). critical position as a “productive anticipation”, Raunig (2009, 2013) as a radical, neo- which is to be understood as an opening marxist theoretician and cultural practitioner towards the possible and which assumes the takes this critique a step further towards what form of a social fiction. Rather than being a he calls, respectively, an “instituent practice” Charlotte Præstegaard Schwartz & Anne Scott Sørensen

126 and an “art institution of and for the commons”. gathering place with its special architectural While the former can be said to counter Rogoff space, artefacts and atmosphere; on the other and Schneider’s productive anticipation, hand, the many choreographed screenings, the latter is determined by a prolonged and performances and talks, as well as the more thus more continuous interaction, care and spontaneous assemblies, which the entire set- experimentation with living together in a up was aimed at. The two dimensions were common world (Raunig 2013:169). As an held together through a range of interrelated alternative to the fetishization of objects that metaphors to be understood more intuitively lies in the classical-vertical approach, it targets as well as in a deepened sense by their origins a political-aesthetic investigation thereof or in critical theory and a radical, leftist history: rather, what may become common in the dancing tables, burning questions and not least future: “becoming-common”. According to the partisan. According to DeLanda (2013), Raunig, this becoming-common consists of the unique quality of metaphors is that they are the constant, self-organised and multiplying open to different connotations, while a more constitution of both tangible and intangible established meaning occurs through their resources – it is a dynamic, continuously history and actual combination. created and creating cultural form, never In this case, the metaphor dancing tables secured permanently, but in constant flux. pointed at the specific table layout, that An art institution for the becoming-common was seen in both the café and the art hall exists across the gap between political activism, exhibition to invoke the dancing meetings and art production, and a progressive art institution conversations that might occur around them. to also transgress the present schism between Behind this immediate message, it referred a traditional education-oriented (vertical/ to a critical theoretical tradition from Karl authoritative) and an actual experience- Marx to Jacques Derrida, including a Derrida- orientated (flat/modular) dissemination form reading of Marx’s commodity analysis and his (Raunig 2013:175). comparison of Marx’s revelation of the magical value of the commodity5 with a fable about the virtually dancing tables (Derrida 2000, 1994). The Partisan Café as artivism For the dedicated guest, these references It is such conceptualizations of radical appeared in the texts from previous workshops democracy and the radical (art) institution, and city seminars, held by freethought as an respectively, we see the assembled events of upstart and throughout Bergen Assembly 2016, PC and MBQ try to materialize. How it is done and which were now at display at strategic and with what effect, shall in the following places throughout the event. The same goes be further investigated by means of Manuel for the metaphor burning questions, which DeLanda’s combined theory and methodology pointed at the actual location in the fire station of the assemblage (DeLanda 2013). According and invoked the political issues of glocal to DeLanda, the assemblage is a composition infrastructures, simultaneously referring to a of different, material as well as expressive, critical theoretical and leftist history. However, elements that is held together by a joint coding, in this case the reference in the accessible – in this case to perform as leftist and radical. freethought text archive was a text by the On the one hand, then, the fire station as a actor-network-theorist Bruno Latour in which Artivism and the para-institution

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Fig. 2. Nora Sternfeld, Isa Rosenberger and the Retired Firemen of Bergen THE MUSEUM OF BURNING QUESTIONS. The Dancing Tables Archive (Installation at Bergen Kunsthall), Bergen Assembly 2016. Photo Thor Brødreskift. he also presents a rather pervasive critique of exhibitions, from 1958 to 1962. It was initiated critical theory and left-wing policies (Latour by Raphael Samuel and Stuart Hall, among 2004). others, both of whom were involved in the The most pervasive metaphor was the formation of the New Left in England as radical partisan, the word being carved out at the thinkers, publishers and teachers. Stuart Hall entrance of the café, pointing at the rebellious later contributed to the establishment of assemblies it was meant to host as well as – cultural studies as a British and international through a metonymic relation – the hyped university discipline and became one of the keyword in today’s cultural dissemination: main forces behind the institution of the Open the participant. The possibly wild going University (Sørensen 2016). associations of the heavily loaded wording Back then, The Partisan Coffeehouse was were disciplined by a very concrete anchoring nicknamed The Anti-Espresso Bar, because it in left-wing history in terms of the historical was established as a direct alternative to that reference the Partisan Coffeehouse in Soho, time period’s new fashionable espresso bars. London. This emblematic coffee house existed, It was a non-commercial experiment that as was shown in one of the freethought changed the protocols for what it means to take Charlotte Præstegaard Schwartz & Anne Scott Sørensen

128 part in society and address politics through a temporary, aesthetic experiment by artists culture and vice versa. Characteristics included and cultural experts to re-embed art and the embracing the time period’s new skiffle music art institution in political sentiment in a no and new media such as cartoons, graphics and less high-voltage global context, but where photos. In the magazine New Left Review, which the left wing seems to be without power and the coffee house was launched to support, the influence. In other words, and with concepts founders put these new aesthetic forms and taken from, respectively, Rogoff & Schneider media into a contemporary aesthetic-political (2008) and Raunig (2013), The Partisan context.6 In The Partisan Coffeehouse, there Coffeehouse was an actualised social fiction were on-going artistic events as well as political of the commons, while PC instead has served conversations ahead of the most burning trends as a vocational intervention and preliminary and questions of the time, while the guests also common space. occasionally relaxed with newspapers, books, Returning to DeLanda (2013) and the a game of chess or just a conversation over a concept of assembling, it can be argued that the cup of coffee or a simple yet hearty meal. The open organisation of freethought’s engagement policy was that there was room for everyone, threatened to disrupt the overall assemblage. whenever and however long they wanted, and The many meetings, changing venues and the philosophy behind it was, in the words participants hampered the possibility of both of Stuart Hall, that “life is equal parts jazz the kind of deep experience creation as well and politics, and both take time” (Magasinet as systematic reflection, that Shannon Jackson Kunst, 2016, interview with Jenny Moore). (2011) in her analysis of the social turn in According to historian Mike Berlin, who gave art talks about. Another potential disruptive one of the invited talks in the café, the Partisan dynamic existed in the relatively simple Coffeehouse was a vibrating centre of dissent, technology as is evident from the technical which challenged the ruling orthodoxies of the poor audio and video recordings on mixlr time and was centred around a unique cohort and vimeo. The technique is heard to have of do-it-yourself young people, their hopes what DeLanda calls a de-territorialising effect and passions (Merlin 2016, mixlr). in the situation although the recordings also The difference between the historic contribute to a wider distribution and serve an coffeehouse and the contemporary café is archival function. However, the most obvious that The Partisan Coffeehouse represented an potential disruptive effect existed in the gap actual daily flow between life and politics, a between the material and sensual coding, on micro or life policy in vivid interaction with the one hand, and the discursive on the other. the organisation of the New Left as a major The planned talks thus obviously required an macro-political operator. The context in UK understanding of the critical theoretical and in the 1950s and 60s was characterized by a political basis, which already the many built- mobilized trade union under the pressure of in references in the various announcements as restoration policies and a high-voltage political well as the persistent metaphors around them environment: The Cold War, Suez, Cyprus and implied. This point was also spelled out in the the Hungary crisis; colonial disputes in Algeria local press and it was a theme in reviews in the and South Africa; the nuclear threat and national as well as international art magazines, marches, etc. PC, on the other hand, represents too. We shall return to that in the end. Artivism and the para-institution

Hospitality, friendship and Hospitality was further investigated in 129 commoning7 one of these open lectures and debates with the Spanish curator, etc. Laurence Rassel on That given, the key coding, we would say, “Radical hospitality” (Rassel 2016, vimeo). lay in those values, which, more due to their It is stated by Rassel, that she is inspired by sensual presence in design and set-up than previously mentioned Derrida and his two through verbalisation, constituted the texture lectures from the 1990s on unconditional of the assembly: radical hospitality, friendship, hospitality to be included in freethought’s and the commons/commoning. They were text archive (cf. Derrida & Dufourmantelle performed in the single events and activities, 2000). With Derrida, she took her outset in but it was also what tied them together on an the everyday understanding of hospitality aesthetic and ethical level. to rethink what happens at the border – to A very concrete expression of radical ho- one’s home or one’s country – and the initial spitality was the way in which PC functioned. and surprising contact with another person Visitors at the PC were received by welcoming or stranger. The context became relevant by members of the group of seven volunteer art the actual contrast to the refugee emigrant’s and culture operators, who were responsible experience of being kept out, put in camps for the daily performance.8 Through mime, and behind walls, and otherwise treated in gestures and way of moving around, they took inhumane ways in Europe and elsewhere in the a welcoming – even if not servile – attitude late summer of 2016. And it spoke to a local, to be posed at the official photos. Thereby in this case Norwegian, context of increasing guests were encouraged to sit down with the fear of foreigners. Issues that were examined offered, free coffee – or a beer – and eventually in several of freethought’s contributions, soak up the atmosphere. As a visitor to the including the video-based exhibition Shipping café, you were also discreetly interpellated and the Shipped.10 by the coin cups on the bar counter to – The encoded hospitality was fertilized by depending on your own wish and opportunity the friendship, that forms the basic principle – support the café and, in this way, add to of freethought, and which the 7-(wo)man the shared responsibility. Such hospitality group behind PC also embodied. Materials on also characterised the 2-day summit, which friendship were equally included in the text freethought organised during the opening in archive, and contained among others, texts the beginning of September. Here, the artist by Giorgio Agamben and Jean Luc Nancy. duo TASC Studio Kitchen by Ablett & Brafield Insights into the “nature” of friendship, that served the lunch with the words “we are the these texts bring forward, were integrated in lunch break” and an invitation to enjoy sharing the performance of the hosts of PC as well as the feast at the long, well-set tables with organic by freethought in terms of the way the group delights. The same artist duo was responsible engaged throughout the MBQ as initiators for “communal suppers” during the prior of and participants in talks and debates. The open lecture series freethought invites (starting “joint separation” of friendship, that Agamben already in 2015) and subsequent conversations (2004) talks about, and the sense-making about the overall theme of infrastructure at the and sensuality as and of commonality, that nearby Hordaland Art Centre.9 Nancy talks about (2011), was engrained as Charlotte Præstegaard Schwartz & Anne Scott Sørensen

130 atmosphere. That this was the ambition, at least, institution. She is especially in search of what was spelled out through the historic reference she regards as patronising tendencies in the to The Partisan Coffeehouse. Mike Berlin, in form of efforts to include previously excluded his talk on the coffeehouse, highlighted how it in the representational logic, rather than basically thrived on a close friendship between letting them present themselves. According the initiators, which again contributed to and to Sternfeld, such a strategy is more about the was enhanced by a dense political community institution’s self-legitimisation, and instead in and of the New Left (Berlin 2016, vimeo). she proposes to establish a non-representative According to Berlin, the uniqueness of this public space that is radically open, which again historic coffehouse grew from its engagement means letting go of striated curation in favour in life politics, and the radical heritage here of a performative invitation that provides from consists of a bricolage of DIY aesthetic opportunities for new and unexpected politics, co-operation and community. He meetings (Sternfeld 2013). She further argues further suggested The Partisan Coffeehouse that participation must give room for dissent to form a rebuilding of the subtle search for a and include the fragile and the unpredictable – common pleasure, which is also a pleasure in unlike the institution’s traditionally calculated community through working together. and cool involvement (for a further elaboration on outreach policies and practices, see Sørensen and Kortbek 2018). The Museum of Burnings Questions MBQ can be interpreted as such an attempt. as para-museum It was first and foremost manifested in the Nora Sternfeld, the initiator of MBQ together established alliance with the acting firefighters with Isa Rosenberger, has dedicated herself as moulded by equality, coexistence and mutual to the question of the museum’s possible solidarity. The DTA and the film Brandstasjon transformation as a specific cultural institution (directed by Rosenberger) was some of the (Sternfeld 2013, 2017). She has criticised the very concrete results.11 The firefighters, on their way in which the museum has assumed and side, contributed to MBQ through the guided managed the principle of participation as tours at the station and the archive of burning an institutional political agenda and further questions at DTA, organised in alphabetical proposed a radical idea of the institution itself. order and displayed on the walls of the art hall Like Lütticken, she makes use of the concept of room. Visitors to DTA were, as mentioned, the para-museum, which describes the radical invited to contribute by putting their own experiment with institutional practices and the burning questions and examples hereof were: self-reflexive interaction with the institutional “Why is there nothing that burns anymore?”; format (Lütticken 2015). In her discussion of “How can we make art a free voice that is not the institutions’ management of the principle dependent on the institution or the market?” of participation, she distinguishes between and “How can we take care of our history and a transformational agenda, in the neoliberal culture in a changing world?” One might add: economy and politics’ terms, and such “What does it mean that the burning questions politically transformative processes that lead of our time and our part of the world are put to a challenging of the current built-in power in a museum and thus made a question of relations and thus a real democratisation of the archival dissemination?” What these question Artivism and the para-institution

share is that they point out a tension between with the overall event. He brought to the fore 131 the activist opening of the institution and the that Bergen Assembly 2016 had 50 per cent provisional institutionalisation. This, then, more visitors compared to 2013 (approximately precisely is the effect of getting the visitor to 30,000 as compared to 20,000), and that The wonder about and reflect on the art institution, Partisan Café and the installations at the on what happens where, when and why. fire station were among the most popular. The questions also draw attention to the However, he also pointed out that the ambition importance of remembering and history and to of Bergen Assembly was and should continue coming together and gathering around culture to be experimental and provide an alternative and politics. Following from this, it made sense to the established biennale format even if also that one of the programmed conversations in having the ambition to address the local public the café was about the future arts and culture in Bergen as well as the international art scene. policy in Bergen – with invited guests from He reasoned that it is not an easy task and that cultural institutions, the public administration, it would take time to have the two sides of and the political parties in addition to artists ambition better meet. and cultural operators. 12 A reviewer in the Norwegian-based e-magazine Kunstkritikk, Stian Gabrielsen, summarized that the overall impression of The reception and legacy of PC Bergen Assembly 2016 and of freethought’s part and MBQ of it was, that it was not “particularly audience- A review in the Norwegian newspaper friendly” (Gabrielsen 2016). He criticized the Aftenposten had the title “More research accessibility of the overall program, but also the than art”, and the reviewer Kjetil Roed was separate arrangements for requiring not only especially critical of freethought’s contribution insights into the art scene but also sympathy in this respect (Roed 2016). He did, though, with the aesthetic and political agenda. appreciate some of freethought’s activities, for Reviewers in international art and curatorial instance the exhibition Archives of Substance magazines were equally concerned and pointed and especially the one on the Shiraz-festival in at the exclusiveness of the set-up. However, Persepolis (1967–1977). The archive disclosed they also pointed out that popularity most how various traditions in theatre and music often does not go hand in hand with aesthetic across regions and continents could co-exist and curatorial seriousness. They expressed the in Iran at this moment in time, and it was basic ambiguity in art in general and in radical appreciated as a reminder that global, cultural art projects in particular: having the ambition infrastructures are not in any simple and to work in the service of the public and for predictable way distributed along the lines of the common, but in practise excluding the West and East, North and South. broad majority – appealing to the few, already The reviewer from Bergens Tidende, Robert trained and dedicated. In the Dutch e-journal Nedrejord, agreed on the critique of freethought’s Metropolis M, the reviewer and curator Laura work for being too abstract and theoretical Herman thus appreciated the curatorial (Nedrejord 2016). He, on his side, balanced his ambition and underscored the importance of review by interviewing the director Haakon the theme of infrastructure and of the strive to Thuestad, who stated that he was very satisfied cross-fertilize artistic, intellectual and political Charlotte Præstegaard Schwartz & Anne Scott Sørensen

