MuseTube: Satisfying our Museum FOMO

When did YouTube become a vital part of a museums marketing strategy?  A recent outpouring of mini documentaries, behind the scenes peeks and advertisements have entered the stratosphere usually dominated by fancy posters lining the bus stops of London.

Unlike hour long BBC 4  documentaries exploring niche topics and asking probing questions these YouTube mini documentaries provide a quick snapshot of information for the social media generation. But the aims of such film clips fit uneasily across many museums mission statements, they are providing collections access, interacting on social media but do they increase footfall? It's difficult to tell, yet Museum's on Youtube or 'MuseTube's' are dominating our social media timelines. 

We're all aware that the majority of London's museums are accessible on Twitter and Facebook but few are taking advantage of the enthusiastic need to peruse museum videos whilst sitting at home in our pants.  Tate as always appear to be leading the 'Muse-tube' revolution, the field is dominated by their in- house 'Tate Shot's' team. Finding new ways to view the collection their Youtube channel features comedians exploring the galleries,celebrity bakers interpreting paintings and researchers explaining the importance of works.







But the videos are not made only  for the internet. If you decide to put clothes on and head into the galleries you will see that throughout Tate Britain and Tate Modern the films are displayed in those spaces where paintings are not. At Tate Britain  an odd corridor is filled with several screens showing the numerous curators discussing their favourite pieces and how the chronology of the rehang works.






The Science Museum have recently followed suit with  'Mind Maps: Stories from Psychology' where visitors are invited to watch the 2 minute video clip introducing the exhibition upon entering the space. Yet the same video was released on the Museum's Youtube, Twitter and Facebook days before it opened, acting as a  virtual invitation to the show. 





There is no doubt that with so much going on in London's museum these examples are comforting our museum FOMO (fear of missing out) and we're approaching galleries and exhibitions with a pre-conceived idea of what they will be like. Nonetheless this is a great tool that museums can use, gently dispersing our FOMO the Science Museum made sure that we didn't miss out when redeveloping the Shipping Galllery. When the permanent gallery closed in 2012 the museum made a lot of fancy cameras take 275 laser scans and two million point measurements to ensure that the space did not become a figment of imagination and provided an ever present virtual tour.

Thanks to the Horniman's YouTube team we've even been able to go behind the scenes and learn how to transport an overstuffed walrus to the seaside.

It’s also great to see museums and galleries using YouTube to express their politics and join in on a YouTube phenomenon. Led by artist Anish Kapoor and featuring the Serpentine, galleries do Gangnam style.

But perhaps the best selection of MuseTube videos comes from outside of the UK - the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia.  The medical museum's YouTube channel features clips like a ‘Mutter Minute’ and ‘Guess what’s on the Curators desk.' And they are definitely encouraging new crowds (We’re always free for a trip to Philly Mutter Museum!) and providing exceptional collections access that can hopefully influence others.

 MuseTube videos are finding exceptional new ways to engage with audiences and although they may or may not be increasing footfall they are helping us to conquer the fear of missing out and I am particularly thankful that I can explore collections in my pants.

Taking the kids to an Amazon Adventure Including: Vicious Fishes and Other Riches

The Horniman Museum and Gardens has built up quite a reputation for its self; it was officially one of the first established museums in the country and also boasts one of the largest collections of Anthropological artifacts in Europe (not to mention the infamous walrus at the epicentre of the natural history gallery, known to every 2-10 year old in the London area and further). I took the three year old boy I was taking care of who is a Horniman local to the Amazon Adventure temporary exhibition. Being a stalwart he wanted to go straight to the walrus and was dismayed at the least that it had taken a holiday to Margate at this particular time. I am a huge Horniman fan and have visited at least ten times, I was aware of the small size of the temporary exhibition room and was hoping that the £8.10 I paid for one adult and one child would proffer a good few hours of entertainment.

One thing I have always loved about the Horniman, especially as a person who takes a personal interest in spatial arrangements, is the interactive nature of the museum and how it varies between each exhibition room. The variations go from no interaction at all within the natural history hall,  to very noisy musical instruments within the music gallery (so very wonderfully headache inducing when taking kids along) to my personal favorite nature base in which children and adults can look at insects under microscopes, listen to different bird sounds at the spin of a wheel and stroke the very creepy and often badly done taxidermies of foxes and badgers. Needless to say I was expecting a lot of impressive interaction within the Amazon Adventure exhibition…I wasn't let down.

