A programme co-curated and co-devised by Timespan and The Museum of Loss and Renewal addressed ‘how geography, people and politics can determine how we create the museums of today’.
A two-day programme co-curated and co-devised by Timespan, Scotland and The Museum of Loss and Renewal in 2017 addressed ‘how geography, people and politics can determine how we create the museums of today’ as its starting point. Timespan is ‘a cultural institution in Helmsdale, a village in the very north east of the Scottish Highlands, with local, global and planetary ambitions to weaponise culture for social change’.
On Day One – Place and Politics Symposium – the symposium focussed on the role of museums in response to socio-geographic and political contexts. Museum professionals, artists, historians, academics, curators, researchers and interested others were welcomed to discuss how specific geographies and publics shape the methodologies applied in a museum, what practices and values are shared irrespective of place, and what active role museums can or should take with regards to politics.
During Day Two – Helmsdale: Museum for a Day – the programme focussed on what happens when one thinks beyond the walls of the traditional museum space and imagines Helmsdale village as museum. Participants, visitors and the local community were stimulated to explore the villages new collections and histories anew, guided by a series of commissioned artists’ performances.
Timespan’s museum redevelopment programme provided a grounding context for both days.
Photography by Gavin Macqueen and Edwin Janssen