132 domains – even if at cost of immediate public contribution took the form of an instituent consent. She further hinted at the inherent practice that points to a new type of institution schism in the whole arrangement between of and for the commons. It might not succeed the artistic and the institutional ambition that in changing the bigger picture and agenda tended to make the project dissolve (Herman right now and it might not reach a broader 2016). In the chosen terminology here, we public, however it has opened a new space would say that Herman pointed to this inbuilt of imagining and talking about art, cultural schism as a de-territorializing effect. institutions and cultural dissemination. In All the reviews, be they in the press or in so doing, the choice of historical foundation art magazines, were in accordance with the has been crucial. The experiment gained part of our analysis, where we point to the gap significance by re-claiming a radical aesthetic between the performative and the discursive tradition and by inscribing itself in a radical elements of PC and MBQ. However, the way cultural heritage and ambition, and thereby we have seen it here, the legacy of PC and also worked to illuminate the continuity, depth MBQ derives as much from the specific value- and creativity of a radical culture and struggle. based way of being together and relating to The inherent dilemma as to reaching a broader each other as from the specific political and public – and equally so the tension between the aesthetic agenda. The many smaller assemblies artistic and institutional endeavour – remains. that the experiment provided, constituted But it has been reworked, reframed and pushed a flow of working publics (Jackson 2011) to in and by the many different engagements, that perform an aesthetic and political “necessity” was evoked, including the review controversy of antagonism and dissent but also of hope in local newspapers. and engagement. As such, it certainly was not and is not a mainstream agenda. According Notes to assemblage theory, however, small transformations often occur at several and 1. Besides Irit Rogoff (UK) and Nora Sternfeld (AU/ barely noticeable places, and from there initiate FI), freethought consists of Stefano Harney (UK/ effects, which are not immediately predictable. Singapore), Adrian Heathfield (UK), Massimiliano Small transformations are in this case about Mollona (I/UK) and Louis Moreno (UK). the potential of art and institution to be spaces 2. In addition to freethought, the Berlin-based, for critique as well as presence and collective Danish curator group Praxes and the Lebanese action. This was very accurately stated by a artist Tarek Atouri were curators. local participant to the Berlin-arrangement 3. The case has also been the subject of an article who at the end of the subsequent discussion in Danish. Charlotte Præstegaard Schwartz & stated that he did not expect huge immediate Anne Scott Sørensen: ”Mellem kunst, institution changes, but already sensed a subtle change og aktivisme: Partisan Café og Museum of among people as to what might be possible to Burning Questions”. In Erik Granly Jensen & do and start up in Bergen (Berlin 2016, mixlr). Anne Scott Sørensen (red.): Tilblivelser. Aktuelle To be concluded is that freethought with kulturanalyser. Syddansk Universitetsforlag, 2018, its contribution to Bergen Assembly 2016 191–212. showcase how art institutions might be made 4. The Partisan Café was curated in collaboration to work in other ways. In Raunig’s sense, the with Heidi Pretterhofer (architect) and Brandon Artivism and the para-institution

LaBelle (professor and artist). Together with the which the retired firefighters have been actively 133 conference The Infrastructure Summit (3rd–4th fighting for since the closure in 2007. September) and a series of open City Seminars, it 12. It took place on 5 September 2016 under the constituted freethought’s performative platforms. question: “What might a radical arts institution 5. The point of Marx’s commodity analysis is that a look like in Bergen”, and is documented on commodity’s exchange value, which may seem as vimeo. a “magical” result of the market, quite prosaically is based on the work that is put into it. Credentials 6. New Left Review was established in 1960 by a merger of The New Reasoner and Universities This article is part of the research project CULT, and Left Review. The Marxist historians group financed by The Velux Foundation (2014-2018). around, among others, Eric Hobsbawm and Project number: 33281. Perry Anderson contributed with contemporary analyses, and the latter became the main editor Litterature after Stuart Hall. 7. For a more thorough discussion of the concepts Agamben, Georgio et al. (eds.) 2011. Democracy in of commons and commoning, see Rasmussen What State? New York: Columbia University 2018. Press. 8 The café was realized by artists and educators Agamben, Georgio 2004. “Friendship”. In Contretemps Tora Endestad Bjørkheim, Freja Bäckman, 5, 2–7. Kabir Carter, Johnny Herbert, Jenny Moore Agamben, Georgio 2009 [1990]. ”Det kommende (coordinator) and Arne Skaug Olsen. fællesskab”. In Mikkel Bolt & Jacob Lund (eds.). 9. Freethought invites was based on six city seminars Fællesskabsfølelser: Kunst, politik, filosofi. Aarhus: to be followed by open guest lectures and Klim, 101–112. conversations with various members of the group. Bal, Mieke 2002. Travelling Concepts in the One of these, number five, were with Laurence Humanities: A Rough Guide. Toronto: University Rassel on “Radical hospitality”. Laurence Rassel is of Toronto Press. a curator, teacher and organizer based in Brussels. Bishop, Claire 2013. Radical Museology or what’s From 2008 to 2015 she was the Director of ‘Contemporary’ in Museums of Contemporary Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona. Art with illustrations by D. Perjovschi. London: 10. Shipping and the Shipped was curated by Stefano Koenig Books. Harney and included collaborative work by Delanda, Manuel 2013 [2006]. New Philosophy of Ranjit Kandalgaonkar, Arjuna Neuman, Denise Society. Assemblage Theory and Social Complexity. Ferreira Da Silva, Wu Tsang and Fred Moten. As London: Bloomsbury. mentioned by one reviewer, it formed a poetical Derrida, Jacques 1994 [1991]. “What is ideology? rendition of Harney’s research into shipping as Specters of Marx”. In The State of the Debt, the the centre of capital’s infrastructural imagination Work of Mourning and the New International. asking whether “the ship is arriving or escaping, New York: Routledge. piloted or pirated, modularised or marooned” Derrida, Jacques & Anne Dufourmantelle 2000. Of (Herman 2016). Hospitality. Anne Dufourmantelle invites Jacques 11. The city council in Bergen has now taken a Derrida to respond. Stanford: Stanford University decision of principle to establish the fire museum, Press. Charlotte Præstegaard Schwartz & Anne Scott Sørensen

134 Doherty, Claire 2004. “The institution is dead! Long and Contemporary Critical Practice. Reinventing live the institution! Contemporary art and New Institutional Critique. London: MayFlyBooks, Institutionalism”. In Art of Encounter 15, 6–13. 155–160. Gabrielsen, Stian 2016. ”Ut av syrebadet”. In Nancy, Jean-Luc 1991 [1986]. “The inoperative Kunstkritikk. September 9 2016. community”. In Peter Connor (ed.). The http://www.kunstkritikk.dk/kritikk/ut-av- Inoperative Community. Minneapolis, London: syrebadet/?d=dk. Accessed 15.05. 18. University of Minnesota Press. Gielen, Pascal (ed.) 2013. Institutional Attitudes: Nancy, Jean-Luc 2011. “Finite and infinite democracy”. Instituting Art in a flat World. Amsterdam: Valiz. In Georgio Agamben et al. (eds.). Democracy in Held, Davis & Henrietta Moore 2008. “Introduction”. what state? New York: Columbia University Press, In David Held & Henrietta Moore (eds.). Cultural 58–75. Transformations/Cultural Politics in a Global Age: Nedrejord, Robert 2016. “Øker besøgstallene, men får Uncertainty, Solidarity and Globalisation. Oxford: lunken kritikk”. Bergens Tidende October 6 2016. Oneworld Publications, 346–357. Sektionen for Kultur og debat. Herman, Laura 2016. Metropol M, http://www. Rancière, Jacques 2004 [2000]. The Politics of metropolism.com/nl/reviews/29115_bergen_ Aesthetics. London: Bloomsbury. assembly (Accessed October 15, 2018) Rancière, Jacques 2010. Dissensus. On Politics and Jackson, Shannon 2011. Social Works: Performing Art, Aesthetics London: Continuum. Supporting Publics. New York, London: Routledge. Rancière, Jacques 2011. “Democracies against DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203852897 democracy”. In Georgio Agamben et al. (eds). Kortbek, Herdis Brandrup, Charlotte Præstegaard Democracy in what state? New York: Columbia Schwartz, Anne Scott Sørensen & Mette Thobo- University Press, 58–75. Carlsen 2016. ”The participatory agenda: A Raunig, Gerald 2009. “Instituent practices: Fleeing, post-critical, anticipatory intervention”. In Nordic instituting, transforming”. In Gerald Raunig & Journal of Cultural Policy 19:2, 19–35. Gene Ray (eds.). Art and Contemporary Critical Latour, Bruno 2004. “Why has critique run out Practice. Reinventing Institutional Critique, 3–12. of steam? From matters of fact to matters of Raunig, Gerald 2013. “Flatness rules: Instituent concern”. Critical Inquiry, 30:2, 225–248. DOI: practices and institution of the common in a https://doi.org/10.1086/421123 flat world”. In Pascal Gielen (ed.). Institutional Lütticken, Sven 2015. “Social media: Practices of (in) Attitudes: Instituting Art in a flat World visibility in Contemporary Art”. In Afterall: A Amsterdam: Valiz. Journal of Art, Context and Enquiry Winter/Fall Raunig, Gerald & Gene Ray (eds.) 2009. Art and 40, 4–19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/684212 Contemporary Critical Practice. Reinventing Mouffe, Chantal 2013a. Agonistics: Thinking the World Institutional Critique. London: MayFlyBooks. Politically. London: Verso. Rasmussen, Kathrine Bolt 2018. ‘Keep turning and Mouffe, Chantal 2013b. “Institutions as sites of learning and turning’. Selv-institutionalisering, agonistic intervention”. In Pascal Gielen (ed.). kuratorisk reformisme og commonistisk Institutional Attitudes: Instituting Art in a flat organisering. PhD thesis. Det Humanistiske World. Amsterdam: Valiz. Fakultet, Syddansk Universitet: Institut for Möntmann, Nina 2009. “The rise and fall of new Kulturvidenskaber. institutionalism: Perspectives on a possible Rogoff, Irit 2012. “On being serious in the art world”. future”. In Raunig, Gerald & Gene Ray (eds.), Art In Gavin Butt & Irit Rogoff (eds.). Visual Cultures Artivism and the para-institution

as Seriousness. London: Sternberg Press, http://freethought-collective.org/ [homepage] 135 63–81. http://www.magasinetkunst.dk/Home/Detail/ Rogoff, Irit & Florian Schneider 2008. “Productive MTUyNTE%3D. Magasinet Kunst. September anticipation”. In David Held & Henrietta Moore 5 2016. “Livet handler om at spille guitar og (eds.). Cultural Transformations/Cultural Politics diskutere politik”. Interview with Jenny Moore by in a Global Age: Uncertainty, Solidarity and Laura Ifversen. Globalisation. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, http://mixlr.com/the-partisan-cafe/showreel/ 346–357. dancing-tables-the-partisan-coffee-house-an- Roed, Kjetil 2016. “Mer forskning enn kunst”. anti-espresso-bar-w-mike-berlin-15-sept-2016/. Aftenposten, Kultur-sektionen. September 14. Berlin, Mike. 2016. “Dancing Tables. The Partisan Sternfeld, Nora 2013. “Playing by the rules of the Coffeehouse; An Anti-Espresso Bar”, 15.09.16. game. Participation in the post-representative”. http://mixlr.com/the-partisan-cafe/showreel/dancing- Museum. CuMMA PAPERS I. https:// tables-what-might-a-radical-arts-institution- cummastudies.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/ look-like-in-bergen-part-1/ cummapapers1_sternfeld1.pdf/ (Accessed May http://mixlr.com/the-partisan-cafe/showreel/dancing- 15 2018). tables-what-might-a-radical-arts-institution-in- Sørensen, Anne Scott 2016. “Cultural Studies”. bergen-look-like-part-2/ In Bjørn Schiermer (ed.): Kulturteori og https://vimeo.com/149271817. “5 freethought invites. kultursociologi. København: Hans Reitzels Forlag, Laurence Rassel: On Radical Hospitality” 2016. 197–226. Sørensen, Anne Scott & Hjørdis Brandrup Kortbek 2018. Deltagelse som kunst- og kulturformidling. Charlotte Præstegaard Schwartz, Ph.D., København: Samfundslitteratur. Curator [email protected] From the e-archive (accessed October 15, 2018) Astrid Noacks Atelier https://arteducatorstalk.net/en/about/#primary. 2016. Rådmandsgade 34 Art Educators Talk. Nora Sternfeld and Jenny DK-2200 København N, Denmark Moore: “Partisan instead of participant”. http://astrid-noack.dk/ http://bergenassembly.no/en/about/ [BERGEN ASSMBLY, NEWS, LOCATIONS, CALENDAR, ATOUI, freethought, PRAXES] Anne Scott Sørensen, lic. phil., Professor http://bergenassembly.no/en/freethought/ [catalogue, [email protected] freethought] http://bergenassembly.no/event/the-museum-of- The Institute for The Study of Culture burning-questions-the-dancing-tables-archive/ University of Southern Denmark [catalogue, freethought] Campusvej 55 https://www.facebook.com/groups/thepartisancafe/ DK-5230 Odense M, Denmark [Facebook] Nordisk Museologi 2018 • 2–3, s. 136–151

Engaging or transmitting?

Health at the science centre

Catharina Thiel Sandholdt & Marianne Achiam

Abstract: Science centres have a strong commitment to education, but the implications of that commitment change over time. The discovery pedagogy of the first science centres is gradually being replaced with a more dialogic approach that acknowledges that science has different meanings for different people. Here, we follow the transition of a Danish science centre towards this new approach; a transition driven by the development of a dialogic exhibition on health. To this end, we study the adaptive transformation of scientific content from its origin in scientific literature to its embodiment in the exhibition, using discourse analysis to track its deconstruction and reconstruction. We observe that although the science centre’s established discovery pedagogy does challenge the implementation of dialogic perspectives on health, the participatory approach taken in the development process successfully overcame these challenges. In conclusion, we offer our perspectives on the implications of our findings for science centres.

Keywords: Didactic transposition, exhibition development, health promotion, science centre, participatory design.

When the Apollo mission provided humanity using those collections to create scientifically with the very first images of the Earth seen informed and democratically empowered from space, a new awareness was raised of the citizens (Black 2012; Koster 2016). interconnectedness of humans with natural Unlike museums, science centres originated systems. This awareness influenced a range of in the Apollo era. Due to the social and political societal institutions, not least science centres conditions of that time, science centres from and museums, whose on-going quest for the outset had a strong focus on providing external meaningfulness thus entered into citizens with access to knowledge about a new phase (Koster 2016). For museums, science and technology (Ogawa et al. 2009). this renewal of purpose was manifested in a In the 1960s, this meant offering the public shift of institutional focus away from their opportunities to become familiar with science traditional and internally-oriented activities through laboratory apparatus (Oppenheimer such as collecting and preserving objects 1968); this discovery pedagogy still persists towards externally-oriented activities such as in many science centres. However, as the Engaging or transmitting? Health at the science centre

prevailing post-positivist paradigm in science 137 education in the 1980s was gradually replaced with more contextual and critical perspectives (Anderson & Ellenbogen 2012; Treagust et al. 2014), forward-looking science centres adjusted their institutional pedagogies as well. Today, many science centres acknowledge the range of backgrounds, experiences, and understandings their visitors bring. Further, it is becoming clear that the positivist and post- positivist notions of science as universally true, context-free, and unequivocal are a poor fit for this diversity. Accordingly, the most progressive science centres question authoritative, Fig. 1. The Heartbeat Fountain, an exhibit that is canonical science and seek instead to engage part of the exhibition Beneath the Skin at the science their communities in dialogue to negotiate centre Experimentarium. When visitors grip the handles, their heartbeat controls the spurts of the what science means for them (Bandelli & artificial heart inside the acrylic tube. The central Konijn 2013; Dawson 2014). However, not all label reads “1. Grip the two handles (electrodes). 2. science centres have made these changes. For Be patient – it takes a few seconds for your pulse to many, “dialogue” is synonymous with the action- take control of the fountain”. A smaller label to the response capabilities of their interactive exhibits left reads “Did you know that for every heartbeat, the heart does enough work to lift one decilitre of blood on canonical science (Quistgaard & Kahr- 1.2 metres into the air! The blood pressure is the force, Højland 2010; Amodio 2013; Koster 2016). that pushes the blood around the body’s circulatory The context of the present study is a Danish system”. Photo Catharina T. Sandholdt, 2017. science centre, which, when the data was collected, was in the process of changing its institutional paradigm. Up to this point, the ful and contextual participatory experiences science centre had employed a post-positivist for visitors, but also how traditional, en- view of science that manifested itself in the trenched institutional logics challenged these exhibitions in the form of “representations of attempts. But before we explain our theoretical science […] that are monolithic, objective and framework, a few remarks on the scientific apolitical, even though often in an interactive, subject of the exhibition – human health – are hands-on environment” (Pedretti 2002:7; see required. fig. 1). However, there was a consensus that a change was required, and it was decided The subject of health in a that this change was to be spearheaded by the science centre research-guided development of an exhibition: A process that could at the same time serve Within science communication there is an to model new contextualised, dialogic and increasing interest in health (Zeyer & Dillon participatory ways of working in the science 2014), as sedentary behaviour, unhealthy centre. Here, we investigate how the science food and addictive substances such as alcohol centre afforded new ways of creating meaning- and cigarettes that are commonplace today Catharina Thiel Sandholdt & Marianne Achiam

