Mishandling Collections

Museums nowadays are faced with two pressures (among many).

• How do we increase visitor numbers? 
• How do we increase access to collections?  

Its important to remember that the public only ever see 10% of the collection a museum holds, and, although the audience has increased through specific project funding to identify non-visiting communities, there has not been a sustained general increase in museum visitors?

Lots of money has been thrown at the problem, but what is really needed is some cloudy thinking.  In the Museum of Unreason we can rationalise the collections, increase the access and visitor numbers in one fell swoop without spending a penny.

Museum ethics do not encourage the selling of collections, but a lot of ‘stuff’ in the stores is of little monetary value anyway. Some museums rationalise their stores and create handling collections for schools for their less important objects. This has more promise but needs cloudy development.  Add to this the research that shows women make the cultural decisions in the household. So unless you are lucky to be a military/railway/engineering museum how do you attract that great lost audience - the working class male? The Museum of Unreason has the answer.

The solution - develop a mishandling collection.

      Invite the public to come up with interesting ways to mishandle objects with the ultimate aim of destruction. The winner gets to do it. Exploiting inherent male violence.
2.     If you’ve go a lot of one type of object, invite teams to compete to destroy objects against the clock and award the Unreasonable Object Care Trophy to the winners. This exploits inherent male competitiveness.
3.     If other museums take this up get your friends groups to compete against each other. Men like team games.
4.     Establish trails around the museum  ‘supermarket sweep’ meets ‘demolition derby’ – tickets could be sold to watch it. Fun for all the family.

Crazy you may say, BUT think of the benefits to the museum.

      More storage space – admit it your museum stores are crammed full.
2.     Suddenly 10% of collection on display becomes 50% by having reduced the number of items in store, thus giving increased access to collections.
3.     A general increase in visitor numbers, with men becoming empowered cultural consumers
4.     Your complacent curators are now on their toes with their research to make sure they keep the important stuff from destruction.
5.     Your exhibits are now more valuable because the objects in them are now rarer.
6.     Your acquisitions and disposals policy can be re-written to accept any old rubbish, as long the donor is made aware it might go into a handling collection. So when your front of house staff are offered the contents of granny’s attic it is accepted with glee.

          

           Remember, if you are still unsure, there is no such thing as bad publicity.