Queering Australian Museums: Management, Collections, Exhibitions, and Connections
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Queering Australian Museums: Management, Collections, Exhibitions, and Connections Tuan Nguyen A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2018 Museum Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences The University of Sydney Statement of originality This is to certify that to the best of my knowledge, the content of this thesis is my own work. This thesis has not been submitted for any degree or other purposes. I certify that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work and that all the assistance received in preparing this thesis and sources have been acknowledged. …………………………… Tuan Nguyen Authorship attribution statement Section 7.2 of this thesis has been published as Nguyen, V. T. (2016). Mediating Queer Controversy in Australian Museum Exhibitions. Historic Environment, 28(3), 36–48. Section 7.3 has been published as Nguyen, T. (2018). Co-existence and collaboration: Australian AIDS quilts in public museums and community collections. Museum & Society, 16(1), 41–55. As supervisor for the candidature upon which this thesis is based, I can confirm that the authorship attribution statements above are correct. …………………………… Chiara O’Reilly, 19 April 2018 ii Abstract Queering Australian Museums addresses the problem of how queer or LGBTIQ communities can be further included in Australian museums on their own terms. It looks at four areas of museums—management, collections, exhibitions, and connections with audiences and communities—to consider barriers and enablers of queer inclusion in these often heteronormative institutions. Case studies of queer-inclusive efforts in public Australian museums are interpreted from institutional and community perspectives drawn from 25 interviews. The interviews are put into critical conversation with archival material and literature from museum studies and the emerging field of queer museology. The study evaluates the visibility of the history, cultures, and identities of queer communities in Australian museums. It establishes that many public representations of queerness have been driven by the efforts of LGBTIQ communities, particularly through community-based heritage organisations. It also gathers and reflects upon examples of critical queer inclusion that have occurred in public museums. Using these exemplars, it argues that queer communities should be empowered to make decisions about their own heritage with the support of museums and their unique attributes; that individual and organisational leadership, involving queer individuals and allies, should be brought to bear on this task; and that effectively navigating the tensions between museums and queer communities requires mutual understanding and accommodation. Through the process of queering the museum, it is suggested, each party might be transformed, leading to LGBTIQ diversity being valued as an integral part of society. The thesis addresses the gap in Australian museum studies literature on queer or LGBTIQ inclusion compared with Euro-American settings. It further contributes original case studies to the international field of queer museology, and to museum studies literature on including and empowering diverse communities. Both recognising the agency of queer communities and also engaging with the language and conventions of museums, it constructs a distinct account of how to navigate the historical tensions between the two. It thereby aims to enrich museum offerings for all audiences on the terms of those erstwhile excluded. iii Acknowledgements It takes a village to finish a thesis. I would like to warmly thank my supervisor Chiara O’Reilly for guiding my academic development from the Master of Museum Studies programme through to this doctoral study. I thank my associate supervisor Lee Wallace for help with the writing process and funding applications. I kindly acknowledge Jim Richardson for his friendship and keen eye when reading several drafts. My sincere gratitude goes to Anna Lawrenson for stepping in to supervise me when required, and Natali Pearson for her camaraderie in our small department. Thank you to the three examiners, all exceedingly generous with their time and astute in their feedback. This thesis would not have been possible without those who raised their hands to be interviewed (Appendix A: List of interviewees). Thank you all for your advocacy on important issues, the gossip, and the connections—you inspire me. Among them, I must single out Nick Henderson for being the switchboard for so many researchers within the community, and Ian Purcell who sadly passed away before I submitted. Thanks also go to Peter Cox, Jo Darbyshire, Mannie De Saxe, Sally Gray, John Hall, Karissa Kessen, Samantha Leah, Carol Low, Chiara O’Reilly, Semi Ozacardi, and Violet Tingle who helped to furnish this thesis with images. Further thanks go to those who assisted me to locate archival material including Angela Agostino, Rose Docker, Jude Elton, Anna Grega, Nick Henderson, Semi Ozacardi, and Mandy Paul. Finally, I would like to thank my family, friends, and my partner Sam, to all of whom I dedicate this thesis. You sustain me. iv Table of contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... iv Table of contents .................................................................................................................... v List of figures ....................................................................................................................... vii List of abbreviations ............................................................................................................... x 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research problem, definitions, and contribution .................................................... 5 1.2 Chapter outline ..................................................................................................... 10 2 Literature review: Queer museology ............................................................................ 14 2.1 ‘Old’ museology ................................................................................................... 14 2.2 New museology .................................................................................................... 19 2.3 Queer museology: International ........................................................................... 28 2.4 Queer museology: Australia ................................................................................. 37 2.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 42 3 Methodology ................................................................................................................ 44 3.1 Case studies .......................................................................................................... 44 3.2 Semi-structured interviews and ethics .................................................................. 47 4 Queering management .................................................................................................. 52 4.1 Tying management to a mission ........................................................................... 53 4.2 Leadership ............................................................................................................ 59 4.3 Policy to practice .................................................................................................. 64 4.4 Employment and networking ............................................................................... 71 4.5 Measuring value ................................................................................................... 75 4.6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 82 5 Queering collections ..................................................................................................... 84 5.1 Where are the queer collections? .......................................................................... 85 5.2 Destabilised object meanings ............................................................................... 90 5.3 Queer readings: What is a queer object? .............................................................. 95 5.4 The Victorian Material Survey ........................................................................... 100 5.4.1 Criticisms ........................................................................................................ 105 v 5.5 Queer oral histories ............................................................................................ 109 5.6 Are objects and collections needed? .................................................................. 113 5.7 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 119 6 Queering exhibitions .................................................................................................. 121 6.1 Exhibitions and publics ...................................................................................... 122 6.2 Evaluation of queer exhibitions, 1977–2016 .....................................................