You enter into a real life to scale boat with an interactive video of a captain explaining that the exhibition will mainly entail the types of fish that he would be fishing in the Amazon, but you will also be looking into the other ecology and wildlife on the river. Most of the information was too dense for three year old Arthur and I would suspect for anyone under the age of ten, yet the interactive pictures, puzzles, real life fish, taxidermy, dance floor and wildlife shooting dark room are all areas that interest the children greatly. The general interaction it fantastic but I would say that the close proximity of each section meant that I had nowhere near enough time to read the written information given as it was all too exciting for Arthur. 

The one thing that stuck out to me and to Arthur who are twenty years apart in age (probably not in mentality though), were the 200lb to scale Anaconda that you are invited to attempt to lift, it really did show you the magnitude of the wildlife of the Amazon both in sheer size yet also in contrast to the everyday worms that one may stumble across locally in Forest Hill. 

Over all we were only in there for around 45 minutes, which may be due to Arthur’s shyness and short attention span yet could also be due to the small size of the exhibition room. I don’t resent the price tag as I can see that a huge amount was invested into the interaction within the space and if I had been in the room by myself then I could have spent hours learning about the diverse ecology of the Amazon River. I would perhaps warn those taking children younger than the age of around 4-5 to think twice about paying, as I feel the rest of the museum would have sufficed in entertaining Arthur for the afternoon.


Guest blogger: Alice Colley

Alice is a vintage clothes seller, jewelry maker, face paint fanatic,and often presents herself as  Pres Ident Wensleydale. ( She loves cheese!)

The Ministry Explains it All: Museum of the Year 2013

By now you must have heard of the Art Fund’s Museum of the Year Award either through those nominated proudly proclaiming it to peers, or maybe you have seen a banner outside an institution or even found out about it through the news feed of choice – twitter. Whatever your source I bet you’re wondering what all the fuss is about? Yes, this is an honourable achievement, but did you know out of the ten finalists there are two winners? The ‘Museum of the Year’ winning £100,000 and a second Museum or Gallery benefiting from £10,000 for the Clore Learning Award.

Pretty big prize right? Well to make it even more exciting did you know that three London Museums have made it to the finalist stage? The Horniman Museum and Gardens, The William Morris Gallery and Dulwich Picture Gallery are competing in the top ten to win Museum of the Year 2013.

The Art Fund prize began in 2001 to create an annual prize for museums and galleries; it has since been awarded to the biggest museum – The British Museum in 2011 for the ‘History of the World in 100 Objects’ and lesser known galleries such as The Lightbox Museum and Gallery in Woking. The judges have been visiting the ten finalist (http://www.artfund.org/news/2013/04/02/museum-of-the-year-2013-finalists-announced) institutions since the 2^nd April and although we don’t know exactly what make a ‘Museum of the Year’ the Art Fund specifies that ‘the Prize highlights the innovative and creative ways that museums bring objects and collections to life, looking specifically at activity undertaken in 2012.’

Well in that case I’m sure they enjoyed their visits to London’s offerings! Here at The Ministry we know that The Horniman, William Morris Gallery and Dulwich Picture Gallery are fantastic institutions, but for one weekend The Ministry examined further:

The Horniman Museum and Gardens.

The Horniman Museum and Gardens is situated on London Road in Forest Hill, a collection of Anthropology, Natural history and Musical Instruments, Frederick John Horniman aimed to bring the world into his home. As the son of a successful tea Merchant (Horniman Tea was the most largely produced loose leaf tea in 1891) his disposable cash and status as a Victorian gentleman enabled him to become one of the most prolific collectors of his time. Donating his collection and the site to the London Council in 1901 it has become an iconic part of South East London.

The Man himself, Frederick John Horniman
stood upon a crate of tea.

It’s collection of Anthropology, Natural History and Musical Instruments continue to inspire and leave its visitors in awe. My favourite room is the Centenary Gallery where objects collected by Horniman and his friend Alfred Court Haddon (credited as becoming the first British anthropologist after his trip to the Torres Strait Islands to create a scientific study of people) sit next to contemporary Anthropologists objects.

In 2012 the Museum spoke to London, by bringing objects out of the stores and relating them to the city’s vibrant fashion a clear dialogue of Londoners self-expression and London’s cultural diversity was explained in ‘The Body Adorned’ Exhibition, it received unprecedented attention and was even opened by the one and only Dame Vivienne Westwood.

The most iconic objects on display at the Museum provide interest for children and big kids; the overstuffed Walrus and the merman. They are perfect examples of Victorian curiosity and as The Ministry of Curiosity like to think of themselves as Victorian Gentleman (without the sexism and with less opium) we hold a special place in our hearts for this Museum, and highly recommend it for an unusual day out.

Dulwich Picture Gallery.

