The International Training Programme Museum Association Conference Belfast 2018

With the British Museum

A report by Eileen Ondusye Musundi, ITP 2008, Senior Fellow 2013

First and foremost, I wish to thank the team at the ITP for conceptualising, managing, coordinating

and disseminating a very useful ITP+ programme. The ITP is always innovative and creative, and

benefits of their programmes reverberate throughout in the hearts and work of the ITP alumni

around the world.

Many thanks to the International Training Programme and The Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust for supporting us. Claire Messenger, ITP Manager, for her invaluable wisdom and leadership Rebecca Horton and Jessica Juckes for their wonderful support Louise Smyth and Hannah Crowdy for their wonderful welcome and hospitality in Northern Ireland To my ITP colleagues; Matsosane Molibeli, Heba Khairy and Meltem Yasdag for the gift of friendship and camaraderie The British Museum and the National Museums of Kenya Ulster Folk and Transport Museum and Ulster Museum The Museums Association The Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust, for making all this possible

Eileen, Matsosane, Heba and Meltem in the Photographer’s Studio, Ulster Folk Park Preambles When I applied for the ITP+ course, Museums Association Conference, I expected to find out how colleagues deal with emerging global issues in their museums, and share how we do so with ours. I wished to be at par with issues affecting museums worldwide today. I also wanted to see how Belfast had emerged from The Troubles and emerged as a leading cultural tourism destination. And of course, I wanted to meet and interact with fellow ITP colleagues from various countries!

I looked forward to learning about the creativity, innovation, history, culture and people of Northern Ireland from the National Museums Northern Ireland sites and experience how they displayed their collections and curated their stories. I am happy to report that all my expectations were met and even surpassed. Saturday 3rd November, Arrivals I arrived at the same time with Matsosane at Heathrow early Saturday morning. Due to the excellent pre-course information the ITP had circulated to us all, we were able to recognise each other right away and were soon chatting as we waited on our lay over. Heba joined us a couple of hours later and it was like we had all met before, such is the camaraderie of the ITP! We travelled to Belfast and enjoyed our free afternoon together, exploring and sampling the sights and sounds of this lovely city. Sunday 4th November, Orientation and Ulster Museum This was a lovely sunny day. We met with Claire Messenger, Manager of the International Training Programme, Jessica Juckes, Assistant of the ITP and Meltem Yasdag from Turkey. On our walk to the Ulster Museum, Claire pointed out the landmarks of Belfast and we also had time to acquaint ourselves with each other. At the Ulster Museum, Louise Smyth, Training and Development Advisor, National Museums Northern Ireland, welcomed us and gave us a brief on the museum, after which we were free to explore on our own. The Ulster Museum reminded me a lot about my own museum, the Nairobi National Museum due to the diverse range of galleries: the Art Galleries, Nature, History and Culture. The art galleries impressed me with their diverse and carefully laid out collections, and I spent a lot of time reading the texts and taking pictures for further research. I liked the idea of having a children’s corner with tables and art materials for them to have a go at creating their own artworks.

Eileen at the Art Gallery Dippy’s exhibit The temporary exhibition on the Diplodocus, Dippy, was receiving a lot of attention from visitors, and it was easy to see why because it was so impressive. I took note of the nature of the storyline, which took the form of a conversation between Dippy and a young Northern Irish friend, and that it was localised to the Northern Irish situation. There were also lots of children’s tables, with children making sketches of the Dinosaur. Noted, too, was the mounting styles and display of the dinosaur (which is a cast of the original), as we handle similar jobs in our work on exhibitions.

In the Nature Galleries, I recognised stone tools and the fossil coelacanth as well as noting similarities in display techniques and enjoyed reading about the origins of Ireland. What I have come to discover is that designers think alike the world over, and we may be working independently of each other in our different corners of the world, but we approach and solve our problems in a similar manner. It also gives me confidence that no ideas are redundant and all are worth a try. The costumes gallery was also intriguing, for the garments on display and the story that had been linked to the 100th anniversary of Universal Suffrage. Monday 5th November, Northern Ireland’s recent history We had an early morning group discussion on Northern Ireland’s recent troubled history which set the pace for the day’s programme. We drew parallels in our own political histories, and I talked about how East Africa today is moving towards regional integration, with evidence in our new generation passport encompassing Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya. We visited the Ulster Museum and specifically the Troubles Gallery. On Mondays the museum is closed to the public to enable scheduled maintenance work to be carried out, so we felt very privileged to have the gallery to ourselves. We considered the challenges a curator faces when representing a recent troubled history. I thought the exhibition succeeded in being impartial, not leaning to any one side when presenting the stories. Most of the objects were graphical in black and white, and this conveyed a sense of going back in time, and looking through the lens of a camera, as it were. It also made the stories very real, especially to someone who was not there when it happened. The historical timeline, placing the happenings in Northern Ireland alongside other major world events brought the events closer to home. “As recently as 9/11”! I could have missed the all-important quote: “while we all have a shared past, we do not have a shared Memory”, if my course book had not prompted me! It is there in the introductory text, and is such a powerful statement. I left the gallery feeling more than ever the relevance of museums in society. In many places, museums are the ONLY place such recent troubled pasts and contested histories can be represented. It is the duty of museums to tell these stories.