138 contribute to creating populations with critiques the “good practise behaviours” for bad health, chronic diseases and short life being paternalistic and moralizing (Elsass expectancy (Statens Institut for Folkesundhed 1994). Collectively, researchers call for more 2009). Health is a complex issue, transcending research and communication of health founded public debate and policy making as well as in dialogue and context-based approaches personal everyday practises. For these reasons, (Carlsson et al. 2009). the potential of museums and science centres In response to this call, progressive health- to enrich public understanding about human promotional research seeks to unfold new health through dialogue has been discussed aspects of health and operate with broader (Camic & Chatterjee 2013). So far, however, definitions and perspectives based on little research has been conducted on how traditions and methods from the humanities health is communicated in museum and (B. Jensen 2004; Kamper-Jørgensen et al. 2009; science centre settings, or how visitors respond Thorgaard & U. Jensen 2011). This approach to health messages during a museum or science is in accordance with the World Health centre visit (Christensen et al. 2016). Organization (WHO) definition of health as In Western countries, public health research being “a state of complete physical, mental focuses on issues of nutrition, smoking, and social well-being and not merely the alcohol consumption and physical activity. absence of disease or infirmity” (World Health In Denmark, this focus is summarised in Organization 2014). the acronym KRAM1 (Statens Institut for In conclusion, we observe that the tension Folkesundhed 2009; Eriksen et al. 2011), which between the traditional, authoritative way of has influenced Danish policy work on health. communicating health and the more context- Findings from medical research have been sensitive approach from health promotion operationalised into what we might call the theory corresponds well with the paradigm KRAM model of “good practise behaviours” shift that many science centres are facing. related to nutrition, smoking, alcohol The research question for the present study consumption and physical activity such as the is thus: How do the pre-existing institutional recommendation that every adult should be logics of a science centre facilitate and obstruct active at least 30 minutes a day (Pedersen & the development of an exhibition on human Andersen 2011). Recently, the unilateral focus health rooted in a dialogic and contextual of the KRAM model has been problematized approach? In the following section, we outline by scholars from the social sciences (U. Jensen the theoretical framing we used to investigate & Andersen 1994). One line of critique points this question. out that the practices of everyday life – for instance food practices – are more tightly Investigating the process of bound to culture and values than to rational exhibition development arguments from the natural and medical sciences (Halkier & I. Jensen 2011). This means The scientific content that is embodied in that simply informing the public about health science centre exhibitions usually originates and recommendations for good behaviour elsewhere. To create science exhibitions that is insufficient to change their (un)health(y) are apprehendable and engaging to visitors, practises in everyday life. Another perspective exhibition development professionals must Engaging or transmitting? Health at the science centre

139

Fig. 2. The steps of didactic transposition of scientific content in the development and subsequent experience of a science exhibition (modified from Mortensen 2010). therefore select scientific content produced fit the given context. This again means that in by scientists and other scholars, and order to evaluate a science exhibition in terms subsequently transform that scientific content of its educational legitimacy, cultural value into physical installations and environments or social relevance, it is necessary to consider that can be experienced by visitors (Achiam the various contexts and steps involved in the & Marandino 2014). This process of selection didactic transposition (Chevallard & Bosch and transformation of science to create science 2014; Achiam et al. 2016). exhibitions is described as didactic transposition In the present text, we use the framework (Mortensen 2010), literally referring to the of didactic transposition to investigate transformation and translocation of scientific how content related to human health is content in order to make it apprehendable by transformed and translocated from its origins the intended learners (fig. 2). to a science centre exhibition. Because we Although the diagram depicted in fig. 2 may are interested in how the institution of the give the impression that science exhibitions science centre conditions and constrains are the product of a top-down, unidirectional this process, we consider only the two flow of information, the theory of didactic first steps of the transposition (Mortensen transposition acknowledges the interaction 2010). In the present case, the scholarly of knowledge, values and practices between knowledge, values and practices involved in the institutions involved in the transposition the didactic transposition includes both the process (Quessada & Clément 2007; Chevallard established KRAM model (Statens Institut for & Bosch 2014) as indicated by the bidirectional Folkesundhed 2009) and the more progressive arrows in fig. 2. For instance, when exhibit health promotional theory (B. Jensen 2009). design is influenced by observations of visitors’ The knowledge, values and practices to be interactions with exhibit prototypes, there is exhibited are those that are described in an influence from right to left in the diagram. the planning documents of the exhibition. In summary, the didactic transposition Finally, the exhibited knowledge, values and framework sees the development of science practices are those that are manifested in exhibitions as the interaction between the final exhibition in the form of physical knowledge, values and practices residing in installations, texts, objects, and images (fig. 3). different institutions and expressed in different In the following section, we describe how we modalities. Content is thus never static nor identify the knowledge, values and practices objective, but negotiable and always adapted to in each step of the transposition. Catharina Thiel Sandholdt & Marianne Achiam

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Fig. 3. We investigate the first two steps of didactic transposition in the development of a science centre exhibition on human health.

Identifying health-related the scientific discourse in the classroom is knowledge, values and practices restricted to established, canonical science or it allows for, and values, different accounts of As is evident from the preceding discussions, science. We employ this latter distinction to the didactic transposition of content involves assess the status of the discourse on health as a number of transformations of that content, authoritative or dialogic in each step of the both with respect to complexity and with transposition. We consider the plurality of respect to modality. We thus require a means voices, whose discourses are being presented, of analysis that can transcend modality in and whether a passive voice is being used. order to recognise and identify health-related Examples are provided in the following knowledge, values and practices across the sections. exhibition development process. To this end, we employ discourse analysis as a way of The science centre and the identifying coherent units of health-related exhibition language, whether written, spoken, visualised, or embodied in three-dimensional exhibits The present study focuses on the Danish (Meng 2004). Because we are interested in the science centre Experimentarium. It investigates tension between authoritative and dialogic the four-year long (2012–2015) development approaches to exhibiting scientific content, process of the exhibition PULSE Plaza2 on we pay particular attention to the presence of human health. The exhibition team consisted authoritative and dialogic discourse in each of four developers and four researchers (one step of the transposition. of whom is the first author of the present Scott et al. (2006) describe how classroom- paper). based teaching can be evaluated along two From the outset, it was a clear objective that spectrums, namely from non-interactive the development of PULSE Plaza should serve to interactive and from authoritative to as a model for new dialogic and participatory dialogic. When these authors refer to the non- ways of working at Experimentarium. The interactive/interactive spectrum, they denote development process was initiated by a phase the degree to which the educator involves of research on the subject of health and learners in spoken exchanges. In contrast, health promotion. The subsequent steps of when they refer to the authoritative/dialogic the process were based on a high degree of spectrum, Scott et al. (2006) describe whether user involvement, involving a research-driven Engaging or transmitting? Health at the science centre

ethnographic field study among families Be physically active at least 30 minutes a day. […] 141 who were the target demographic for the At least twice a week, high-intensity physical activity exhibition (Reeve & Bell 2009). The findings of at least 20 minutes’ duration should be included from this field study were used in a co-design in order to maintain or improve condition and process with a selection of families, based on strength. Activities that improve bone strength participatory design methods (Simonsen & and mobility should be included. Physical activity Robertson 2012; Sandholdt & Ulriksen 2018), beyond these recommendations will provide further resulting in the final exhibition. health benefits. As mentioned, we analyse the transposition of health-related knowledge, values and In this excerpt, we observe how a single, passive practices here through discourse analysis of voice transmits an authoritative missive on the scientific publications that fed into the the connection between health and physical development process, the collection of planning activity. There are no alternative viewpoints briefs that documented the development represented, no consideration of the reader’s process, and finally, of the actual exhibition circumstances, and the tone is dispassionate (see fig. 3). The planning briefs include the and factual. We find the excerpt to clearly original funding application for the exhibition represent an authoritative discourse. project (Experimentarium & Steno Diabetes In contrast, an example of a dialogic Centre 2012), and three internal exhibition discourse is provided by the Danish SOL3 design reports (Experimentarium 2013, 2014a, project (Foxvig et al. 2016). In the SOL project 2014b). The funding application is originally health professionals, municipal actors, local written in English, while the three internal vendors and local media formed a collaboration exhibition design reports are originally in to promote healthy actions and behaviours Danish; the quotes used here are translated by in the selected community. One inititiative, the authors. Taste and Senses, focused on educating children about healthy eating habits. Already in the title, a more holistic approach to health Scholarly knowledge, values and is apparent. The report further describes how practices children naturally prefer sweet tastes, and The scientific content that was considered in the thus need to slowly get accustomed to other PULSE project was research literature relating flavours: to the KRAM framework (Statens Institut for Folkesundhed 2009) as well as research Through fun games and positive experiences with literature reflecting a broad conception of food, the SOL project worked to develop children’s health in concurrence with health promotional taste experiences and their ability to express what theory (Jensen 2009). We have already outlined they tasted, sensed and experienced (Foxvig et al. these two positions and the tensions between 2016:27) them; here we give examples of the discourses present in these documents. The following In this excerpt, as well as in the SOL report excerpt represents a set of recommendations proper, there is no single, authoritative voice for physical activity for adults (Pedersen & on what constitutes health. Rather, a holistic Andersen 2011:12): approach is taken that emphasises a diversity Catharina Thiel Sandholdt & Marianne Achiam

142 of experiences concerning health, and allows particular seem to give voice to a diversity of for different ways of negotiating healthy eating. viewpoints, while the term “equity” explicitly puts the intended visitors on an equal footing with exhibition developers. Finally, the Knowledge, values and practices Application identifies families as the target to be exhibited group of the exhibition, acknowledging the The content to be exhibited was described importance of social interactions during in the collection of planning briefs for the science centre experiences (Gutwill & Allen exhibition. These included the original funding 2010). application (Experimentarium & Steno Diabetes Even though the Application clearly Centre 2012) as well as three design reports acknowledges a plurality of voices and (Experimentarium 2013, 2014a. 2014b), which advocates a progressive, dialogic approach to are analysed in the following. We shall refer health education, we still found underlying to these documents as “the Application” and references to more authoritative perspectives. “Design Report 1” through “Design Report 3”. For instance, on page 15, the Application Because the PULSE project aimed to create invokes a traditional conception of the body as a dialogic exhibition, it is not surprising that a machine: “To stimulate dialogue and support the Application draws strongly on progressive social activities on physical activity and health, health promotion research. For instance, on the exhibition’s preliminary focus is on the page 12, the Application states “The overall body’s engine: the heart”. This mechanistic way purpose of the […] project is to develop of describing the body is consistent with the innovative health promotion activities that traditional authoritative discourse in science include a science museum exhibition as a key centres. Further, in spite of the Application’s setting”. Further, it describes how the exhibition stated ambition of creating shared experiences, project “will break new ground and seek the exhibit designs are targeted towards alternative solutions not only to address well individual users, for example on page 16. Here, known risk factors, but also to improve closely an exhibit idea is described in terms of activity related factors such as wellbeing and quality of and relaxation zones that “allow visitors to life” (page 10). This statement acknowledges a learn more about their pulse and physical diversity of ways of achieving wellbeing. activity on an individual basis.” Further evidence of the Application’s To recapitulate: The PULSE Application adherence to progressive health promotion contains several instances of the authoritative research is offered in its formulation of discourse from traditional science centre four educational principles on page 6: 1. practices that exist in tension with the Participation and action competences, 2. A overarching dialogic discourse that reflects broad and positive perception of health, 3. notions from progressive health promotion. Multiple approaches for multiple settings While traditional science centre exhibitions and 4. Equity in health, reaching new target are typically based on exhibits designed groups. These educational principles are for individuals, progressive health- derived directly from core principles in health promotional interventions are generally education (Grabowski et al. 2017). The terms planned around groups or involve network- “participation”, “broad”, and “multiple” in building. Further, science centres have Engaging or transmitting? Health at the science centre

traditionally communicated knowledge of the family pulse (page 31). The treasure hunt 143 physical body through for instance anatomical narrative described in this exhibition idea facts and mechanistic ideas (Christensen et clearly draws on the traditional authoritative al. 2016), whereas health promotion calls for discourse within science centres. In this logic, broader and more negotiated perceptions of if the pulse is found, the family has solved the health. task correctly. This “correct answer” seems to We proceed now to analysing the three indicate a traditional conception of a direct, Design Reports. These reports were authored causal relationship between becoming aware during the exhibition development phase, and of a health issue and acting on it (McLeary & thus document how the tension between the Toon 2012). authoritative and dialogic discourse was in Design Report 1 sketches another exhibit some cases resolved, in some cases not, by the idea, this one intended to contribute to exhibition team. the prospective visitors’ search for the lost Design Report 1 was written just before pulse mentioned above. The Journal of Daily the findings from the ethnographic field Movement asks the prospective visitors: work among families were shared with the “How active are you in everyday life?” (page exhibition team. Entitled Remember your body, 22). The prospective visitors can view a it emphasises physical activity as a goal for scaled-up journal that follows the official the exhibition: “The human body is made for recommendations for physical activity. They movement, but are you and your family active then choose pieces symbolising different enough in everyday life?” (page 5). It consists kinds of activities and create their individual of loosely structured ideas for exhibit activities. journals. The intention is for these journals In Design Report 1, the approach to to exceed the amount of physical activity health promotion largely reflected the KRAM present in visitors’ current everyday life. The framework. One exhibit idea draws on the primary goal of the activity is described in KRAM recommendation of a certain amount Design Report 1 as promoting “dialogue and of physical activity for adults: An exhibit is consciousness on the kinds of movement described where visitors enter a small room performed in the family. A discussion of what with a video playing of a family. The on- you want to do – sorting and prioritising is screen family shares the same pulse; this is necessary since there is not enough time to communicated to the prospective visitors achieve it all” (page 23). Even though the aim through a heartbeat sound and a diagram on of the Journal of Daily Movement is ostensibly the video screen. When the on-screen family dialogue, it is difficult to imagine how the members are sedentary instead of being active prompted conversation can go beyond what together, the sound of the heart decreases in Scott et al. (2006) describe as interaction. rhythm until the pulse is lost. Design Report 1 The dominant voice in the exhibit sketch is describes how, at this point, a narrator explains authoritative and centred on pre-determined how we are too inactive in our everyday lives and non-negotiable recommendations from and that action is needed. The PULSE Plaza the KRAM framework. exhibition is then pointed out as the place Another exhibit idea in Design Report 1 for action, and the prospective visitors are suggests that visitors be prompted to expose prompted to find and activate the missing each other’s unhealthy behaviour, i.e.: “How Catharina Thiel Sandholdt & Marianne Achiam

144 much time does (name of visitor) spend in reacted negatively to direct inquiries into the front of the television every day?” (page 13). movement practices of her family, because she The subsequent questions are directed at the found it inappropriate to be confronted with habits and behaviours of individual family her own busy everyday life on an otherwise members; they are formulated in terms of positive visit to the science centre. Experiences risks and possible dangers connected with like these prompted reflection in the exhibition (un)health(y) behaviour, much in line with team, who write “We as developers learned/ health communication from traditional health experienced […] how narrow a path one has research. One dominant, authoritative voice to walk in conversations about family health is present, and there seem to be no legitimate behaviour” (page 37). As a result of this alternatives. growing realisation, the previously described Design Report 2 presents a carefully prepared exhibit idea in which the on-screen family overview of the prospective exhibition, with slowly slid into sedentary behaviour was an exhibition narrative and key exhibit ideas. abandoned. Instead the main message and It reflects the considerable development work communicative aim of the exhibition became: that was carried out after the ethnographic field work and participatory co-design process Even in a busy family life, many joyful options exist with families. These processes unfolded how for getting your pulse to rise and moving together. the involved families perceived health, and The communicative aim of the exhibition is to clarified the extent to which families were stimulate and support dialogue on movement and aware of official recommendations about daily health within the family and provide a positive, physical activity. Further, the involvement of entertaining and inspiring shared experience with a families uncovered the collective dynamics focus on movement (page 4). and social practices of everyday family life, where clashing practices, tasks and In descriptions of several prospective exhibits, distributions of roles made it difficult to live up Design Report 2 focuses on asking questions to these recommendations (see Bønnelycke et rather than seeking to transmit “correct” al. 2018b). answers. Instead of the previous focus on The overarching approach to health in nominating individual health behaviour, Design Report 2 is markedly different from many exhibits are formulated as quizzes that of Design Report 1. This is clear already with multiple-choice answers. In other in the title: From Design Report 1: Remember words, the activities focus on creating shared Your Body to Design Report 2: Eeny, miny, family experiences rather than prompting PULSE oh blimey.4 This shift illustrates the competition between individuals. Accordingly, exhibition team’s discussions on how to we consider Design Report 2 to have a much engage prospective visitors in physical activity stronger foundation in progressive health through a progressive health promotion promotion theory than Design Report 1. A perspective; discussions that resulted in a plurality of voices are heard, and a range of much more positive approach with quirky different viewpoints on health and movement representations of everyday life. For instance, are acknowledged (“many joyful options Design Report 2 acknowledges an incident in exist”). which one of the participating mothers had In Design Report 3, many of the notions from Engaging or transmitting? Health at the science centre

145

Fig. 4. The exhibit the Balance Kitchen, part of the PULSE Plaza. Photo Experimentarium, 2017. progressive health promotion theory come concept by utilising a whimsical scenography to final fruition. The notion of participation based on families’ everyday universe. Gone is is represented in the described requirement the authoritative discourse on “correct” ways of visitors to form teams and check-in to the of being healthy; instead, prospective visitors prospective exhibition together in order to are invited to share their views and practices activate the exhibits; in fact, the prospective on everyday movement with one another and exhibition cannot be used by individuals. A with the interactive features of the exhibits. number of multi-user exhibits are described, In summary, the three Design Reports including a photo booth function where document the deconstruction and reconstruc- visiting families are photographed together, tion of health-related knowledge, values, in action. The intent of this photo booth is and practises in the development of the for families to capture the memory of all its PULSE Plaza exhibition. Design Report 1 members having a great time while being employed a decidedly authoritative discourse physically active. They can “choose among the with individual-oriented activities and non- funny pictures taken while the family went negotiable messages of how visitors ought to physically all in in the activity [and] attach behave. This discourse is gradually replaced the best picture to their own unique collection with a dialogic discourse in Design Reports 2 of experiences and ideas [for movement]” and 3, where the influence of the field work and (page 11). Furthermore, Design Report 3 co-design processes is apparent. These latter fully incorporates a broad and positive health Reports emphasise the family as a collective, Catharina Thiel Sandholdt & Marianne Achiam

