No More Neutral.
How can cultural organisations become a valued part of the climate conversation?
We know that young people are spearheading the climate conversation. Their activism and thirst for better education is bolstered by the increasingly hyper-digital and inclusive community space that they inhabit, positioning them at the forefront of the fight to protect indigenous lands and cultures and disrupt the longstanding erosion of biodiversity and sustainability created by humans.
We see a real opportunity for museums to engage with this youth-led movement. To ask questions, use their collective voice and power and invite young people in so that they truly feel part of a bigger sense of change - and are able to see cultural institutions as central to this dialogue.
Through our recent research with UKRI, Mindsets for the Museums of the Future, we have been speaking to a far-reaching and diverse range of museum curators and professionals, all of whom recognise climate as a key conversation that they need to step into. As Curating Tomorrow points out,
‘There are around 55,000 museums in the world, their impact is probably comparable to that of a small (possibly not so small) country.’
But how should museums present their thinking? How can they have impact within the fast-paced virtual spaces that young audiences inhabit? Dr. Alex Burch, Head of Public Programmes at the Natural History Museum, tells us,
‘We need to use the local to think about the global; bringing personal meaning to people to help them understand larger, complex interconnected systems.’
Our own research further cements this. Young people want to use knowledge to create tangible change in their day to day lives- not as an abstract, distant vision. They want our museums to facilitate this and to be brave - to stick their heads above the parapet and shape the future. One thing we’re certain of: when it comes to climate, museums should certainly not be neutral.
Our Broken Planet, our new collaboration with the Natural History Museum, puts this thinking into practice alongside key artefacts that delve into the age of the Anthropocene and the environmental crisis.
Throughout the exhibition, which explores how humans have transformed the world and how we can fix the damage we have inflicted, we have inserted tangible interventions that invite the audience to consider how the objects on display — some ancient, some from faraway lands — might relate to their lives and inspire them to make active, positive choices to improve and be critical of their relationship with nature. From a burger wrapper discarded beside the skull of an Auroch - provoking questions on meat production - to an interactive recipe builder to design your menu of the future; our approach was to add touch points that provide an everyday lens to the wondrous specimens preserved in the museum’s vast collection.
“A super interesting exhibition that I would recommend to anyone, regardless of their vegan-ness or lack thereof. Personally, it feels pretty easy to feel hopeless about the current state of the planet, and it’s often hard to believe that any action on an individual level can slow down the seemingly out of control breakdown of our planet, but this both inspired and informed. The exhibit focused on a multitude of things, including farming, plastic use and fast fashion to name a few. It was palatable, tasteful and a great day out all around! 10/10!” — @Chompstergram
Our Broken Planet is open to the public until Spring 2022, you can book free tickets here.
© 2021 The Liminal Space
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