In the early afternoon, we took a taxi tour to The Wall itself that divides Belfast since the time of the Troubles. The taxi driver was very knowledgeable and gave his story in a flowing, interesting manner. He was also quite impartial, we could not tell from which side he originated. We had a chance to also add our peace message onto the wall! It felt strange, doing graffiti legally!

We felt that the taxi tour complemented the gallery’s stories and it is imperative to experience both. From our discussion with Karen Logan, the curator of the Troubles Gallery in the afternoon, we learnt more about the behind the scenes of setting up the gallery. The stories and objects had to be collected ethically, sensitively, they had to be verified, the language and terminologies had to be sensitive, and all manner of expectations managed. We also discussed our own troubled histories and I drew parallels with our 2007 post-election violence. Noteworthy too is that the exhibition is starkly black and white, not only because that makes it easier to read and straight to the point, but it was also easier, cheaper to produce and it can be easily changed from time to time. Tuesday 6th November, Ulster Folk Park and Transport Museum I like folk parks and ethnographic museums, ever since visiting St Fagan’s during my time on the ITP in 2008. This type of ‘living museum’ presents history in such a lively, interactive way, and provides avenues for lots of intergenerational experiences and fun for the whole family. The Ulster Folk Museum, located in a serene, lush green countryside, was established following an Act of Parliament in 1958 and it aims to preserve the rural way of life and traditions, living memories, stories, dance and music of Northern Ireland. At the start of our visit, we were given a real, friendly Northern Irish welcome by the museum staff and given an introduction in the visitor centre, over tea, cakes and fifteens. We then experienced the living museum. Buildings from as early as the 1920s are dismantled, translocated and rebuilt brick by brick on location in the museum grounds. Care has been taken to lay out whole streets, retaining the original widths of roads and streets. The full context of the original look of the houses is retained, so cottages are set out in their small gardens, and some even have growing vegetables and are maintained by the local horticultural society. Sophia, an intern from Germany, was our guide for the morning. She was appropriately dressed in costume for the day, in long skirts and an apron. We started off in Tea Lane, so named because the locals used to sell a cuppa to passing workers on their way to the factories. We knocked on the door of the dressmaker’s house and out she came, speaking totally in character like a housewife busy with her daily chores but quite willing to welcome us into her house for a chat.

With Sophia With Enid We sat in her warm, cosy living room and she chatted to us about her family and her work as a skilled seamstress. Enid is called a first person interpreter and I think is a very creative and enjoyable way of experiencing the life of the ordinary rural folk of a century ago. We visited the building of the Church of England, complete with gravestones (but no graves) in the church yard. The bank manager’s house which is across the street is more prosperous than that of the folk in Tea Lane. The bank building which is next-door is a replica, and so exact is it that we would not have known just by looking at it. We had a chat with the Photographer in his studio and he brought to life the people in his photographs by telling us their histories. We warmed our hands in the cheerful peat fire in the Reverend’s house, and learnt how the chimneys were cleaned by releasing geese to fly up the chute and scrape off the soot with their flapping wings! At the doctor’s office, we enjoyed first person interpretation and had a go at making pills. We pretended we were from the future and by asking lots of questions, and ended up appreciating the great strides medicine has come. Some interactive sessions with the willow basket maker, Bob, and the linen cloth weaver, Rosie, rounded off an exhilarating morning. Bob’s talents are also evident in the flying dragons in the Ulster Museum that we visited on Monday. I really enjoyed talking to Rosie as she demonstrated weaving of linen on the traditional loom. Clothing and fabric is a topic that is close to my heart, I studied it at university and worked at a local textiles cottage firm before joining the museum. I would wish to introduce aspects of it in my future work. Looking at the work that talented craftspeople do in these living museums made me realise just how useful these museums are. The traditional craftsmanship is retained, beautiful handmade objects are created to be purchased and cherished and they are a source of income for the institution and individuals. I would most certainly want to try it in my country! After a warming lunch of Irish stew, we walked down through the cemetery of the original owners of the land, to the Ulster Transport Museum. The first part of the Transport Museum, housed in a huge domed building, contains lots of train engines grouped in a circular formation. Most of the exhibits are roped off but one was open to entry. The story about the Titanic and her sister ships, the Olympic and the Britannic, has its own gallery called TITANICa Exhibition. The setting is solemn, and the light dim, to preserve the fragile paper exhibits, but also, I think, to convey the sense of tragedy that we are all aware of. I came away from this exhibition with a sombre feeling that at last, the true story of the Titanic has been told, and it took a museum to do it.

Wednesday 7th November, Experiences and Attractions. As our course book said, Experiences and Attractions are different from museums. I think that whilst they endeavour to be historically accurate, they may be more ‘attractive’ and ‘enjoyable’ than museums because their mandates are different. The Titanic Experience was an eye-opener, as we experienced it after the TITANICa museum exhibition. We were able to draw parallels and differences in the two different ways of telling the same story. Of note is the introductory part of the Titanic Experience, which sets the background of ‘Boomtown Belfast’ and all these vibrant industries that gave birth to such great ships. I enjoyed the Titanic Experience, but this is one exhibition that I felt really needs the accompaniment of the audio guide because there is so much to see and do. Also of note is the human interest story, bringing to life people who actually worked on and sailed on the Titanic. Over lunch, we discussed the common points and differences between this Titanic Experience and the TITANICa exhibition at the Transport Museum.

