RESIDENTIAL CONFERENCE: WHAT ARE MUSEUMS FOR?
CUMBERLAND LODGE, THE GREAT PARK, WINDSOR
FRIDAY 17 SEPTEMBER TO SUNDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 2004

The traditional role of both science and humanities museums has changed.
Rather than focusing on preserving, studying and presenting their
collections, museums may now be required to take on a variety of social
functions - including social inclusion, lifelong learning and recognising
group identities. Has taking on these tasks left the museum overburdened and
confused about its role? Can and should museums make people feel better and
affirm their identity? Are scholarship and the collection under threat?
Museums' right to retain or interpret artifacts from non-western societies
has also been challenged. Some argue for repatriation, or the involvement of
indigenous groups in interpreting objects and designing exhibitions. Who
owns culture? Is there a danger we close down understanding if only one
selected group can speak about culture? What is the role of the curator, and
who should decide what we collect in the future?

This conference will explore the new roles of the museum, examining their
intellectual roots and consequences. It has been planned in consultation
with Josie Appleton (spiked-online.com), Dr Gareth Griffiths (British Empire
and Commonwealth Museum), Tiffany Jenkins (Institute of Ideas) and Raj Pal
(Oak House Museum). See the Cumberland Lodge website.
(http://www.cumberlandlodge.ac.uk)

Sessions include: Collect to connect - museums are getting better at
connecting but have forgotten about collecting, Social Inclusion: is it
destroying the collection? , A sense of place: museums and identity , What
can museums teach us? , The universal museum, Who owns culture?, The role of
the curator, What should we collect?

Speakers include:
JULIAN SPALDING author, 'The Poetic Museum and The Eclipse of Art'
TRISTRAM BESTERMAN director, Manchester Museum
MAURICE DAVIES deputy director, Museums Association
DR NICK MERRIMAN University College London
PROFESSOR RICHARD FORTEY Department of Palaeontology, Natural History
Museum, London 
DR KATHERINE HANN Head of Education and Interpretation, British Empire and
Commonwealth Museum
DAVID BARRIE director of the National Art Collections Fund
JOHN MACKENZIE formerly Professor of Imperial History, University of
Lancaster 
PROFESSOR EILEAN HOOPER-GREENHILL Museum Studies, University of Leicester
PROFESSOR FRANK FUREDI, School of Social Policy, Sociology, and Social
Research, University of Kent
TIFFANY JENKINS director of arts and society, Institute of Ideas
MARK FISHER MP 
PETER JENKINSON national director, Creative Partnerships, Arts Council
DR GARETH GRIFFITHS director, British Empire and Commonwealth Museum
JENNI CALDER formerly National Museums of Scotland
JOSIE APPLETON spiked
GARRY MORRIS Merseyside Maritime Museum
DR ALAN BORG recently director, Victoria and Albert Museum

TICKETS: £250 (student price £50) The conference fee includes accommodation
and meals. Bursaries are available for those who would like to attend but
who might have difficulty in meeting the full cost of the conference.
Requests for bursaries should be make to the conference organiser, Sandra
Willson, who can be contacted on 01784 497781 or
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BOOKING: Contact Janis Reeves, Conference Administrator, Cumberland Lodge,
The Great Park, Windsor SL4 2HP Fax: 01784 49 77 99
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Cumberland Lodge initiates fresh debate on issues of national and
international significance. It is independent and so able to promote frank
discussion and cross-sector cooperation on matters affecting the development
of society. Its conferences explore connections in the following areas:
international affairs, especially concerning the Commonwealth; education and
culture; law and order; media and society. http://www.cumberlandlodge.ac.uk