Just down the hill from the Horniman and through a beautiful park sits the Dulwich Picture Gallery. In picturesque Dulwich Village it’s impossible to imagine that you are in London let alone in the presences of an amazing collection of ‘Old Master’s’ Paintings.

Bet it takes a while to dust all of those fancy frames. 

The Gallery has a vibrant history with its collection acquired by numerous influential individuals in the arts, housing collections bequeathed by Edward Alleyne (1566 – 1626) and William Carthwright in 1686. The early 19^th Century saw a dramatic improvement in the collection when Sir Francis Bourgeois and Noel Desenfans left works to the Gallery. Originally collected for Poland’s National Collection the numerous Old Master paintings had taken them so long to collect that Poland had been partitioned when they finished in 1795. On the death of the remaining partner Dessefan’s the collection was left to the Gallery with a stipulation for the construction of a new Gallery designed by Sir John Soane. Opened to the public in 1817 Dulwich Picture Gallery is now the oldest public Art Gallery in England.

Pride and prettiness in one vase.

On my first visit to the Gallery, I was actually a bit disappointed having become used to the massive spaces of Central London galleries the building seemed tiny. But their collection of ‘Old Masters’ (Old Masters refers to the painters of skill before 1800) left me in awe. Works from the Dutch Golden Age and Italian Renaissance dominate the walls and I was amazed to find one of my favourite 17^th Century paintings there, (I actually squealed with excitement).

The ‘Old Master’ Jan Van Huysun’s ‘Vase with Flowers’ is a typical expression of the nationalistic approach from the Dutch School, the flower trade of Holland and the newly formed Dutch republic were widely celebrated with the use of flowers and maps in paintings. I love it not only for its political celebration but because of its range of blues and striking reds. Thanks to the Dulwich Picture Gallery a postcard of this now adorns my wall.

In 2012 the Gallery celebrated its bicentenary (wow!) and with its third century it ‘refocused a sense of its founders desires to display art for the inspection of the public’ according to the Art Fund. Here at The Ministry we have indeed noticed that it has been striving to reach out to new audiences, with an amazing lecture programme and regular film nights the Gallery is captivating a fresh audience.

William Morris Gallery.

As a South Londoner (by location only) the Horniman and Dulwich Picture Gallery were only a bus ride away, but to visit the William Morris Gallery I had to battle the length and breadth of the Victoria Line. When I arrived in Walthamstow Central the hour and a half spent travelling felt minimal. William Morris was a Victorian man of many talents and I loved how the gallery explored each aspect of his life.

 Situated in Morris’ teenage home the gallery tells a chronological story of his political beliefs, influential friendships and subsequent associations with the Pre Raphaelites (a Victorian brotherhood of revolutionary artists) to aspects of his life that inspired his infamous work as a textile designer. He believed that beauty is a basic human need and his production of textiles was in defiance of the mass production of the industrial revolution with a determination to raise the standards of manufactured goods.

Maybe modern protestors should make a
lovely banner like this rather than
'This wouldn't happen at Hogwarts'

My favourite piece in the gallery is William Morris’ socialist banner, I felt that this summarised him so well as a person, the banner designed by him of course, his close friend and a founding member of the Pre Raphaelite brotherhood Edward Burne Jones designing the image and the purpose of the banner to proclaim Morris relentless support to socialism.

Grayson Perry is a textile designer too,
 but maybe not as classic as Morris.

The William Morris Gallery reopened after a major redevelopment in 2012, and now holds a temporary exhibition space, currently displaying David Bailey photographer the space has also housed artist Grayson Perry’s Walthamstow tapestry. From The Ministry’s point of view we can see a space so idyllically transformed where so many depths of a person’s life can be explored through the sight of their beautiful objects.

 Who will win? Well we will find out on the 4^th of June, fingers crossed and best of luck for all of the finalists nationwide!

For more information and to find out where the judges have been this week 

http://www.artfund.org/what-we-do/museum-of-the-year-2013

And More information about the Museums...

The Horniman Museum is open daily from 10.30am to 5.30pm, entry is free but with a small charge for the aquarium. 

http://www.horniman.ac.uk/home

Follow them on twitter @HornimanMuseum and learn about the collection @Horniman Reviews

Dulwich Picture Gallery is open Tuesday to Friday 10am - 5pm and Saturday and Sunday 11am - 5pm. £6 Admission cost for Adults.

http://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/

Follow them on twitter @DulwichGallery

The William Morris Gallery is open Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm and is free of charge.

http://www.wmgallery.org.uk/

Follow them on twitter @WMGallery

My History Valentine: Frederick John Horniman (1835 – 1906) SocialReformer, Tea Endorser and South Londoner.

