One collection many lives: On curator, collection, and the public

In recent decades, the museum sector has reflected upon its visions, missions and objectives, especially in relation to who it is serving and how it can expand its capacity to accommodate diverse socio-cultural needs. This suggests that museums have transformed from a temple of knowledge to an engaging platform of culture that highlights civic values, such as social inclusion. Thus, the study of museum collection should not only focus on the development of disciplinary research, but also on how curators contextualize objects to bring enjoyment, education, and inspiration to wider audiences. Interestingly, this new trend in museum services has been criticized as ＂edutainment＂ that transforms the role of curator from a researcher to an activity organizer. To what extent is such criticism valid? How can curators balance scholarship and public engagement? This article attempts to address these questions by examining one of the key tasks of curators–interpretation of the collection for the purposes of education, inspiration, and enjoyment. Based on the Chinese collection housed in the Bristol City Museum, a critical review of three different interpretive approaches adopted by curators and that reflect upon the relationships among curator, collection, and museum visitors was carried out. An alternative interpretive approach was also considered in which visitors research the collection and write creative texts that communicate the objects to the public. This approach highlights the integration of personal experiences and aesthetic imagination into the curatorial narrative of the collection. The author argues that the study of museum collection should be relevant to contemporary society in connecting audiences with the past as well as the present.

近十年多來，博物館多思考其願景、使命與工作如何介入公眾生活，尤其著力於擴展工作面向以惠及不同社群。這正顯示當代博物館的工作日趨多元化，並漸次轉為促進公眾參與、又富包容性的文化平就館藏研究而言，當代博物館學隱然提倡物件的知識不僅在於專業學科的發展，更關乎館員如何將物件置於多元論述的文化脈絡，以求從展覽，教育活動及行銷等方面，為公眾帶來娛樂、增進知識，甚而激發創造力然而，批評者指以娛樂及教育主導的博物館服務令館員由知識的探索者變為活動籌劃人，大大降低質其專業水平究竟博物館講求與公眾互動是否即否定館員的研究專業？歸根究抵，館藏知識的研究如何平衡專業需求及公眾參耻的責任？本文以布里斯托市立博物館的東亞館藏為中心，藉半世紀以來該館的不同詮釋方針，探討館員專業，館藏與公眾的關係立足於當今博物館重視公眾參與的趨勢，本文亦探討一系列公眾參與工作坊如何訓練學員研究物件、進而將個人想像、物件知識融會於博物館展示說明的書寫。我以為館藏的意義内涵自當隨著時代更迭而有所增廣。因此，館員所掌握的物件知識斑公眾的輻輳點正在於當代社會。唯其處於當下，館藏的研究將向公眾宣示其所身處的時空，與古往今來世界文明的聯繫。