Registers of Engagement at Museums and Heritage Sites: The Affective Performances of Visiting Laurajane Smith Australian National University Australia (2010-13) USA (2011-12) • Stockman’s Hall of Fame • Cowboy Hall of Fame • Immigration Museum, Melbourne • James Madison’s Montpelier • Old Melbourne Gaol • The Hermitage • Mt Kembla Heritage centre • Ellis Island • National Museum of Australia • Tenement Museum – First Australians Gallery • Japanese American National • Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park History Museum • National War Memorial • Nordic Heritage Museum • M.A.D.E., Ballarat • Mashantucket Pequot Museum • Lanyon Homestead • Yellowstone NP • Vaucluse House • Civil Rights Museum, Memphis • Rouse Hill Farm • Industry and Labor, Youngstown • Museum of Work and Culture • Rivers of Steel England (2004, 2007-9) • National Museum of American • 9 Country Houses/Stately Homes History (Smithsonian): • 8 Museums with exhibitions on – Star Spangled Banner the British Slave Trade (including – Price of Freedom British Museum; International Slavey Museum Liverpool; – Paradox of Freedom (Jefferson National Maritime Museum) and Slavery) • National Coal Mining Museum • Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Museum • Beamish Open Air Museum • What does the word ‘heritage’ mean to you? • What meaning, if any, does an exhibition like this have for • Whose history are you visiting here? contemporary Australia? • Are you part of the history • Is there anything you've represented here? seen/read/heard today that has changed your views about the past • How does it make you feel to visit or the present? this place? • Is there anything left out of the • What experiences do you value on displays you would have liked to visiting this place? have seen? • What does being here mean to you? • Is there any aspect of your personal identity to which this exhibition • Are there any messages about the speaks to or links? heritage or history of Australia that you take away from this place? • Is there anything you would like to add or tell me? • England = 2,415 71% Dominant ethnicities, • USA = 1,143 either: • Australia = 2,415 Anglo-Celtic Australian; Caucasian American; White British. 45% Male 18% Overseas tourists 54% Female 12% non-dominant ethnicity 57% aged 45 or over 66% first time visitor 57% hold university qualification I don’t go to museums for education, I can read material on the internet or in books, I come for emotional reasons. Coming for education makes no sense. (NCRM61: male, 55-64, retired telecommunications, African American) Interviewer: Does an exhibition like this have menaing for contemporary America? Daughter: I think so. I think it creates a link to the reason we became a country. [interviewee becomes so emotion she excuses herself and disappears sobbing] Mother: I think it has meaning for the younger generations [...] Just supports my strength for our country even more. The patriotism. (F30 (daughter), 18-24, student; F31 (mother) 45-54, teacher, Caucasian American) 1. Reinforcement of existing understanding, beliefs, opinions, knowledge, historical narratives etc. 2. Inter-generational communication - Passing on family memories and values - Asserting, negotiating or making connections to familial history 3. Remembering and affirmation of social or political values 4. Offering recognition and respect /or continuing misrecognition 5. Educational resource Each time we come to a place like this it just reinforces what I’ve seen and just makes me feel good to be an Australian. […] I don’t think I’ll take anything new um [away]…at all, but it’s [my knowledge and views have] been reinforced. Reinforcement is really what I take away. (LR9 Stockman’s Hall of Fame, Australia 2010) No not really, my knowledge and experiences were relatively similar to this before [I visited] so I think it’s just reinforced my ideas on it already. (NMA33 First Australians exhibition, National Museum of Australia, 2010) It reinforces, it makes me appreciate and feel proud of my country. (EI81: female, 35-44, nurse, American, 2012) For a short time feeling part of history, even recent history … It just brings things home – it reinforces how you feel about the past. (OAM85, visitor to Beamish Museum, England 2004) Vaucluse House I don’t know, I should say something that, you know, education, learning on a place like this, but to be honest the experience that I’m valuing on this is just the beauty of the place and enjoying the gardens, and having a lovely lunch, things like that; having a nice day out. (VH33: female, 25-34, graphic designer, Australian) It really is, just the history of it is so, to know – you know, […]. And me being a union president and things, [being at the museum] puts me on focus. And being a parent, a parent of young kids, and a young parent, it just puts me on focus as to my kids. When I first brought my youngest son here, he’ll be 13 next month, and we walked through [where] the Klu Klux Klan clothes were, I think he may have been about 4. And when we came through my first thought was, ‘What are white people doing in their head because they know what they did to us?’ I mean, just honestly. And I’m looking around ‘cos I’m astonished at that, and then, when my son walked upon the Klu Klux Klan he said, out loud, as kids do, ‘Momma, who pyjamas are those?’ and everybody turned and looked at me, and I was like, ‘Those aren’t pyjamas.’ I said, ‘I’ll tell you about them’, and you know they’re [whites] waiting for my answer, so we keep going and I’m like reading this stuff to him, saying, ‘And this is what they did to black people and this is what…’ and he bust out again, ‘Who’s black, mama?’ And I said, ‘Oh my God’, and I looked at him, and you know I saw this [white] guy watching and I’m like [pause] ‘You’re black’. And he was like, ‘No I’m not. I’m not black. I’m yellow.’ And I said, ‘Okay’, and I remember what my pastor said: ‘You don’t know you’re poor until you’re told you’re poor. You don’t know you’re black until you’re told you’re black.’ He never knew he was black. So, you know, I’m like, Wow. So, when I bring him here he learns more, and we come every year ‘cos I have family down here. (NCRM53: female, 45-54, postal worker, Black American) Interviewer: What does being here mean to you? Well funny actually that you should say that [laughs] but I was actually having a bit of an emotional moment because my two boys are doing their first big overseas trip in about a week’s time, and it’s actually funny you should say that in that there’s a lot of history of our family here and I’m realising my, the 16 year old whose the youngest of the two is becoming a man, and I’m thinking ‘oh my god, my time’s up’, not my time’s up, but he’s talking about leaving Canberra in about 2 years and doing uni in Boston, and funny actually I was walking around here it kind of made me think. Oh I was going back to those moments when I was holding his hand and walking around here [laughs], so yes, yeah. (LH52: male, 45-54, business coach, Indian-Australian) What does being here mean to you? It’s partly a civic duty of knowing what Australian roots are all about. Are there any messages about the heritage or history of Australia that you take away from this place? It’s probably about, you know, being a migrant and knowing how to survive. I mean, for them [people in the past] especially knowing that there were no amenities or anything or technological advances during the time, but they were able to actually try…it’s more than just a message, I can relate [to this history]. (RH18: female, 45-54, business trainer, Philippian-Australian) and he bust out again, ‘Who’s black, mama?’ And I said, ‘Oh my God’, and I looked at him, and you know I saw this [white] guy watching and I’m like [pause] ‘You’re black’. And he was like, ‘No I’m not. I’m not black. I’m yellow.’ And I said, ‘Okay’, and I remember what my pastor said: ‘You don’t know you’re poor until you’re told you’re poor. You don’t know you’re black until you’re told you’re black.’ He never knew he was black. So, you know, I’m like, Wow. So, when I bring him here he learns more, and we come every year ‘cos I have family down here. (NCRM53: female, 45-54, postal worker, Black American) ‘feel good to know that there was a history for us to move forward [from]’ (NCRM53: female, 45-54, postal worker, Black American) 1. Reinforcement of existing understanding, beliefs, opinions, knowledge, historical narratives etc. 2. Inter-generational communication - Passing on family memories and values - Asserting, negotiating or making connections to familial history 3. Remembering and affirmation of social or political values 4. Offering recognition and respect /or continuing misrecognition 5. Educational resource.