146

Fig. 5. The exhibit the Dancing Bathroom, part of the PULSE Plaza. Photo Experimentarium, 2017.

sketch multi-user exhibits, and suggest a To engage in the exhibition the prospective fun and informal scenography based on visitors must form teams of 2–5 participants movement in the everyday. They describe the and register. All exhibits are designed for aim for the prospective exhibition as creating multiple users, engaging the whole team family experiences with health through physically. Using screens in the midpoint entertaining body-on exhibits, prompting area, the prospective teams can take fun- actions and reflections that transcends the fact quizzes on health with multiple-choice visit and affect everyday health practise and answers. They can see photos of themselves promote body-awareness, thereby mobilising taken during their engagement in the exhibits, action competences grounded in the family and nominate the different exhibits for being collective. “most fun”, “having the greatest learning potential” and “most adaptable to my daily life”. The software is designed so that all Exhibited knowledge, values and information entered by visitors is sent to them practices afterwards by e-mail. The final PULSE Plaza exhibition milieu The PULSE exhibition embodies a dialogic consists of a 600 m2 exhibition designed with discourse on health. One example is provided a whimsical daily-life narrative, where each by the exhibit the Balance Kitchen (fig. 4), exhibit resembles something familiar from where balance skills are in focus. The exhibit is everyday life (for instance the Balance Kitchen designed to resemble a kitchen environment, and the Obstacle Hallway). PULSE consists of and the task for the prospective visitors is to eight primary exhibits and a midpoint area. turn off as many as possible of the lit buttons Engaging or transmitting? Health at the science centre

on the walls for two minutes without touching values and practices that formed the basis 147 the floor. Visitors must cling to the walls, of the PULSE project, as represented by jump from pot to pan, and walk the line on a traditional, authoritative biomedical research giant kitchen rolling pin. Another example is and operationalised in the KRAM framework offered by the exhibit the Dancing Bathroom (Eriksen et al. 2011), and progressive health (fig. 5), which focuses on coordination. A promotion theory from the social sciences video instructor models dance moves for and humanities (Halkier & I. Jensen 2011), the participants to follow in real time, and respectively. It required internal reflection to the dance moves at the same time emulate embrace the dialogic and contextual approach scrubbing or sweeping motions used in and challenge these pre-existing institutional cleaning. The prospective visitors are thus logics. To accomplish this, the interaction engaged in dancing together as another form between exhibition designers and researchers of everyday exercise in a familiar environment, and the extensive user involvement were during an everyday task. indispensable. None of the eight final exhibits in PULSE In the development process, content inquire directly about prospective visitors’ from progressive health promotion research everyday health practices. Rather, knowledge, was at times “crowded out” by a traditional, values and practices related to the human authoritative perspective on health as body are suggested in a diversity of ways communicated through risk factors and non- using everyday situations and events. All negotiable KRAM recommendations. We exhibit texts use positive language rather than suggest this conflict may have been caused by dictating the non-negotiable health behaviour an institutional entrenchment of the discovery recommended by traditional, authoritative pedagogy that is a default “way of doing” in many health research. The focus on the family as a science centres. Although discovery pedagogy collective allows for a multitude of voices and prima facie offers visitors opportunities to opinions on health to be heard. Accordingly, we interact with scientific phenomena in various find the PULSE exhibition to fully embody the ways, discovery pedagogy often implies ideas of progressive health promotion, i.e. authoritative, canonical accounts of science a dialogic discourse with socially-oriented, (Quistgaard & Kahr-Højland 2010). This contextualised, equity-based approaches means that attempts to introduce more (Carlsson et al. 2009). dialogic and contextual approaches to science among science centre professionals can be met with considerable resistance. Indeed, in Discussion some cases, science centre professionals may The pre-existing institutional logic of the be so strongly allied to the scientific research science centre played an important role in the community that it is difficult for them to see exhibition development process, substantially the need for creating open and negotiable co-determining the transformation of health- science experiences (Achiam & Holmegaard related knowledge, values and practices in the 2018). development of the exhibition PULSE Plaza. However, in the development of PULSE Both authoritative and dialogic discourses Plaza, a gradual shift towards a more dialogic were present in the scholarly knowledge, approach did eventually occur. This shift Catharina Thiel Sandholdt & Marianne Achiam

148 required considerable reflection internally authoritative science centre exhibits with areas in the exhibition team, intense collaboration for negotiating science through dialogue is an between researchers and designers, and a interesting notion for further investigation. comprehensive user-involvement process to change the authoritative “way of doing”. Conclusion In particular, the user involvement process seemed to create the conditions for reflection Even though science centres offer a wide range on exhibiting health using a dialogic discourse. of resources and opportunities for creating The process was at times difficult, and required dialogic exhibitions that engage visitors in negotiations of roles and re-distribution of creating relevant and meaningful experiences expertise and participation (Bønnelycke et al. with science, their authoritative pedagogical 2018a). However, the benefits of employing a tradition poses challenges to such design dialogic approach are difficult to overestimate: ventures. In addition, visitors habitually expect Not only does it reposition visitors as active to encounter exhibits that communicate participants rather than passive subjects to scientific facts. Institutions must therefore be whom knowledge is to be transmitted (Bray cautious of alienating visitors in their attempt to et al. 2012), but it also represents a stepping engage them. Given these hazards, the choice of stone in the science centre’s quest for external an everyday scenario in the PULSE Plaza was relevance by propelling it towards being a risky, because it blurred the distinction between participatory museum (Simon 2010). We thus science centre experiences and everyday life. suggest that the most important implication On the other hand, the whimsical twists and of the present study is as an encouragement promotion of team spirit proposed by the to science centre professionals to reflect on dialogic and negotiable exhibition design can exhibition practices and investigate if, where, conceivably enable the visitors to build bridges and how a more dialogic approach could be between scientific knowledge and everyday beneficial. Where, in science centre practices, life. We thus conclude that deliberate choices can we be engaging rather than transmitting? of theoretical framing and methods – in this A dialogic approach to exhibition design is case health promotion and a user-involvement not, however, a fix-all solution. As Scott et al. strategy – can offer new opportunities for (2006) argue, dialogic discourse cannot stand innovative science centre exhibition design. alone in the science education classroom, but should be balanced with elements of facilitated Notes and authoritative discourse. We suggest the same balanced approach to science centre This study was funded by the Novo Nordisk Foun- exhibition design. Indeed, the investigations dation as part of the PULSE project, which made the carried out by Falk and Dierking (2013) of research possible. Thanks to Lars Ulriksen and Julie museum visitors’ identity-related motivations Bønnelycke for their valuable inputs and comments suggest that science centre visitors might on the manuscript. Thanks to the PULSE team and the prefer a traditional, authoritative exhibition participating families. one day, but yearn to be engaged in negotiating 1. KRAM: Kost, Rygning, Alkohol, Motion. science another day. A mixed exhibition In English: nutrition, smoking, alcohol space that balances areas of traditional, consumption, physical activity. Engaging or transmitting? Health at the science centre

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Museet som katalysator for ensomhedsforebyggelse hos ældre

Cecilie Monrad

Abstract: In recent years, there has been an increase in cooperative projects between the cultural and the healthcare sector. International research shows that there is a good reason for that. From a holistic approach to the body and mind, it appears that the arts in various aspects can have significant impact on mental health, and that it can improve the individual’s quality of life. This text describes a collaborative project between The Frederiksberg Museums and Frederiksberg Health Centre. The purpose of this project is the prevention of loneliness in senior citizens. The survey questions are based on the potential significance of the museum collection as a catalyst for conversation and thus relationship formation. In addition, we have wished to examine the degree to which a museum’s intervention can strengthen the social networks of the participants.

Keywords: Museums and social responsibility, art & health, combatting loneliness, elder citizens, memories, storytelling.

På Frederiksbergmuseerne mødes en gruppe lyse, som at bidrage til løsninger på samfunds- ældre hver uge over et kaffebord midt i muse- mæssige sociale udfordringer. Det er der flere ets samling. Snakken går ivrigt fra betragtnin- årsager til. Dels et grundlæggende dannelses- ger over museets genstande og fortællinger til syn, hvor lige adgang, vinkler og syn på vores personlige associationer og erindringer. Perso- fælles historie og kulturarv er det, der giver et nerne rundt om kaffebordet er alle deltagere i samfund sammenhængskraft. Dels en prag- projekt Noget at tale om, der er et samarbejde matisk strategi, hvor der fra politiske og øko- mellem Frederiksbergmuseerne og det loka- nomiske sider, er kommet langt højere fokus le sundhedscenter omkring ensomhedsfore- på samskabelse og partnerskaber med andre byggelse for ældre. Denne tekst vil, gennem ikke-kulturelle institutioner, herunder særligt projektets praktiske eksempel, komme med et sundhedsaktører. Samtidigt forskes der mere bud på hvorfor og hvordan, det giver mening, og mere på de samskabende projekter mellem at museer og sundhedssektoren arbejder sam- kultur og sundhed, hvor data peger på, at aktiv men. kulturel deltagelse kan have en mærkbar posi- Flere og flere museer tager andel i såvel at be- tiv indflydelse på en række såvel fysiske som Noget at tale om!

psykiske lidelser, enten forebyggende eller som og gennem dialogiske omvisninger. I projekt 153 del af et rekonvalescensforløb (O´Neill 2010, Noget at tale om aktiveres museernes genstan- Jensen 2014). de og fortællinger på en sådan måde, at de får Storbritanniens kulturinstitutioner har læn- direkte indvirken på en gruppe menneskers ge været førende for samskabelse med sund- liv og livskvalitet og herigennem rekonstrue- hedsområdet, og her forventes det eksplicit af rer en ny betydning, der rækker ud over de- museer, at de gennem deres public service rolle res kulturhistoriske værd. Museernes fysiske påtager sig et medansvar for løsning af sam- rum og samling danner med andre ord ramme fundsrelaterede udfordringer og bliver med- for netværksopbyggelse og styrkelse af socia- skabere af positive forandringer for såvel det le relationer mellem deltagerne. Denne tekst enkelte individ som på et samfundsmæssigt beskriver projekt Noget at tale om både i for- plan (Gallagher 2017). Professor i museumstu- hold til projektets praktiske udførsel, og hvad dier Richard Sandell beskriver det således: projektet har betydet for såvel deltagere som museet. Forinden vil jeg opridse den teoretisk At an individual or personal level, engagement with pædagogiske ramme for, hvordan vi i nærvæ- museums can deliver positive outcomes such as self- rende projekt definerer ensomhed, samt vores esteem, confidence and creativity. At a community pædagogiske ramme og tilgang til, hvordan level, museums can act as catalyst for social man kan arbejde med relations skabelse gen- regeneration, empowering communities to increase nem særlig formidling af museernes genstande their self-determination and develop the confidence og fortællinger. and skills to take greater control over their lives and the neighbourhoods in which they live (Sandell Ensomhed, social isolation og 2003:45). forebyggelse Hermed peger han på, at museer kan og bør Ensomhed er en subjektiv følelse, der har stor være en aktiv medspiller i samfundssociale betydning for den enkeltes såvel psykiske som udfordringer, netop fordi vores samlinger kan fysiske sundhed. Føler man sig ensom har man formidles på en sådan måde, at det kan have større risiko for søvnproblemer, stress, over- en direkte og positiv indflydelse på det enkel- vægt, alkoholmisbrug, Alzheimers, depressi- te individ og derigennem på samfundet som on, ligesom også risikoen for selvmord øges hele. (Swane 2013). Ensomhed ikke er det samme som det at være alene. Man kan godt være ale- ne uden at føle sig ensom, ligesom man også Frederiksbergmuseerne kan føle sig ensom i selskab med andre. For For Frederiksbergmuseerne, der består af 5 ældre er det ofte tabet af en ægtefælle, dårlig fusionerede enheder, har samskabelse med økonomi, nedsat hørelse, nedsat evne til at sundheds- og omsorgssektoren været en del af bevæge sig (fx ved gigt eller svimmelhed), der museets strategi i en årrække. Dels genererer forårsager følelsen af social isolation og der- det nye målgrupper på museet – som vi altid med ensomhed. (Nikolajsen, Hedelund, Swa- er glade for, dels aktiveres dele af samlingen på ne, 2014) Undersøgelser viser, at forekomsten en måde, vi ikke nødvendigvis har blik for ved af ensomhed stiger markant fra 80+ alderen, vores almindelige formidlingstilbud for skoler hvilket indikerer sammenhængen mellem tab Cecilie Monrad

154 af ægtefælle eller nedsat helbred med følelsen dervisning, som den norske professor i pæda- af ensomhed. (Lasgaard & Friis, 2015) gogik, Olga Dysthe, definerer således: Man skelner mellem to typer af interven- tion, der kan afhjælpe ensomhed; den ”indi- Mening skabes og udvikles gennem dialogisk inter- rekte” intervention, der terapeutisk arbejder aktion og samarbejde mellem mennesker, som er med, hvordan den enkelte kan lære at blive situeret i en bestemt kontekst… Det er ikke brugen mere socialt kompetent, og den ”direkte” in- af dialog forstået som ”samtale” i ordets snævre be- tervention, der tilsigter at skabe rammer for tydning, der primært gør undervisningen ”dialogba- sociale møder mellem mennesker (Nikolajsen, seret”; det er det, at underviseren skaber de nødven- Hedelund & Swane 2014). Frederiksbergmu- dige rammer for dialogisk kommunikation. (Dysthe seernes erindringsforløb hører til den direkte 2012:45-46) intervention, hvor museet har skabt de sociale rammer for at mødes omkring et bestemt, men Det er underviseren eller facilitatorens primæ- neutralt emne eller indhold og derigennem re ansvar at skabe grobund for relationer mel- skabe potentiale for at etablere relationer del- lem deltagerne, samt skabe rammer og møn- tagerne imellem. Deltagerne, der som nævnt er stre for interaktionen. I netværksgruppernes rekrutteret gennem kommunens forebyggende praksis er det museumsformidleren, der fun- hjemmebesøg, har måske nok adresseret deres gerer som facilitator ved først at præsentere en ensomhed eller ønske om større social kontakt museumsgenstand eller fortælling, for derefter til sundhedscentrets medarbejder, men det at at åbne op for dialog via autentiske spørgsmål. være ensom er ikke omdrejningspunktet, når Autentiske spørgsmål er spørgsmål, hvor der man mødes i gruppen på museet. Her er det, ikke findes et givent svar, men derimod invite- som nævnt, museets fortællinger, der inspire- rer til deltagernes egne bidrag og refleksioner. rer til, hvad den enkelte har lyst til at dele med Eksempler på autentiske spørgsmål kan være gruppen. Hvis den enkelte alligevel adresse- når facilitator spørger: ”Hvad tænker I om det rer sin følelse af ensomhed, er det gruppens her billede? Eller ”Hvad husker du fra Dan- umiddelbare respons, der har mulighed for at marks befrielse?”. Deltagerne inviteres på den virke som indirekte strategi. Af faglige årsager måde til at bidrage med noget nyt til samtalen, vil det aldrig være museumsformidlerens op- som kan ændre eller nuancere den (Dysthe, gave eller kompetence at gå ind i terapeutens 2012). Den fortælling, der opstår via deltager- rolle. Ensomhed adresseres ikke, medmindre nes personlige bidrag og erfaringer kæder ad- det selv tages op af deltagerne. Mødet er – og skilte episoder og begivenheder sammen til et skal være – neutralt, hvor man deltager ude- meningsgivende forløb. Bl.a. ved at sammen- lukkende med det, man har lyst til at dele, og ligne ens egen fortælling eller version af noget ikke deltager som ”patient” eller fordi man har erfaret med andres. en ”ensomhedsdiagnose”. Gerontolog Anne Leonora Blaakilde frem- hæver fire elementer, der bør være til stede i fortællesituationen for at den opleves menings- Dialog, interaktion og givende. De fire elementer er 1) fortælleren, 2) relationsskabelse emnet, 3) tilhøreren og 4) den pågældende for- Den pædagogiske ramme for netværksgrup- tællesituation (2006). Alle elementer er gensi- perne tager udgangspunkt i dialogbaseret un- digt afhængige af hinanden, forstået sådan, at Noget at tale om!