Tracing the story of Mary Sloan through the exhibition Later in the afternoon, we visited the Crumlin Road Gaol visitor attraction. It was a very different kind of experience, not exactly enjoyable, but a well preserved record of Belfast’s history. After learning so much about the Troubles, we were able to add onto the experience by invoking the prison life. The hanging cell was an especially dramatic experience. I appreciate the effort it took to create life lessons out of a place that would not normally feature high on the list of favourite ‘Attractions’. Later in the evening, we attended the MA Conference Welcome Reception at the magnificent Belfast City Hall. It was an opportunity to network and meet colleagues in the museum sector. We were privileged to meet, among others, Mr Paddy Gilmore, an MA board member, and tell him all about the ITP! Thursday 8th & Friday 9th November, MA Conference My colleagues and I attended the networking breakfast for first time delegates where we got to learn some top networking tips and advice such as NETWORK : Network, Engage Everywhere, Two- Way, Welcoming, Objective, Reframe, Know How, Interesting, Next Steps, GO! Next was the welcome address in the auditorium. Eager to partake of everything, we got seats in the very front rows and took in the dissenter’s discussions setting the conference scene. Among the

gems from the discussions were talking about current dissenters such as American Footballers & Black Lives Matter, believe in something even if it means sacrificing everything, decolonising museum collections and the myth of neutrality. The discussions I attended that day were:

Co-curating post-colonial collections, by Brighton Museums

Celebrating universal suffrage

Winds of change, by colleagues from Southern Africa supported by ICOM UK

The ICOM UK lunch

Soft Power: A power of influence and the influence of culture

Creating profitable events programmes, a case-study led seminar from the RAF museum.

Dissenter’s discussion Eileen at the conference In the evening was an awards ceremony, entertainment and networking opportunities at the Ulster Museum. I used the chance to network, get closer to the Diplodocus exhibit and the history galleries I had missed on Sunday. On day 2 of the conference, I joined in:

How to network naturally, by the MA

Change for the future: how to be activist leaders

Putting collections into video games

Character matters; future proofing the sector

Creating inclusive spaces for people living with a disability: slow museums

Day 2 round up: Museums as instruments for world peace I came away from the conference rejuvenated and eager to work with my museum to promote positive social change. In the words of Paddy Gilmore, “small steps make the difference. We are none of us here directors of big museums.” I also made many new acquaintances that I will be eager to network and work with in the future. Saturday 10th November, MA Study Day Trip We had a wonderful day trip through the lovely Northern Irish countryside. The first place we visited was Mount Stewart, a National Trust property. This was a chance to learn about the management of house museums, and I was able to draw parallels with our own Karen Blixen House Museum. We also got a chance to see the temporary exhibition from the National Portrait Gallery which commemorates the centenary year of the universal suffrage, a common theme I noticed was running through the museums I had visited. We also visited the Down Museum, dedicated to local history and St Patrick.

After lunch, we visited Down Cathedral with its lovely stained glass windows, St Patrick’s grave and St. Patrick’s Centre, where I got a crash course in making interpretation centres! We loved the Downpatrick & County Down Railway, which had interactive train carriages.

Meltem, Matsosane and Eileen in a train ITPers at Down County Museum Sunday, 11th November , Farewells and Acknowledgments All too soon, it was time for farewells and the journey back home. I was happy for the chance to interact closely with my ITP family, and to network and make many new friends. I totally loved Northern Ireland (my Christian name is Irish!) and I hope to be back some day. I came to the conference eager to find out how dissenting museums can be, and I was not disappointed. Researchers have found that just knowing that there is a dissenting voice is enough to induce a different perceptive that yields better judgment. I would also like to mention that I took this opportunity to research on some museums back in London, especially those closely connected with the work I am doing back home. Among the museums I visited were:

the Natural History Museum, where I connected with Miranda Lowe , a curator that I met at the MA in Belfast

the Science Museum

the RAF Colindale Museum, and contacted Ella Hewitt, Museum Public Events Manager, who I also met at the MA

the Postal Museum Mail Rail exhibition

the new exhibitions at the British Museum – the Islamic Galleries, I Object and Ashurbanipal as well the Africa Galleries and the Money Gallery.

At the RAF Museum I Object

At the Postal Museum and Rail Mail I do thank the ITP team, Claire, Jessica and Rebecca, for going out of their way to give me information and link me up with my research work. Attending the ITP twice, as a Fellow and as a Senior Fellow, exposed me to diverse personalities and cultures, beyond the scope of the diversity within my own country. It also made me realise that we all share the same challenges and problems across the world. This was my first time to attend an international conference of such magnitude and I am deeply grateful to the ITP, without whom I may never have gotten such a chance. Asanteni sana - Thank you very much! Eileen Musundi, Nairobi 10th December 2018