To my Darling Frederick John Horniman, 

Since our first introduction four years ago I have been struck with one of your many beautiful arrows and my life has changed. From a mere presence to an obsession you have shown me the world through your ethnographic pieces, Victorian curiosity,  love of tea and politics. 

All of this information has been learnt through your presence in history and what I have seen in your collection. I long to view your hand stroke the merman you so desired, the other clasped tightly around your spears whilst ogling the beautiful butterfly named in your honour. But you have been gone since 1906. 

My great love for you is fueled by your drive, to think that your enthusiasm to collect and subsequent philanthropy were all down to Tea. My love for the magical substance is as strong as those freshly packaged leaves, but I would give India's supply up to be your cup of tea. 




Your drive to collect may not have been as strangely obsessive as Henry Wellcome's, but your interests were specific to ethnography, India and natural history unlike that American who collected anything 'medical.' Your selection of ethnographic objects brought the world to Forest Hill, anthropologists out of their armchairs and south Londoners to an awesome museum they can call their own.

 I love to read about how your collection swallowed your home, filling all of the gaps. Your wife Rebecca's ultimatium,  (her or the collection!) disgusted me. I would have relished in the expansion of your curiosities,  prancing about the house dusting the beautiful objects and hopefully admiring your handsomeness.

Your passion as a social reformer, a man of politics and power drives me wild. I love a man who knows what he wants and will give it all up for the sake of the public, when I heard you had donated your collection to the London County Council in 1901 my heart flutted like the Papollo Horniman. 

I can continue to praise you but will you ever love me back? I would and will continue to love you more than you loved your collection and wife combined. I know your standards are high, I heard whispers that you thought your own daughter to be so ugly that she couldn't be painted, so could my beauty match that of your ethnographic masks?

 I only hope we can meet one day, and I can find out if your name reflects your personality.

Yours forever, 

Terri 

Curiosities in Crystal Palace.

Today I spent the afternoon looking for curiosities in Crystal Palace, I love this part of South London. It's full of nick nack junk shops, pretty pubs and dinosaurs. It's here I always manage to find a few bargain curiosities and a few pretty special ones that are a bit pricier! 

The area of Crystal Palace screams curiosities and collecting to me, due to its connection with the Great Exhibitions of 1851. The original 'Crystal Palace' was situated in Hyde park and held the Great Exhibition of 1851, a showcase of Victorian Culture and Technology  with 14,000 exhibitors from around the world celebrating Queen Victoria's British Empire, commerce and the industrial revolution. The exhibition had numerous  'celebrity' visitors such as Charles Darwin and Charles Dickens but it importantly inspired a new generation of academic celebrities - the Victorian middle class collectors.

The Great Exhibition 1851

 One of these in particular Frederick Horniman was unable to visit the Great Exhibition but through its relocation to South London in 1854, he became closely connected to it. Horniman from a family of tea traders was a wealthy middle class Victorian gentleman living in Coombe Cliff in Croydon, and its presence provided a constant reminder of the exhibition that bought together art, commerce and technology and of course displaying it for all to see. Horniman began his collection shortly afterwards in 1860, soon marrying and moving to Surrey House, 100 London Road, Forest Hill where he filled his house with predominantly ethnographic curiosities until his wife had enough and gave him the ultimatum her or the collection. Luckily for us he chose her and the Horniman Museum was donated to the London County Council in 1901. 

Frederick Horniman.

The Crystal Palace however was destroyed in 1936 by fire but the area remained prosperous. The grounds were the Palace stood are vast but the crystal palace dinosaurs make up for that! Today the streets of Crystal Palace hold a few great junk shops, today I found an awesome pink tobacco pot and a 20th century thermometer, but the seller wasn't in so I couldn't buy them :( 

My two favourite shops are: 

Belle Coco (http://www.bellecoco.com) - a mixture of brilliant retro electronics, 70's lighting and fifties festival of Britain prints. Plus they sell amazing seventies Bar's in here that I'm desperate to get my hands on. My favourite curiosity today however was this  80's TV, with Super Mario! 

Belle Coco

Bambino (http://bambinocoffee.wordpress.com0  - is also pretty cool, its got a lovely coffee shop where you can sit amongst the curiosities, here is a wide selection of nick naks, bags and vintage coats, I've also spotted a few nice tables and medical pieces in here. 

Bambino

After all of the hunting though I came away with some lovely candles from Milk House Candles, and a belly full of a yummy burger from Westow House pub (I'd recommend any pub in the Antic chain for great cask ales and burgers across South and South East London) 

Weird and Wonderful candle scents from Milkhouse Candles http://www.milkhousecandles.co.uk/

Brilliant Burgers from Westow House http://www.westowhouse.com/