fortælleren ikke må dominere tilhøreren og at i en struktureret ensomhedsintervention, som 155 rollerne skifter undervejs. Emnet er, i vores til- disse erindringsforløb er. Metoden anspo- fælde, givet af facilitatoren/museumsformidle- rer til socialt samvær, skaber nye relationer, ren, ligesom fortællesituationen er lagt i rolige mindsker følelsen af isolation og styrker den og inspirerende rammer. Blaakilde pointerer, enkeltes identitetsfølelse og selvværd (Gibson at rammerne ikke må være på en institutions- 1998). En deltagers fortælling af en oplevel- gang eller lign. med passage for andre menne- se fra fortiden giver den pågældende fortæl- sker. I vores tilfælde, har vi løst det ved at stille ler en ny oplevelse ved at genfortælle den for kaffebordet op i udstillingslokalet udenfor åb- andre mennesker, der genkender, spejler og ningstid. Blaakilde skriver endvidere: kommenterer på referencerne eller følelserne. Derigennem styrkes et identitetsmæssigt fæl- De individuelle fortællinger kan fortolkes som en lesskab (Blaakilde 2006). slags personlige præstationer for fortælleren. Det, En del af reminiscensmetoden er at skabe man fortæller, handler om noget, man værdsætter sammenhæng i oplevelser og erfaringer, som i livet, og det repræsenterer ens eget verdensbillede. er tidsmæssigt adskilte. Dette kan man som fa- Vi skaber en sammenkobling af fortiden og fremti- cilitator lette ved at inddele forløbet i adskilte den, når vi fortæller i nutiden, og ved denne hand- temaer, som kan have tilknytning til forskellige ling knytter vi os selv til verden, som vi er lige nu, faser i livet. Som fx barndom eller ægteskab. I sammen med de mennesker, som vi taler med, om Frederiksbergmuseernes samling gemmer der eller til. (Blaakilde 2007:301) sig mange person- og biografiske fortællinger om de forskellige kunstnere (Fx Storm P., for- Det er i denne interaktion mellem deltagerne, skellige forfattere og revystjerner). Vi bruger at relationsdannelsen finder sted. Man bliver disse biografiske fortællinger på lige fod med inspireret af det givne emne og andres fortæl- genstande, tekster, musik og billeder som sam- linger, og deler det, man selv mener, er værdi- tale ”trickere” . Fx kan der i de biografiske for- fuldt i sammenhængen. tællinger om Storm P eller Livas Weels op- og Med alderen øges risikoen for at ens ven- nedture være noget, man genkender fra sit eget ner, søskende og ægtefælle falder bort. Det er liv. Samlet set supplerer personfortællingerne mennesker, der har haft de samme referencer, (de levede erfaringer) og genstandsfortæl- som en selv, mennesker med supplerende erin- linger (det tidstypiske) hinanden til at danne dringer fra ens levede liv. At arbejde med erin- ”trickere”. dringsfortællinger eller livshistorier i grupper af mennesker fra samme generation, kan være Beskrivelse af et forløb en måde at lindre tabet på. Et planlagt og systematisk arbejde med erin- Frederiksbergmuseerne består af fem forskel- drings- og livsfortællinger kaldes for remi- lige museer og udstillingssteder. I Noget at tale niscens og er en metode, man ofte anvender i om er det primært på de to museer Storm P. omsorgsarbejdet med demente. Her stimule- Museet og Revymuseet at forløbet har foregå- res erindringer gennem flere kilder, i fagsprog et. Deltagerne, max. åtte personer, mødes på kaldet ”trickere” og som kan være genstan- museet udenfor museets normale åbningstid de, sange, dufte, bevægelser mv. (Dahl 2006). to timer en gang om ugen gennem 12 uger. Men reminiscensmetoden er også anvendelig Deltagerne, der er rekrutteret gennem sund- Cecilie Monrad

156 hedscenterets forebyggende hjemmebesøg,1 er lede eller genstand frem. Overgangen mellem i alderen 75-98 år med en overvægt af kvinder. præsentationen af det museumsfaglige og del- Alle har ved rekrutteringen udtrykt ønske om tagernes egne associationer opleves derfor fly- et større netværk. Den kortsigtede hensigt for dende. Nogle af deltagerne beskriver forløbet interventionen er, at deltagerne på baggrund således: af museets genstande og fortællinger udveks- ler personlige erindringer og fortællinger. Den ”Det, at der var et udgangspunkt med emnet langsigtede hensigt er, at deltagernes sociale virkede godt, så man holdt sig til emnet og ikke netværk styrkes i den grad, at de fortsætter bare talte om børnebørnene.” med at ses efter forløbets ophør. Det tager tid ”Det at der var et fast emne gjorde, at vi vid- at opnå den fortrolighed i gruppen, der er af- ste hvad vi skulle snakke om, og så gled vi fra gørende for, om de stadig har lyst til at mødes oplægget til vores egne oplevelser.” efter forløbets ophør. Typisk er det, at ved de ”Det gik fra Storm P. til os selv på en glidende første 4-5 mødegange skal der serveres flere og ikke påtrængende måde.” faglige ”trickere” end ved de sidste, hvor sam- talerne flyder lettere deltagerne imellem. Styring af samtaleindholdet er én del af fa- Mødet indledes med et museumsfagligt cilitatorens rolle. Samtidig tilstræbes det at oplæg, der handler om et universelt tema, fx skabe en ligevægt mellem de, der griber ordet det ovennævnte livsfase barndom. Men det og gerne vil beholde det, og de, der skal in- kunne også være rejser, arbejdsliv eller andet. viteres ind i samtalen ved at stille autentiske Hovedsagen er, at temaet netop er universelt spørgsmål. Før interventionen afsluttes, run- – at alle vil kunne relatere til det uden nogen des der af med et museumsfagligt input igen. forkundskaber. Deltagerne skal altså ikke for- Dette er for at lukke for eventuelle løse ender, vente et museumsfagligt ”foredrag” i stil med, hvis nogle har valgt at dele særligt følsomme hvad man kan opleve på omvisninger eller emner. aftenkurser, selvom det museumsfaglige alli- gevel ligger mere eller mindre subtilt i oplæg- Deltagernes udbytte get. Eksempelvis ved et tema som rejser, kan et oplæg bl.a. bestå af oplæsning af Storm Ps Ved en fælles evaluering mellem Frederiks- dagbog fra hans rejse til Amerika. Mødet med bergmuseerne og Frederiksberg Sundheds- væggelus og andre ubehageligheder får sam- center har vi gennem individuelle- og fokus- talen til at glide over i deltagernes egne rejse- gruppeinterview af deltagere fra i alt syv forløb oplevelser. Et andet eksempel kunne være fra undersøgt, på hvilken måde det har haft betyd- temaet kærlighed, hvor man synger Elga Olgas ning, at forløbet tog udgangspunkt i museale revysang Solitudevej fra 1953. Sangen rummer rammer. Det virker til at være af stor betyd- mange tidstypiske billeder, som fx når der syn- ning, at tilbuddet dels har et andet indhold og ges om at græde om kap med en ostebutik. Det fokus end andre eksisterende tilbud for ældre får som regel samtalen hen på de gamle butik- mennesker og dels, at det at møde andre og kers kølesystemer, bøttesmør fra ismejeriet o.a. være sammen med andre er ’kamufleret’ som Erindringssamtalerne må gerne skyde i mange et tilbud med fagligt indhold. For størstedelen retninger. Man vender tilbage til temaet ved har det været vigtigt, at netværksgruppen tog at facilitatoren trækker en ny sang, et nyt bil- afsæt i museet og dets genstande, og de mener Noget at tale om!

ikke, at det ville være muligt at skabe et lige at åbne sig, fortælle egne historier og dermed 157 så godt tilbud i andre omgivelser. Det omta- lære hinanden at kende. Ved det individuelle les nærmest eksklusivt at få adgang til museet interview blev deltagerne bedt om med en en- udenfor normal åbningstid, hvilket kan have kelt sætning at beskrive, hvad det bedste ved været med til at skabe en særlig stemning. forløbet var. Selvom hovedvægten lå på det so- Det, at der var plads til den enkeltes histo- ciale, beskriver mange det faglige indhold: rier i forlængelse af det museumsfaglige input opleves også positivt. Der har været plads til ”Det bedste var at se de mange ting og få vi- at åbne op og fortælle - og der var ikke noget den om ting, jeg ikke vidste – og især i den måde pres, fordi det kom naturligt i forlængelse af det blev fortalt på.” emnet. Det er tydeligt, at den fastlagte form, ”Det bedste var at komme ud af huset (red. med et fagligt udgangspunkt, var en god ram- hjemmet) og møde andre, og være i et forløb, me for grupperne. Det var styret, uden at være hvor man kunne lære om noget, som man ellers for fast styret, og der var god plads til, at alle fik ikke ville have undersøgt.” mulighed for at tale. ”Alle møderne var spændende, altid noget nyt, noget om Storm P. og revy og sang. Samvæ- ”Det gør en stor forskel, at det var på museet, ret med andre mennesker og historier om livet i da det er interessante rammer, og er et meget flot Danmark.” sted – ’settingen’ er vigtig for interessen, det er ”Ideen var god – det at man kom så tæt på med til at lokke, at det var så interessant et sted”. Storm P. som person og kunstner.” (Deltager fra fokusgruppeinterview) ”Det var den gode bredde. Jeg lærte en masse interessant.” Nogle deltagere udtalte, at det ikke var sikkert (Deltagere i individuelt interview) at de var dukket op, hvis det bare havde foregå- et på et bibliotek eller et andet lokale hos kom- De følgende to figurer viser i hvilken grad del- munen. De interessante rammer fremstår som tagerne oplever henholdsvis museets fysiske væsentlige, og som noget der gav deltagerne rammer og museets genstande og fortællinger en fælles referenceramme, og gjorde det lettere som vigtige.

Vigtighed af afsæt i museet, procent Museets genstande (n=21) (n=30) 70 62 60 57 60 50 50 40 40 29 30 30 17 20 10 20 13 9 10 10 4 0 0 5 - 4 3 2 1 - 5 - meget 4 3 2 1 - mindre meget mindre vigtigt vigtigt vigtigt vigtigt

Cecilie Monrad

158 Evalueringens andet spørgsmål havde til Udsagnene indikerer, at fællesskabet og det so- hensigt at undersøge, hvorvidt museumsin- ciale i gruppen har meget stor betydning. Men terventionen havde betydning for deltager- også, at det har betydning, at mødet finder sted nes sociale netværk. Her er resultaterne mere et ”neutralt” sted, dvs. udenfor hjemmet. Set blandede. Nogle af deltagerne syntes umiddel- sammen med udsagnene om museets rammer bart ikke, at det har haft indflydelse på deres ovenover, virker afsættet i museet som både hverdag, mens andre siger at de er kommet neutralt og inspirerende mødested. Eller som til at snakke med flere mennesker, og at det en deltager ret præcist beskriver det: er positivt at de er kommet til at kende flere mennesker. Det har givet et ”bredere netværk” ”Det er ret vigtigt, at folk kommer til sådan og været et godt ”afbræk i hverdagen”. Ikke alle noget i stedet for at bure sig inde derhjemme. kunne eller ville besvare spørgsmålene om, Her får man et spark bagi, og det er jo altså det, hvorvidt deltagelsen har givet dem et større der holder gang i livskvaliteten. Og også i de her netværk, men blandt de, der svarer ”ja”, ses en lokaler (red. udstillingsrum). Her har man jo sammenhæng mellem de grupper, hvor ”ke- noget at sludre med hinanden om, hvad man mien” blandt deltagerne bliver udtrykt som kender af det forskellige her.” rigtig god, samt de, som fortsat ses privat efter forløbets ophør. I en af grupperne ses de fort- Det at sidde midt i museumssamlingen og ikke sat hver 14. dag, selvom det er mere end 1,5 i et kommunalt lokale har stor betydning. At år siden gruppen blev afsluttet på museet. De være omgivet af udstillingsgenstande inspire- mødes både omkring kulturelle ting og privat. rer til samtaler, samt følelsen af at være særligt Forløbets sociale udbytte beskrives af nogle udvalgt. At sidde eksklusivt på museet udenfor af deltagerne således: åbningstid var derfor medvirkende til, at delta- gerne tog forløbet meget alvorligt. Der skulle ”Det er rart at træffe nye ældre mennesker. meget til for at melde afbud, og det er oplevet De andre foreninger er for store. Her (i Net- flere gange, at nogle deltagere er mødt op med værksgruppen) lærer man hinanden at kende, forstærket smertestillende, for ikke at gå glip og kommer til at tale om, hvordan livet går osv.” af samværet. Bestemt ikke ideelt, men et ud- ”Ja, nu kender jeg nogen på Frederiksberg, tryk for, hvor vigtigt deltagelsen føltes for den som jeg kan ringe til, hvis der skulle være noget.” enkelte. Som evalueringen også konkluderer, ”Vi glæder os hele søndagen til at ses om fik halvdelen af deltagerne reelt styrket deres mandagen.” sociale netværk gennem forløbet. Om kemi- ”Rart at komme ud og se andre mennesker og en imellem deltagerne lige passer, er tilfældig, komme ud af huset”. men der hvor den har været til stede, ses del- ”Det hele var rigtig godt, men det er svært at tagerne stadig. skulle ses privat: er vinduerne nu pudset osv.?” ”Det vigtigste var det gode sammenhold i Museernes udbytte gruppen, vi klinger godt sammen.” ”Det, at være sammen var det bedste og hyg- Sammenfattende svarer evalueringen positivt geligste.” på de to undersøgelsesspørgsmål: Hvilken be- ”Det, at man havde et eller andet at gå til, og tydning museets rammer og indhold har haft noget at glæde sig til.” for oplevelsen, og hvilken betydning forløbet Noget at tale om!

har haft for den enkeltes sociale netværk. Fra sektoren, bliver museerne mere demokratiske, 159 museets side har vi gennem forløbene lært nyt mindre elitære, mere relevante og mindre pe- om formidling af vores samling. Hvad det er rifere. Fra at være en institution, hvor fortid og for dele af vores genstande og fortællinger, der samling dominerer, bliver museerne også et særligt rører folk og åbner for samtaler. sted for identitetsdannelse, og hvor menneske- At museumsgenstande er velegnede som lige fortællinger dominerer. erindringstrickere er ikke overraskende, men Museer skal til enhver tid kunne definere i dette forløb har det ikke kun været de fysiske sin eksistensberettigelse. Vi er gode til at ska- genstande, men også – og måske især – per- be rum for følelser, refleksion og debat, og sonfortællingerne, der har vist sig brugbare. derigennem styrke dannelse og national sam- Mange af disse fortællinger er ikke lige syn- menhængskraft. Men vi har også mulighed for lige i udstillingen, da de er baseret på skrift- at være medspiller i en samfundsøkonomisk lige kilder. Men når de bliver fortalt mundt- sammenhæng gennem formidlingstiltag, der ligt, bliver de lige så personlige, som var det styrker generel livskvalitet og mental sund- en meddeltagers erindring, og inviterer mere hed. Såvel forebyggende, som rehabiliterende. direkte til deling af egne oplevelser. Samtidigt Når regeringstiltag som f.eks. Kultur på Re- giver det museumsfaglige indhold også delta- cept2 understøtter samskabelse mellem to så gerne mulighed for at distancere sig, hvis man vidt forskellige søjler som kultur og sundhed ikke har lyst til at være alt for personlig. Ud- er, er det fordi forskning viser gode resultater sagnene viser, at det faglige indhold er med til med samfundsøkonomisk gevinst. Vi er ikke i at fastholde samtalerne om noget, der opleves mål, men yderligere forskning og ikke mindst væsentligt. en vilje og nysgerrighed for bevæge sig ud af I en tid, hvor museer og andre kulturinsti- den trygge søjletænkning vil være et væsentligt tutioner i langt højere grad forventes at være skridt på vejen. medspiller i samfundets udvikling og sociale ansvar, giver det mening at samarbejde med Noter andre faggrupper. I den vidensdeling, der foregår, når vi som museum arbejder sammen 1. Forebyggende hjemmebesøg er et landsdækkende med andre faggrupper, bliver vi klogere på nye kommunalt tiltag, der skal medvirke til at opfange formidlingsformer af vores genstande. Ved at problemer og skabe dialog med de ældre, om kombinere flere ressourcer og forskellige kom- deres behov for støtte i dagligdagen, herunder petencer forøger vi museets potentiale for at også sociale behov. http://www.sum.dk/Aeldre/ skabe relevante og givende oplevelser for den Forebyggelse-paa-aeldreomraadet/Forebyggende- enkelte bruger. I et større perspektiv bidrager hjemmebesoeg.aspx vi til løsningen af samfundsmæssige udfor- 2. http://www.sst.dk/da/puljer-og-projekter/2016/ dringer, heriblandt ensomhed. kultut-paa-recept

Konklusion Litteratur

Både gennem et mere intenst kendskab til en Blaakilde, Anne Leonora 2007. ”Ord skaber alder.” særlig brugergruppe, og gennem samarbejdet I Christine Swane, Anna Leonora Blaakilde & med en anden sektor, eksempelvis sundheds- Kirsten Amstrup Kristensen. (red.) Gerontologi Cecilie Monrad

