There are tons of books on museums and museology. What stands out about your book?
Umberto Avanzi – The idea for the book started a long time ago with a series of market researches in some public and private museums. With this research I learned that museum institutions in their activity cannot do without an in-depth knowledge of their users. The most interesting feature of the book is precisely the theme of listening to establish a real dialogue with the visitor who, abandoning a passive role, becomes a visitor -actor.
Matthew Mocchi – An interesting aspect, then, is the versatility of this book. We are three very different people with different experiences: Umberto is a researcher, Emanuele is a manager and I am a designer. We met at an event on corporate museums and from that moment we started thinking about the contents and then writing. Each with its own cut, its own style, its own point of view. I think that another distinctive aspect of the book is this diversity which gives the text additional value.
Emmanuel Priest – I would like to add that there is another element of uniqueness: this book deliberately comes out during the pandemic. The intention is to provide content that could stimulate museums to find new areas for growth and development. The book object is itself a dialogue: our hope is to access and revive new dialogues to broaden the debate.
Interesting. If the path traced is dialogue and listening, what are the solutions you propose?
Umberto Avanzi – First of all, the leitmotif of the book is the method, in the sense that all our contributions speak of process and working method. The entry point is the assessment and analysis of the existing context with the aim of reviewing and redesigning the museum proposal from a more effective perspective. The fulcrum is the planning, strategy and vision of the museum concept, including other elements that can enrich the proposal and the offer. Our solutions are: co-creation, relationship and giving back.
Here we talk about these three keywords: co-creation, relationship and return. Can you give me your definitions?
Umberto Avanzi – Co-creation: word perhaps abused and inflated in the age of social media. It is not simply a question of taking into account the experiences and expectations of the user of the work of art, nor of creating exhibitions and galleries that "put art on stage" by entrusting the visitor with an active/interactive role. The book is full of examples where the users do not simply become visitor-actors, but can actively contribute to the creation of collections and exhibitions thus becoming visitor-authors.
Matthew Mocchi – Today more than ever it is unthinkable to imagine that one of our actions has no effect and in a hyper-connected society like ours the concept of "relationship" may seem obvious. To such an extent that it sometimes makes us more selfish than ever. What relationships often lack is authenticity: I consider the relationship a dialogue that carries meaning and value for all those involved in the dialogue itself. An open, fluid and, above all, responsible dialogue.
Emmanuel Priest - Return. I like to think that restitution from a philosophical point of view is like salvation, but I don't want to give a "moral" reading. The strong drive that inspires restitution is a combination of philanthropic sentiment, continuity and responsibility. The principle underlying the restitution is the addition to the main and existing museum purpose of other pro-social, pro-cultural and pro-philanthropic purposes with a positive social impact. The museum transforms itself into a super-place and a super-vector of mediation, production and restitution, increasing its attractiveness and attraction, theatricalising, extending and enriching new discourses, new paths and new languages.
Give me a representative example of these solutions.
Umberto Avanzi– The most important example is the Museum of BrokenRelationship Born from an idea of a couple of artists who, following the end of their love relationship in 2006, decided to create first an exhibition and then a museum of the objects that had represented moments of shared life. Subsequently, the museum encouraged those who had experienced the end of a relationship to donate the objects significant to their relationship to the two museum locations in Zagreb and Los Angeles
Matthew Mocchi – On the occasion of the opening of the new headquarters in 2016, the London Design Museum invited the community to co-curate a section of the museum by creating the Crowdsourced Wall, a wall set up with objects selected by the public on an online platform. An operation through which to establish a new relationship capable of involving even a younger audience, interested in new media and technologies. A relationship in which, as stated by the director Deyan Sudjic "the virtual world serves to create a dialogue that must arrive at the physical place".
Emmanuel Priest – Paper Museum of Pescia. The added value is extremely high, the design focus is very rewarding and the social and value impact is potentially positive. From the archaeological recovery of a historic brand, to the production of new products, to the social contribution for the creation of work of new skills and old traditions. Memory, identity and restitution!
What do you foresee for the near future in the museum sector?
Umberto Avanzi – The covid 19 has forced to transform the problem (closure of museums) into an opportunity: thanks to the inevitable use of digital technology, museums in the future will never be the same. Just think of how digital will change the exchange between the work of art and the visitor by making it more immersive, it will multiply the possibility of visits, even remotely, by an increasingly vast public, it will facilitate access to hidden treasures in museum deposits, it will intensify the relationship and co-creation between institution and public. The other great opportunity could be represented by new funds and investments from the Recovery Fund.
Matthew Mocchi – I trust in a great enthusiasm capable of removing the dust that often characterizes some museum logics in favor of a more dynamic and engaging approach. To pick up on an image of Calvino that I've always liked, let's say maybe it's time to spread a little more jam on this solid slice of bread.
Emmanuel Priest – I believe that cultural and experiential consumption will start to throb vigorously again as soon as we are able to socialize and go out again. I have the feeling that in this time of closure many museums have thought about the future and are ready to face the new challenges with renewed creativity and strategy. I believe that the digital theme is a priority, but that it must be designed with different assumptions and business models than before. Now is the time to innovate. To take Umberto's idea on the Recovery Fund, we can already see signs with the use of museums for the administration of vaccines (ed, Hangar Bicocca).
Cover image: Untitled by Anish Kapoor