160 – Livet som gammel. København: Munksgaard Nikolajsen, Andreas, Morten Hedelund & Christine Danmark, 2. udgave, 265-76. Swane 2014. ”Palle alene i verden” – et kvalitativt Blaakilde, Anne Leonora 2006. ”Lad livets fortællinger studie af voksnes ensomhed midt i livet. blomstre – om livshistorie som genre og København: Ensomme Gamles Værn. nødvendighed.” I Jonas Havelund & Anders O´Neill, Mark 2010. ”Cultural attendance and public Møller Jensen. Reminiscens og Livshistorie. mental health. From research to practice”, Journal København: Munksgaard. of Public Mental Health 9:4, 22-29. https://doi. Dahl, Ove 2006. ”Reminiscens i ældreomsorgen.” org/10.5042/jpmh.2010.0700 I Jonas Havelund & Anders Møller Jensen. Sandell, Richard 2003. “Social inclusion, the museum Reminiscens og Livshistorie. København: and the dynamics of sectoral change.” Museum Munksgaard. and Society 1:1, 45-62. Dysthe, Olga, Nana Bernhardt & Line Esbjørn 2012. Swane, Christine E. 2013. ”Ensomhed i alderdommen Dialogbaseret Undervisning – Kunstmuseet som - ældres ensomhed kan opspores og lindres”, Læringsrum. Skoletjenesten 2012. Månedsskrift for almen praksis September, 670- Gallagher, Wendy 2017. ”Sundhed og kultur: Et 677. fordelagtigt samarbejde. ” I Anita Jensen (red.) Kultur og Sundhed. Aarhus: Turbine Adademisk. Gibson, Faith 1998. Reminiscence and Recall: A Guide Cecilie Monrad, Master i Kulturformidling og to Good Practice. London: Age Concern Books Kommunikation, Formidlingsinspektør Jensen, Anita 2014. ”Kunstneriske aktiviteter fremmer [email protected] sundheden.” Ugeskrift for Læger176: V08130512, 1047-1049. Frederiksbergmuseerne Lasgaard, Mathias & Karina Friis 2015. ”Ensomhed c/o Møstings Hus Andebakkesti 5 i befolkningen – forekomst og metodiske DK-2000 Frederiksberg, Danmark overvejelser”. Temaanalyse vol. 3. Aarhus: CFK – Folkesundhed og Kvalitetsudvikling. Reviews • Nordisk Museologi 2018 • 2–3, s. 161–176

Reviews exhibitions be welcomed by an African specie in a Finnish Natural History museum. To me, it pointed to Permanent exhibitions. Luomus, Natural stereotypical ideas about natural history where History Museum of Helsinki, Finland children of Europe know just as many animals of the African savannah as African children This spring, I had the opportunity to visit the know about European kings and queens. To me Natural History Museum of Helsinki, Finland, the stuffed mammal tied into a particular well- also known as Luomus. The neo-baroque rehearsed history of nature where individual building was originally built as a gymnasium (often male) giants are celebrated at the expense and dedicated to the late Russian Tsar Alexander of the nature-culture entangled multispecies life II in 1913. After independence from Russia in that we also encounter, consume and live with 1917, it was finally taken over by the University on a daily basis. Even though the welcoming of Helsinki that transformed it into a zoological elephant did not arouse the kind of excitement museum in 1923. Today, the museum is still part and curiosity that I associate with, or wish for, at of the university functioning as an independent a natural history museum, I came to appreciate research unit. As I will highlight in this review, the the other beautifully stuffed vibrant animals set strong relations with the institution’s researchers in dramatic and well-composed dioramas that are indeed present in interesting ways throughout the museum is full of. Apparently, as one can read the exhibitions. on the museum’s homepage, the action-loaded After a complete renovation, the museum dioramas testify to a conglomerate of many re-opened in 2008 with new displays. When I talented curators and artists, for instance the visited Luomus in the spring 2018, there was conservator Jussi Mäntynen (1886–1978), who no temporary exhibition, but five permanent mounted the stuffed animals in positions full of exhibitions entitled: Finnish Nature, World action and movement. Nature, Story of the Bones, History of Life and Change in the Air. I enjoyed all the shows, but I “Adjust, migrate or perish” have chosen to focus on the latter two since they somehow stood out to me as museological feats I started my tour with the exhibition Change highlighting a bunch of – for want of better words in the Air that presents Luomus’ research on – old school museum virtues that I find very climate change, then and now – and in the future. important to nurture. I was curious to see how the museum had taken But before taking the beautiful winding up the challenge of telling stories that could stairways up to the exhibitions, visitors arrive quickly make visitors feel quite uncomfortable, in an entry hall. Here guests are welcomed by guilty and doomed. Some years ago, I myself a big stuffed African male elephant with raised had a discussion with a biologist working in a head and ears out. Even though an elephant is a similar institution about how to exhibit climate spectacular animal, I must admit that my heart change and the unpleasant stories layered in sank a bit; I couldn’t help wondering why I should the human-induced warming up of the globe. Reviews

162 Afraid of scaring visitors away with bad news, to exhibit. And again the visitor is grounded in the biologist argued that at their museum they field-based research: “The long term monitoring preferred to show the wonders and beauty of of data of the Finnish Museum of Natural the natural world and through that avenue try history show that distribution of species has to make people care for our planet. I was not changed, and will continue to change, largely as convinced and argued for the urgency of telling a result of climate change.” As an example, the stories about the disturbing condition of the visitor is told that southern birds are moving world, recently debated under the label of the northwards and northern birds, not as adaptive, Anthropocene; a catchy term suggested as a are receding due to warmer temperatures. new geological epoch following the Holocene. Likewise, specific lichens, mosses and plants that Stories of the Anthropocene would have to have adjusted to the Finnish climate since the grapple explicitly with the consequences of last Ice Age are now threatened. Such changes present day humans’ ever increasing traces on can trick cascades of other fatal unintended the earth and mix traditional divides between consequences, for instance by upsetting the nature and culture that can no longer be upheld. vulnerable relations between pollinators and Such an ambition might seem too political for plants. The vital coordination needed between those museums who have long presented their bees and plants are disturbed due to earlier exhibitions as pure science; as apolitical and blossoming tricked by warmer weather, leaving neutral, only showing things the way they are or the flowers unpollinated and the bees without have been. But at Luomus, a team of researchers a destination. Accurate timing has evolved over and curators have boldly entered the debate a long period of time, and sudden changes in that is indeed (also) political and have qualified temperatures show the vulnerability of such climate change in clever ways; for instance by living together. Changes in the Air displays what letting questions emerge out of the research historian of science Donna Haraway argues, done instead of just presenting answers. As an that collaboration and coordination across example, the exhibition opens with a traditional species are vital in order to survive (2016). poster stating “The climate is changing”. This The dramatic changes in the landscape that statement is further elaborated: “Human activity we are guided to see and understand with the is causing the Earth’s climate to change faster researchers, present in portraits or by name than ever before. The average temperature is on the posters, are also linked to other earlier increasing, glaciers are shrinking, and sea levels dramatic changes of the northern landscape. are rising. The world is changing – are we?” A beautiful diorama of mammoths takes up The first room is poster-driven with texts a full wall, and on the text accompanying the and photos explaining the visible changes that diorama one can read that the temperature are already now observed in the Finnish and has increased with 6 degrees since the height north European landscapes. “Adjust, migrate or of the last Ice Age (20 million years ago). This perish” is one heading pointing out that radical information is followed by an alarming sentence changes are taking place in concrete life worlds. suggesting that the temperature might increase Indeed, this is one way to qualify climate change with six degrees in Finland in only 100 years if by specifying and situating it – thus making we do not reduce present day greenhouse gas tangible what is otherwise a hyperobject par emissions. The numbers are dizzying in their excellence (cf. Morton 2013) and as such difficult mix of abyssal deep time and tangible presence. Reviews

Back home again, I read that a group of artists vegetation. It is astonishing to see what thrives 163 has tried to collect a new vocabulary emerging and what perishes in these plots over time and to describe our times and has suggested the over vast areas of land. To map and understand word “shadowtime” to capture the experience of these changes, we are told, is the focus of the conflated or parallel time scales (Internet source research conducted by the museum scientists. 1); indeed the presence of the big mammoths On a neighboring poster, the visitor is whose life world is frozen in time gets informed that “a third of terrestrial species overshadowed by this information. In the same will by 2050 be destined for extinction unless room visitors are invited into a hunter-gatherers’ measures are taken to mitigate climate change.” hut from the time of the mammoths made up On another poster with the subtitle “assisted of animal bones and skin. As such it is one of migration”, a controversial method is presented a few interactive installations in the museum. to save species whose habitats have become Here visitors can sit next to a bonfire and listen uninhabitable over a short period of time, to throat song and ponder on the question “does leaving the species no time to migrate or adapt. the song tell about a great change?” The sudden Under such circumstances, researchers move appeal to the sensuous register and intuitive representatives of a plant or animal species knowledge appeared awkward in a room where to other places. This method, one can read, radical changes are presented as scientific facts. is discussed not only by biologists but also by I wonder how to engage such a question in this philosophers who reflect on the ethical aspects context? For example, are we to learn from of determining who should live and die and hunter-gatherers? Is it a voice from then or now? which areas should be chosen as refuges. Almost as a pause from the disturbing and As the exhibition draws to an end, the political indeed grand questions raised at this moment, implications of climate change are foregrounded one can move on to rooms with a number of by pointing to and criticizing the growth regime spectacular and visually attractive dioramas, built into the capitalistic-democratic societies as mentioned above. The dioramas often freeze that we have chosen as our form of governance. the moment right before a predator catches A cartoon slip with six images explaining the its prey. This air of suspense – is the attacked carbon cycle employs humor beginning 320 animal caught or not – made me pause and million years ago with huge trees sucking up wonder about living, dying and surviving; CO2 from the atmosphere, to the very same maybe the dioramas are not that far removed trees being burned intensely through our from the explicit questions about climate consumption of fossil fuel. The last image is change? Whether by intent or not, the potential an illustration of animals and humans united brutality (or escape?) illustrated by the dioramas in demonstrating against a nineteenth century comments interestingly on the question of style capitalist caricature in white tie and tails, multispecies survival. This is an uncomfortable briefcase and black hat defending himself question that we might take a step further, saying “uh, umm, we intend to commit to very and which is indirectly (this link is not made strict emission regulations…” What is striking explicit) addressed in the final part of the – and in my opinion welcome – is the way that exhibition where extinction (again) is a theme. the exhibition so clearly identifies the problem Displayed here are 1:1 models of study plots of climate change as located in the political and that researchers use to determine the changing historical support for an unlimited capitalist Reviews

164 growth regime, a fact that is too often left as an starting with the creation of the world and (-other) elephant in the room. ending with the evolution of human beings. Finally, visitors meet a wall made up of Scattered above and below the time line are 18 cubes each portraying a scientist who has some iconic illustrations from each geological contributed to the exhibition and her or his period (eon, period and epoch) such as a cave answer to the question “Can climate change be painting, fossils of extinct birds, dinosaurs and mitigated through personal choices?” Behind plants. Structured in this strict chronological the portraits one can flip each of the cubes way, the exhibition appears rather traditional and read a short presentation of the individual – and in many ways it is. But labeling it and the answer he or she comes up with. The traditional does not mean bad or boring – far answers include statements to eat less meat, from it. Starting with the creation of the world use public transport, avoid taking the airplane, and ending with the evolution of human beings consume less, wear an extra sweater instead of the visitor is taken on an ambitious time travel. turning up the heat and the like. All of these are And what an interesting journey, I must admit. very concrete answers that can inspire visitors I was completely absorbed and overwhelmed through their personal communicative style and by the stories and information constantly feasibility. In times when individual scientists, thrown at me as a rain of meteorites. As in artists, curators and directors are celebrated the Change in the Air, the texts are key in the in museums and other research institutions, I exhibition. But here the texts are accompanied find this final action-driven “diorama” full of by copies or original fossils and stones and not portraits and doable down-to-earth suggestions (just) illustrated with photographs. Dioramas a most welcome tribute to the collaborative work also take up much space in the hall that is the that exhibition-making and research imply. culmination of the exhibition, and as in all the Hierarchies are broken down in the structuring other exhibitions at Luomus, the dioramas of the cubes as the researchers appear in what are beautiful and stimulating to explore. The seems to be a random order – be it professors, ambition of making a short history of the world lecturers or PhD students. In a straightforward is not unique to a museum. The grandiose topic and elegant way the museum makes visible that itself is spectacular and, one might argue, thus the exhibition is not just made by an objective, difficult for any museum to trivialize. On the neutral scientific voice curated by aesthetically other hand, it is also challenging to make such skillful people. Instead the exhibit makes a distant story relevant in order for it to speak visible that there are persons behind who each to us today. However spectacular in nature, the have interests and perspectives and altogether question is how to create a good framing. As I contributing to make exactly this kind of story see it, the task of any curators-cum-researchers line to changes in the air – bravo! embarking on such a project is to actively make this chronological deep time story appear, while also conflating it by pointing to Curating the small and big its presence (or absence) and relevance for life wonders of the world today. What this exhibition does so excellently From this exhibition, I want to take you is to conflate and, indeed, curate stories of through History of Life. The introductory wall both recognition and alterity as vital elements is structured around a geological time line in the history of life. In other words, curating Reviews

and choosing what stories should be included no magic, only extremely good questions and 165 alongside a unilinear chronological timeline answers. and how to tell them are simply very well done. Interestingly, extinction is a theme dealt Of course this might be a personal taste, but with in both exhibitions I describe here. But I really think that the museum succeeds in whereas reasons for the mass extinctions posing questions and coming up with answers facing us today and in the near future are – qualified by science – to the small and indeed (recognized and) pointed out in Change in big wonders of the world. Let me give you the Air, the causes for the (mass) extinctions some examples. of the past remain unaccounted for. Most In the Precambrian period taking up almost famously is the mysterious extinction of the 90 per cent of the history of the globe, the dinosaurs 65 million of years ago, but why did curators for example ask the still enigmatic the Trilobites (a marine arthropod) populating question of how lifeless matter turned into the earth for as long as 300 million years go life. They point to the necessity of carbon extinct? The reason for their disappearance as for life and talk about cyanobacteria – today lively creatures 252 million years ago is still a mostly feared and infecting our waters during mystery to researchers. Different epochs have hot summers, but once a key to further life. their mysteries and explanations around which On the posters, the interdependencies of the research is centered. At Luomus this continuum organisms living on earth and the atmosphere is beautifully performed and not just mentioned and temperatures are explained. We learn that as a catchy cliché. As a consequence, by treating these conditions all influence one another and extinctions as a theme, the two exhibitions drive evolution in different directions – or come to comment on each other by pointing rather in one messy direction. It is amazing out the tremendously damaging effects that even tiny organisms – if numerous and humans have caused in a scandalous few years. long lasting – can change the composition of Indeed, it is quite an accomplishment to sow the atmosphere, making it suitable for new such reflections. organisms. This interrelatedness is simply fascinating and teaches us important lessons Displaying natural history of about an entangled nature and co-habitation. today Outside the Petri dish, no species ever acted alone. Visiting Luomus, I was reassured that museums Curiosity and eagerness to read more are also are well suited for telling important and awoken in me when daily phenomena such as interesting stories. Not by inviting an artist or the evolution of seeds, branches, roots or trees star curator into the museum as seems to be so are explained. Why do trees have branches? Or trendy these days, and not by spending a whole leaves for that matter? The world was not made lot of money on high tech games, interactive with a broad leaf forest from the beginning. elements, Virtual Reality, surround sound, or What happened with the introduction of two other spectacular sensual stimulations (not sexes, how did that change the landscape and that such techniques disqualify an exhibit from vice versa? All these both basic and dizzying being good; I simply mean that there are other questions are posed on simple posters with great techniques). In this museum there was modest illustrations or objects. No gimmicks, almost nothing to touch, no games to play, no Reviews

166 artists staring. What was done so convincingly the potential of telling stories of our times? and consistently was selecting, framing and The changes in the air that we experience telling – in other words curating. As such, now do not only lead to extinction of several Luomus is a triumph for non-extinct need for species. Whereas some species have three good and interesting stories of the universe, told options, adapt, migrate or perish, other species through a variety of texts, photos, illustrations, migrate, adapt and proliferate. And they do so dioramas and objects and other such classic via human infrastructures, global trade and facilities and tools that have long been used other activities, but not under human control. in museums – but also heavily criticized for Living in times of change, we might say, we their distance and lack of user involvement. also need to learn about these kinds of feral And perhaps even more importantly, the species – although they might scare us away. exhibitions discussed here manage to present My challenge, then, is this: How can natural- their displays as the outcomes of long and cultural history museums curate a sense that fruitful collaborative work – with contributors creatures of the Anthropocene are not just in all guises. Implicitly, this seems to me sweating polar bears at risk or charismatic appropriate for a natural history museum in African elephants that find their habitat times of change. encroached upon, but also much more unseen I will end this review with a challenge. and hard-lived beings that survive – for better or Before writing it, I did a little research about worse – in the cracks of human interventions?1 Luomus on the internet. On Wikipedia a In my view, we need institutions, researchers, surprising story about a spider infestation was museum visitors and others to be bold enough reported. According to the article, a venomous to face such challenges head-on – as, indeed, Chilean recluse spider entered the museum the Luomus helps us towards. in the early 1960s. Nobody really knows how, but two theories are presented: Either it came Notes as a blind passenger in a fruit shipment from Argentina; or it arrived in wood chips used in 1. One effort to explore the unstable terrain of a live rodent enclosure from South America. In such feral species is the forthcoming internet 2016, a BBC reporter elaborated that the spider publication called Feral Atlas, edited by – especially the females – can stay alive without anthropologist Anna Tsing, Jennifer Deger, Alder food and water for many months and that they Keleman Saxena and Elaine Gan. The publication, reproduce effectively. In its native environment, in many ways akin to an exhibition, features short the spider lives under rocks and inside holes, entries from all over the globe about multispecies and thus thrives in great numbers in the relations run amok in one way or another. See cracks, drawers, boxes etc. of the museum – http://anthropocene.au.dk/feral-atlas/ also after the total renovation. Fortunately, the eight-legged creature is very shy and vanishes Litterature if disturbed – until now only one person has been (non-fatally) bitten (Internet source Haraway, Donna. 2016. Staying with the Trouble: 2). To me, the South American spider could Making Kin in the Chthulucene. Durham: Duke be seen as more than a problematic internal University Press. issue at the museum. Might it materialize Internet source 1. https://bureauoflinguisticalreality.com/ Reviews

Internet source 2. http://www.bbc.com/future/ introduction, it includes eleven chapters, 167 story/20160413-the-museum-filled-with- grouped in four thematic sections (the role poisonous-spiders-that-just-wont-die of museums; representations of migration; Morton, Timothy. 2013. Hyperobjects. Philosophy and rethinking collections; collaboration and Ecology after the End of the World. Minneapolis: inclusion). The introduction provides some University of Minnesota Press. definitions and fundamentals about migration, and develops a reflection on how the social roles of museums have changed since the Nathalia Brichet, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow 1980s, as the theme of migration has been University of Copenhagen gradually approached through engagement [email protected] with memory, identity, and intangible cultural heritage in museums. In a more analytical mode, in the introduction the editors identify emerging trends (such as a shift from ignoring migration to a focus on cultural interaction in museums), as well as persistent issues (such as Books not paying enough attention to social friction and inequalities, or the tendency to downplay Johansson, Christina & Bevelander Pieter the importance of contemporary collecting in (eds). Museums in a Time of Migration. visualizing and materializing migration). The Rethinking museums’ roles, representations, introduction also sets the volume initiative collections, and collaborations. Lund: Nordic within the broader context of a Swedish Academic Press. 2017 (262pp.) ISBN: 978- government project for a new museum of 91-88168-82-5 democracy and migration in Malmö. It is refreshing to see an academic research project, This volume includes a collection of papers such as the one behind this volume, directly exploring the challenges and opportunities linked to – and hopefully also impacting upon – for contemporary museums stemming from museum practice and policy-making. engagement with the theme of migration. The volume opens with a chapter by Peggy It includes contributions from journalists, Levitt “Creating National and Global Citizens”. museum directors and academics in a range Levitt raises the very pertinent question of of disciplinary areas (migration studies, whether museums are creating global citizens social studies, ethnology, and history). The (p.33). The chapter provides a compelling publication – an outcome of a research project picture of different positions and views on on museums and integration – received activism in museums, as well as different funding from the EU Asylum, Migration and “diversity management regimes” across various Integration Fund (AMIF), and the Malmö cities and cultural contexts around the world, Institute for Studies of Migration, Diversity and such as Sweden, Boston (USA) and Qatar. Welfare (MIM ) at Malmö University. In chapter 2, David Fleming, director of The volume “seeks to contribute to the on- National Museums Liverpool, takes a bold and going discussion about museums’ engagement clear stance in stating “it is the responsibility with migration” (p.10). In addition to the of museums to explain migration” (p.59). Reviews

168 National Museums Liverpool offer an example of Croat migrants to Sweden) and places these of the tension that can sometimes arise between into a broader perspective by suggesting a shift world-class collections speaking of a glorious in focus away from the ethnic group and on past, and the struggle to make them relevant to contrasts and similarities in society that cut contemporary audiences, and notably source across ethnicity or migration. These strategies communities. Fleming’s chapter provides an can be effectively transposed to museums “if engrossing portrait of Liverpool’s historical we set aside ethnic lens” (p.97) and refocus on role in the colonial and slave trade, but also transculturality and practices of connection bears witness to the city’s capacity to develop (p.104–5). a critical reflection on that past in its museums “Moving stories. Using life stories to animate – namely the International Slavery Museum, migration history” is the title of chapter 5 by the Museum of Liverpool, and the Merseyside Alistair Thomson. The chapter reflects on the Maritime Museum. use of photography and personal memories as Memory work in post-apartheid Cape tools to bring the history of migration to life, to Town is the topic of chapter 3 “Memory make it personal and emotional, and to provide is our weapon”, by Bonita Bennett. The an alternative account to dry government chapter relates the creation of the District 6 statistics or sensationalist media debates. Museum, commemorating life in a Cape Town Thomson is interested in thelived experiences neighborhood before apartheid (1966). The of migration because this kind of accounts, she need to remember is pressing since the rapid argues persuasively, can truly engage visitors in process of reconstruction of the neighborhood museums. The author warns us however, that is rapidly changing – yet another time – the this material requires curatorial interpretation landscape and its memory. But the District because it is time- and culture-sensitive. 6 Museum is not only the catalyst for the Focusing on two case studies of British migrants memories of displaced residents, it has also to Australia after WWII, Thomson illustrates become an instrument of social justice and the value of research, also as part of museum collective healing, a symbol of post-apartheid practice, as this unravels multiple stories that South Africa that resonates with both local might otherwise remain untold – embedded communities of interest as well as with tourist as codes in images, and in between the lines of visitors from all over the world. personal accounts. Chapter 4 opens the second section of the Migration viewed from children’s eyes book, on representations of migration and is the theme of chapter 6 “Learning at the ethnicity. The chapter, by Maya Povrzanović museum. School children’s perceptions of a Frykman, is devoted to “Conceptual Frame- role play about seeking sanctuary” by Christina works”. It reflects on the concepts of ethnicity, Johansson. The chapter addresses a relatively identity, culture, and diversity in relation to familiar theme in migration studies – the representations of migrants. Through the case tension between the rise of migration globally, studies of Croat migrants to Sweden, the chapter and the governments’ attempts to control and brings nuances to our very idea of migrant regulate it – from an unusual vantage point: communities. Povrzanović Frykman highlights that of school children. Johansson draws on the the differences that exist within a migrant case study of a county museum (Kalmar) with ethnic group (notably between different waves role play, where school children impersonate Reviews

refugees, take up fictional identities and are attempt to create archives that reflect the cultural 169 confronted with real-life dramatic situations. diversity of Sweden in the past and today. In 2010 Here, role play in the museum is not only an the Swedish Constitution has been amended effective research method, but it also becomes to include an official acknowledgement that an immersive museum practice: on one hand, Sweden is a multicultural country. The role of it can yield unique insights into children’s representation of ethnic minorities – though understandings of migration, and on the other, embraced by cultural institutions and supported it has the potential to radically change children’s politically (in the 2010s) – has however been own views of this human condition. relegated to dedicated cultural poles such as The third section of the book – on museum the Swedish Multicultural Centre in Botkirka, collections and documentation – opens Southern Stockholm, thus reproducing a with chapter 7 “From totality to infinity. somewhat problematic division of tasks among Reimagining museum collecting” by Fredrik Swedish cultural institutions. Svanberg. Drawing on the case of the Swedish In chapter 9 (“The future is ours”) Dragan History Museum of Stockholm, Svanberg Nikolić focuses on a collaborative project proposes to reimagine museum collecting as a documenting the refugee crisis in 2015, path to renewal for museums, a way to move when more than 160,000 refugees from beyond narrow museum classifications, which Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq sought asylum can sometimes obscure the rich meaning in Sweden. How can museums document trajectories of objects. The chapter raises a these emergency situations? The Refugee challenging question: how can we develop Documentation Project in the area of Malmö new collection practices and new collection – a joint effort of three museums and a information systems that accommodate for the university department – included interviews virtual infinite meanings of museum objects? with refugees, volunteers and activists, as well Svanberg discusses the principles informing as video documentation and objects collection. collecting (such as selectivity) and reflects on The aim was to collect and document the refugee how they actually reveal specific values and crisis. In so doing, the process raised a number of understandings of the world. Seen in this light, thorny, yet thought-provoking questions on the collecting is recast as meaning-making. ethics of conducting emergency ethnography. “The making of cultural heritage and Chapter 10 opens the last section in the book, ethnicity in the archive” is the theme of chapter devoted to collaborative projects. The chapter, 8, jointly authored by Malin Thor Tureby and authored by Bernadette Lynch, is entitled Jesper Johansson. That archives tell stories about “Migrants: museums, and tackling the legacies national identity and ethnic borders might be a of prejudice”. Lynch brings us to look at the truism, but the authors bring us to look closer fine-grained dynamics of collaboration and and consider how narratives are collected and the more or less hidden power relations that archived. Stories should be told not only about may characterize inclusive and collaborative but also with ethnic communities. Yet this is practices. As Lynch puts it (p.227–28) “simple seldom the case, as evidenced by the authors’ participation does not eliminate a power study of the archives of the Nordic Museum in differential”. Acknowledging this differential Stockholm. In response to this issue, the authors and the colonial past of museums and their suggest ‘participatory archiving’(p.174) in an collections are necessary conditions for social Reviews

170 inclusion, argues Lynch. So is countering the may also be of interest to politicians and public undertones of paternalism and infantilization officers dealing with migration and cultural inherent in many collaborative projects. The policy in the Nordic context and beyond. author also cautions against an excessive focus on migrant narratives of suffering and despair, as they might lead to ‘repackaging misery’ Marzia Varutti, Ph.D., Associate Professor in (p.234). A solution to these issues might be Museology and Cultural Heritage what Lynch calls ‘reflective practice’, that is “the University of Oslo capacity to reflect on action so as to engage in a [email protected] process of continuous learning” (p.235). The volume closes with a chapter on “Women making herstory” by Parvin Ardalan. The project “Women Making Herstory” was a collaboration Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen (red.). of Malmö Museums, Malmö University and Historien på Væggen – Historiemalerier på womens associations and networks. It aimed to Sønderborg Slot. Museum Sønderjylland – write Swedish history from a women’s migrants Sønderborg Slot og Historisk Samfund for perspective. The project asked why immigrant Als og Sundeved 2017. 224 s. ISBN: 978-87- women tend to be invisible in historical 93473-09-6 accounts. Aiming to provide an answer and to write not about women but with women, the ”Historien på væggen – Historiemalerier på project succeeded in channeling women’s stories Sønderborg Slot” er 2017-årbogen for forenin- of migration and in making them heard through gen Historisk Samfund for Als og Sundeved. publications, seminars and an exhibition at the Men bogen er primært et formidlingsværk om Malmö Museum, as well as comic strips and de mange og forskelligartede historiemaleri- various artworks. er der indgår i samlingen og udstillingerne på Taken together, the chapters of this thematic Sønderborg Slot. Bogen præsenterer i alt 46 volume contribute to define an emerging field of forskellige malerier fra museets samling, fortalt research and practice located at the intersection gennem 43 korte, afsluttede afsnit. I hvert afsnit between migration studies and museum præsenteres vi først for den historie, der møder studies. The chapters provide valuable insights os på billedet og dernæst for billedets egen hi- into recent and innovative academic research, storie. museum projects and museological practices De mange små bidrag til bogen er alle skre- related to migration issues. As such, the volume vet af medarbejdere på Sønderborg Slot: Inge will be of great interest for academics and Adriansen (9 afsnit), Maria Kræmer Hansen museum professionals working on issues related (2 afsnit), Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen (15 to migration. More broadly, museum studies afsnit), René Rasmussen (14 afsnit) og Axel scholars and students will find in the volume Johnsen (1 afsnit). De tre hovedforfattere skri- a range of relevant and innovative case studies ver hver især om de billeder der kan nyttes til illustrating the contemporary engagement of deres respektive ekspertområder. Inge Adrian- museums with social issues, as well as original sen skriver om de billeder, der berører natio- theoretical and methodological approaches. nal identitet og folkeminder. Carsten Porskrog Beyond academia and museums, the volume Rasmussen behandler de billeder, der portræt- Reviews

terer konger, grever og andre adelige, og René peger museet på noget interessant med denne 171 Rasmussen ser på krigsbillederne. publikation. Nemlig at en del kulturhistoriske Bogen indledes med en kulturhistorisk præ- museer også har billedkunst i deres samling sentation af, hvordan historiemaleriet som – en genstandsgruppe som ellers i udgangs- genre over et par hundrede år har bevæget sig punktet forvaltes af kunstmuseerne. Men Søn- fra kongens slot til borgerens dagligstue. I ind- derborg Slot giver her et godt bud på, hvordan ledningen præsenteres også den gode pointe, de kan bruge deres billedsamling som et kul- at historiemaleriet kan betragtes som forfader turhistorisk museum: ved at placere motiverne til de moderne, ofte digitale, formidlingsgreb i en kulturhistorisk ramme og ved at bruge de museerne også i dag bruger til at gøre historien mange spændende billeder som illustrationer levende for gæsterne. På samme måde bragte de og indgange til en større fortælling om Sønder- enorme historiemalerier fortiden til live – her jyllands historie. blev konkrete scener fra historien anskuelig- Hvorvidt museumsgæsten skal bruge deres gjort i livagtige stillbilleder, der gav beskueren energi på at se på værker eller på at læse formid- en visuel dimension til den eksisterende viden, lingstekster – og om det ene overhovedet er me- som historiebøgerne havde bidraget med. Bo- ningsfuldt uden det andet – er en løbende faglig gen Historien på Væggen er således en naturlig diskussion. I bogen har vi ikke det egentlige ma- forlængelse af denne betragtning, da vi også her leri foran os, men en kopi, en illustration der skal møder maleriet som en visuel og levendegøren- vise os hvordan værket ser ud hvis vi besøger de illustration af fortiden. Sønderborg Slot. Og fordi værket på den måde Bogens værker strækker sig fra Lucas Cranach bare bliver til et billede i en bog, så ‘skærmer’ den Ældres portræt af Christian 2. fra 1523–24 teksten heller ikke for værket på samme måde, og til Thomas Kluges Dybbøl 1864 fra 2014, som den havde befundet sig som en lang forkla- men med primær tyngde i værker fra slutnin- rende formidlingstekst i udstillingsrummet. Og gen af 1800-tallet og begyndelsen af 1900-tal- det er snedigt, for det giver museet mulighed for let. Det hænger naturligvis sammen med, at en at tilbyde billedet en tilstrækkeligt lang præsen- stor del af samlingens værker kommer fra den tation der rummer både fakta og fortælling. såkaldte Kunstnergave, en enorm indsamling På mange måder minder bogen mest af alt af kunstværker med relation til Sønderjyllands om et katalog, som man kender dem fra en historie og blev doneret fra kunstnere og private kunstudstilling, og det er et sjovt og brugbart samlere ved genforeningen i 1920. Rækkefølgen greb på et materiale der, af forskellige årsager, som billederne præsenteres i motiveres ikke, og er endt i en kulturhistorisk samling. Det giver da den hverken er kronologisk eller tematisk nemlig malerierne en mulighed for også at op- står det ikke helt klart, hvilke overvejelser der træde som kunstværker, men uden at museet ligger bag. En forklaring af baggrunden for den behøver give køb på det ønske om kontekstu- valgte rækkefølge ville have forhindret, at man alisering, der i højere grad præger den kultur- kommer i tvivl om, hvorvidt man har overset historiske formidling end den kunsthistoriske. en pointe. Men forbindelsen til den sønderjy- I bogen introduceres vi til de konkrete billeder ske historie går trods alt som en tydelig rød tråd hver især, men i modsætning til en kunsthisto- gennem de mange afsnit og binder alligevel de risk fremstilling følger der ingen billedanalyse meget forskellige værker sammen. med i beskrivelserne af billederne fra Sønder- Uden at gøre noget stort nummer ud af det, borg Slot. I stedet får vi serveret en grundig og Reviews

172 indsigtsfuld forklaring af hvad det er vi kan se Kathrin Pabst. Museumsetikk i prakis. på billedet. Og i tillæg hertil, får vi placeret både Trondheim: Museumsforlaget. 2016. 286 s. maleriet og kunstneren i en historisk kontekst, ISBN 9788283050387 der udstyrer os med tilstrækkelig megen viden til, at vi selv kan tolke videre på motivet. Hvis vi Så här: “syftet med denna studie är att ...” står det da har lyst – for historien og kontekstualiserin- ingenstans i Kathrin Pabsts bok Museumsetikk i gen fungerer også helt fint på egen hånd. praksis. Man begriper visserligen snabbt att den Bogen er en formidlingspublikation, men ska handla om hur museer tar sig an känsliga får man lyst til at dykke længere ned i forsk- och ibland till och med tabuerade ämnen. Men ningen, så finder man afslutningsvist en kort exakt var på detta område studiens problem lig- litteraturliste for hvert billede. Bogen henven- ger och hur det i detalj ser ut, om det sägs ing- der sig især til de gæster, der kommer, eller har enting uttryckligen. Det försätter läsaren i ett været, på museet og ønsker at få suppleret de- visst tillstånd av orienteringslöshet som dock res viden om de ophængte billeder. Men bogen successivt upplöses. Gradvis klarnar det nämli- henvender sig også til folk, der interesserer sig gen, fokus skärps, frågorna slipas av ju längre in for begreber som identitet, folk og danskhed, i boken man kommer. og de finder her en god indgang til, hvordan Jag får för mig att denna långsamma inåk- sådanne begreber i tidens løb er blevet por- ning mot bokens kärna är ett genomtänkt pe- trætteret på et sønderjysk materiale. dagogiskt grepp som författaren högst medvetet Inge Adriansen, der var en umådelig stor ka- valt att koppla. Det som får mig att tro det är pacitet i både forskningen og formidlingen af att min inledande orienteringslöshet fungerar Sønderjyllands historie og i den faglige udvik- så produktivt. Till priset av en mild irritation ling af arbejdet med historiebrug og erindring, tvingas jag låta tanken svepa över hela temat, døde kort inden bogen blev trykt. Bogen in- alltså det om museers relation till känsliga äm- deholder derfor også afslutningsvist en fin nen, och betrakta det ur olika vinklar och fun- nekrolog over hende, skrevet af overinspektør dera över vilka problem det är behäftat med. Jag Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen. tror att jag väljer att låta denna anmälan följa Historien på Væggen er en slags billedbog for samma idé. voksne mennesker, der interesserer sig for Søn- Frågan om museer och känsliga ämnen har derjylland, for danskhed og for identitet. Og det en särskild relevans i Norge. Där bedrev lan- er et rigtig godt format, for ved at tage udgangs- dets kulturråd under en tioårsperiod projektet punkt i billederne bliver bogen indbydende, og BRUDD (i boken kursiveras och versaliseras museet får samtidig anledning til både at sætte alltid detta mångtydiga ord, så då gör väl jag fokus på en del af deres samling, der gør sig rig- det med). Det syftade till att stimulera “mu- tig godt på tryk, og at bidrage med nye vinkler seene til å dokumentere og formidle også de til fortællingen om Sønderjyllands historie. ubehagelige, marginale historiene som muse- ene tradisjonelt ikke forteller”, som det står på projektets hemsida. År 2014 resulterade detta i Sally Schlosser Schmidt, ph.d.-studerende utställningar om “fornorskning av den samis- Institut for Kommunikation og Kultur ke kulturen, oppdragelsesanstalter, rasebiologi, Aarhus Universitet kropp, tuberkulose, papirløshet, utviklingshem- [email protected] ming og rusavhengighet”. Initiativet kom alltså Reviews

uppifrån. Det kan vara värt att notera. Det var sammans med den ekonomistiska New Public 173 en central statlig institution som uppmanade till Management-filosofi som pressats på (i alla fall en kritisk granskning av nationens historia, som svensk och sannolikt också norsk) museiverk- inte väjde för det som kan göra ont i det natio- samhet – i vilken kvantitativt mätbara fram- nella självmedvetandet. gångar, till exempel besökarsiffror, spelar en Detta står i samklang med den precisering – avgörande roll – har detta bildat en miljö där eller skärpning, eller politisering eller hur man provokationer och obehagligheter mera utgör nu väljer att se det – av museernas samhälleliga en risk än en vällovlig dygd. Det kan man i alla uppdrag som nu har några årtionden på nack- fall misstänka. en. Med Pabsts ord: Pabst har detaljstuderat sju utställningar i Norge, Danmark och Tyskland och deras bak- Museene skal i større grad enn tidligere opptre som omliggande produktionsprocesser. I Norge: aktive, moralske aktører i samfunnet. Ved å stille “Quisling-utstillingen” på Telemark Museum, kritiske spørsmål til etablerte sannheter og ved å “Familiehemmeligheter”, om dysfunktioner løfte frem samfunnsaktuelle udfordringer, kan og inklusive sexuella övergrepp i familjer, på Mai- bør museene bidra til en positiv samfunnsutvikling; haugen i Lillehammer, “Min kropp – min sann- et samfunn der flest mulig blir hørt (s.26). het”, om skönhetsideal och kroppsuppfattning, på Vest-Agder-museet, “Våre hellige rom”, om Detta harmonierar i sin tur med ICOM:s själva kristendom, islam, hinduism, buddhism, sik- definition av ett museum från 1972, i vilken det hism och judendom, på Interkulturelt Museum sägs att “a museum is a non-profit, permanent i Oslo och “Himmelen over Sørlandet”, om re- institution in the service of society” (min kursi- ligiös tro och trossamfund, på Vest-Agder-mu- vering). seet. Samtliga var på ett eller annat sätt knutna Detta är alltså en relativt ny situation och de- till BRUDD-projektet. I Danmark: “Du skal finitivt en annan än den museer var en del av ikke tænke paa din Far og Mor”, som handlar för, låt säga, hundra år sedan. Museer ska ha en om barnhemsbarn i ett historiskt perspektiv, på aktiv relation till de samhällen de bor i och de Svendborg museum. I Tyskland: “Wehrmach- ska bidra till att dessa ska genomgå en “positiv” tausstellung”, alltså en utställning om strids- utveckling. Och detta kan de göra genom att krafterna i Nazityskland 1935-1945, vid Ham- uppmärksamma det som samhället ofta före- burger Institut für Sozialforschung. Samtliga drar att glömma bort, till följd av hotande skam- utställningar hanterade alltså vad som kan ka- känslor och liknande. Det är tanken. raktäriseras som känsliga ämnen och alla utom En annan sak är också ny. Pabst nämner Quisling- och Wehrmachtutställningarna inbe- den, men jag tror att hennes analys hade blivit grep berättelser från enskilda personer vars liv bredare om hon också mera ingående hade be- berörts av det som utställningarna behandlade. handlat dess relation till museernas försök att Pabst presenterar dem utförligt enligt ett fast- uttala obekväma sanningar. Museerna har idag lagt schema: “museet innad og utad” (främst om att konkurrera med en växande upplevelseindu- den interna organisationen och kulturen kring stri som erbjuder turister och andra nöjen för utställningarna), “samarbeid med eksterne stunden, som inte alls konfronterar utan syste- deltakere” (professionella experter men främst matiskt undviker besvärliga och smärtsamma privatpersoner som skänkt sina berättelser till omständigheter i historien och samtiden. Till- utställningarna), “samarbeid med enkeltperso- Reviews

174 ner” (i förekommande fall), “vinkling av tema Över dessa fyra utmaningar lägger författa- og valg av formidlingsmåde” och “reaksjoner ren tre etikteorier – etik definieras som “teo- fra publikum og presse”. retisk reflektion över moral” – som rubriceras Utförlig är hon som sagt. Det är mycket möj- som professionsetik, erkännandeetik (med flest ligt att läsaren tycker att hon är för detaljerad. referenser till den tyske filosofen Axel Honneth) Men det eventuella missnöjet visar sig vara helt och närhetsetik (där Emmanuel Levinas får spe- obefogat. All detaljrikedom plockas upp och la en viktig bakgrundsroll). Med hjälp av dessa läggs till grund när de moraliska utmaningar lyckas Pabst åtskilligt fördjupa och komplicera diskuteras, som utställningarna aktiverade. De sin diskussion. Det rum hon skapar genom att benämns ibland också moraliska dilemman, kombinera utmaningar med teorier ger intryck och ett dilemma definieras av Pabst, med re- av att vara ett där viktiga insikter kan nås, reflek- ferens till grekisk retorik, som situationer där tioner förfinas och där en hel del handfast hjälp man blir “tvunget til å godta den ene av to like finns att hämta för den ambivalente och vilsne. ubehagelige muligheter.” En tänkvärd definition Det senare, det handfasta, är i hög grad det som som jag inte ska glömma bort. boken mynnar ut i. Med ett försök att lösa de Dessa utmaningar beskrivs i hägnet av fyra fyra dilemmana. Jag är i och för sig en person av spänningsförhållanden mellan poler. Jag över- den typen som tycker att det är mera fruktbart sätter dem till svenska: att överlåta den uppgiften till läsaren och den som ska finna en väg igenom dilemman. Men 1. enskilda personers behov och samhällets Pabst går nyanserat och öppet till väga och ger – behov med ett undantag: de tio råden som nämns här 2. subjektiv sanning och historisk sanning nedan – inga definitiva svar. Det tror jag är bra. 3. egen kompetens och extern kompetens Det är en fin bok, det här. Den är ambitiös 4. eget gottfinnande (kan man översätta både i det empiriska och teoretiska arbetet och “skjøn” så?) och riktlinjer den förenar dessa två dimensioner på ett mycket dynamiskt vis. Den hanterar klokt och nyanse- Det hör till diskussionens starka sidor att för- rat ett svårt och angeläget ämne och bör, före- fattaren inte ställer några enkla svar i utsikt. ställer jag mig, kunna komma till stor nytta för Tvärtom är ambivalensen och de eftertänksam- dem som har anledning att gå i närkamp med ma lösningar, som aldrig är perfekta och som det. ambivalensen framtvingar, grundläggande. Den Jag upprepar: jag tycker det här är en bra som har att möta dessa utmaningar har fort- bok. När jag nu har varit tydlig om detta kan farande ett svårt arbete framför sig, men med jag kanske få göra det som somliga ibland ser hjälp av Pabst diskussion har det alla förutsätt- som oförenligt med recensioner (men som ofta ningar att bli mera medvetet, systematiskt och utgör en stor lockelse för recensenter): att något genomreflekterat. Pabst relation till utmaning- diskutera sådant som inte står i boken. arna kan beskrivas som respektfull, följsam och Utgångspunkten för detta: det inre och det uppmärksam. Det utesluter inte att man tyck- mjuka. Det här är en bok som på flera sätt är er sig skönja en tendens i hennes reflektioner: skriven inifrån. Inifrån de museianställdas dag- hon följer oftast en “inre” väg som leder henne liga praktik till exempel. En sak är att Pabst själv mot “mjuka” ställningstaganden. Vad menar jag haft en ledande roll i produktionen av två av de med det? Det ska jag återkomma till. undersökta utställningarna, för hon är inte bara Reviews

forskare utan också en museianställd med, som Besøkende vil kunne kjenne seg igjen i det som 175 det framstår, rika erfarenheter av utställnings- kommer frem, noe som vil føre til at færre føler seg produktion. Det är förstås inget fel med det men ekskludert eller oversett. [...] også de besøkende som det är lätt att tänka sig att bokens grundperspek- kjenner seg igjen i det som blir sagt, får en følelse av å tiv är tätt förenat med de erfarenheterna, vilket være en viktig del av mangfoldet. Her forutsettes det skulle kunna innebära att ett distanserat utifrån- at beretningen henviser til verdier som anses som perspektiv skjuts åt sidan. gode og viktige for fellesskapet og for samfunnets Man tycker sig också få fog för föreställning- utvikling (s.135). en att de läsare som hon främst vänder sig till är andra utställningsmakare (vilket i sig inte är Författaren verkar alltså tänka sig ett sam- konstigt alls: mot vilka skulle en bok med nam- förstånd mellan besökarna och samhället om net Museumsetikk i praksis främst rikta sig om vad som är goda och viktiga värden. Och denna inte praktikerna själva?) och att hon ofta ser konsensus ska inte utmanas eftersom risken sig som en av dessa. Eller i alla fall att hon står då finns att någon känner sig kränkt. Det kan mycket nära dem och deras perspektiv. Några knappast vara några särskilt djärva utmaningar uttryck av flera för detta: ett av bokens sex ka- som museerna står inför om detta är ramarna pitel heter “Hvilke teorier kan hjelpe oss å velge för vad som kan sägas. Det är också en mycket riktig når avgørelser må tas?” (min kursivering). speciell uppfattning om vad ett samhälle är. Ett annat inleds med meningen “hvilke utford- Svårigheterna med den visar sig väl redan av ringer møter museumsdirektører, prosjektlede- omständigheten att det finns många som anser re og prosjektmedarbeidere når de samarbeider att ett samhälle är platsen där det kontinuerligt med eksterna om følsomme tema?” På central strids om vad som är viktiga och goda värden. plats finns också två sidor i egen layout och Men framför allt talas det om vikten att er- typsnitt på vilka tio mycket konkreta praktiska känna och inte kränka de privatpersoner som “råd for økt profesjonalitet og mindre personlig med sina unika berättelser bidragit till utställ- belastning” presenteras. I det första av dessa är ningarna. Detta fokus på erkännande och tilltalet av den museianställde direkt: “sett deg kränkning innebär att känslor, følelser, spelar en inn i alle relevanter regelverk og etiske ramme- viktig roll i diskussionen. Det gäller att kunna betingelser” (min kursivering). identifiera sådana hos sig själv och andra, för- “Mindre personlig belastning” är alltså en stå dem och hantera dem så snart en upplevd nyckelformulering. Den viktigaste strategin för kränkning syns vara i antågande. att minska sådan är att agera så att ingen kän- Pabst går långt på det här området. Det är ner sig kränkt genom att förnekas erkännande. henne inte främmande utan snarast rekom- Det är huvudlinjen i bokens etiska diskussion. mendabelt att på eget bevåg från utställningar De som ska erbjudas erkännande är de externa utesluta teman som enskilda berättat om, om experterna, besökarna och de museianställda. man misstänker att de skulle kunna innebära Besökarna utgör alltså en grupp som inte ska obehag för den berättande. Museianställda har kränkas. Men inte bara det. De ska också känna vittnat för Pabst om hur nära de tycker sig ha igen sig i det som utställningarna förmedlar. Jag kommit sina informanter och de stämningar kan inte riktigt förstå hur det ska gå till om det som då skapas föranleder inga kritiska anmärk- är museernas uppgift att förmedla obehagliga ningar från författaren. En utsaga som denna till och utmanande sanningar. exempel: Reviews

176 Etter å ha møtt disse her, så ble de jo ”mine” la) besökargrupper utan att museerna bryr sig informanter, och jeg følte behov for ivareta og nämnvärt om detta. Se till exempel min vän beskytte dem, at det ikke skulle bli noe som var och kollega Staffan Lundéns avhandling om de ubehagelig opplevelse for dem (s.118). så kallade Beninbronserna på British Museum (Displaying Loot. The Benin Objects and the Det kanske måste vara och gå till ungefär så British Museum). Och när Historiska museet i på ett museum. Mjukhet, följsamhet, försiktig- Stockholm omtolkade “vikingatiden” i utställ- het är möjligen alldeles nödvändigt. Kanske. ningen “Vikingar” ledde det till att nationalister Fast jag får nog bekänna att jag är ganska rejält i olika radikal tappning kände sig kränkta. Bor- skeptisk till en sådan uppfattning, särskilt då jag de man därför, i erkännandets och konsensus- kan dra mig till minnes flera utställningar som viljans namn, ha gjort om utställningen? verkat mera provokativt än följsamt. Men den i Men framför allt: hur förhåller sig den mu- sammanhanget viktigaste frågan är vilken gene- seala försiktighet som rekommenderas, till det raliseringsräckvidd som resultaten från en mjuk fria, kritiska kunskapssökande som per defini- och följsam miljö egentligen har. Det är det jag tion ska bortse från de känslor det kan tänkas funderar på. ge upphov till. Som tvärtom ser nedbrytandet Och i förlängningen av det: vad är ett muse- av gamla vissheter som någonting gott och som um egentligen för en institution när det gäller inte tar hänsyn till om människor känner igen kunskapsproduktion och som pådrivare av en sig i den förändrade värld som viktiga kun- “positiv” samhällsutveckling. Det tycks ju vara skapsvinster medför. Många har fått betala ett uppbyggt kring vad somliga skulle kalla en pa- högt pris för att de hållit fast vid detta ideal. radox: det ska uttala obekväma sanningar men Jo, jag vet. Jag tar ut svängarna och jag talar på ett sätt som inte kränker någon. Är det möj- om det som inte står i Pabst bok. Men det hade ligt? varit bra om också den diskussionen hade förts. För det första kan man fråga sig om bokens Det hade gett en bild av vilken typ av institution slutsatser är tillämpliga på utställningar som som museerna är, vilken roll de har i den kritis- inte bygger på berättelser från offer för oegent- ka kunskapsproduktionen och hur väl lämpade ligheter och orättfärdigheter. Sådana som en- de är att ställa obekväma frågor. Svaret på den dast arbetar med föremål och texter till exempel sista frågan hade – om man följer Pabst etiska och konstutställningar. Om samma strategier rekommendationer – kanske antagit formen av gentemot frammanade känslor och kränk- en obekväm sanning. ningsrisk skulle appliceras på de senare så skul- le väl en betydande del av dagens konstmuseer få korrigera sin inriktning? Eftersom mycket Magnus Berg, docent samtidskonst ser som sin uppgift att provocera Institutionen för globala studier och gå emot etablerade föreställningar om god Göteborgs universitet smak. Och jag vet flera föremålsutställningar [email protected] som grovt kränker vissa (i alla fall potentiel-