Theme and Aims

In the last 20 years, museum development, accompanied by the promotion of the new museology movement and wholesale changes in social environment, has already internalized the concept of “museums for social development,” and attempted to reflect on the museum paradigm as well as to develop new modes of museum communications, with the purpose of reshaping museums’ relationships with the general public. An important question that all this presents is that the way in which museums discuss those matters is not always an absolute, fixed question, but is capable of adopting an attitude and standpoint of recognizing diversity, accepting controversy and facing the future, to respond to many cultural, political and ethical issues. In this view, science and natural history museums are adopting more active, more innovative approaches than in the past to ponder and reflect on all the phenomena and problems created by the modern environment because of the actions of humankind. 

The word, “Anthropocene,” which has recently been the subject of much attention, implies that the extent of human activity on earth has already become an important factor influencing the world’s systems. Humankind is not merely a destroyer of the global environment; he could be a forger and shaper. As a conceptual framework, the anthropocene could help us to consider many scientific, social, cultural, philosophical and ethical problems. People are already conscious of the fact that we are currently living through a global ecological crisis; the COP 21 resolution adopted at the December 2015 Paris climate summit formulated global greenhouse gas reduction objectives, illustrating that humankind is fully conscious that his own activities are a principal factor in current environmental change and the ecological crisis. 

The open and yet vague character of the word, “Anthropocene,” also in many respects challenges museology scholars, museum professionals, and even museum visitors. If humankind has already become an important factor in evolution, this kind of worldview, subjectively and objectively, is deeply reflected in the narrative of museum displays. In fact, the scientific and philosophical aspects of the concept of the anthropocene all force us to break through binary, oppositional (e.g., nature versus culture) and lineal concepts of development. Museology scholars and researchers are also obliged to face many challenges arising from epistemology or practice related to social issues. In the age of the Anthropocene, museum can no longer guarantee the absolute character of knowledge, but must deal with many dialectics, reflections, negotiations, and controversies.

Many contemporary problems and issues, despite having a basis in scientific research, are surrounded by emotional or communicational barriers as far as the general public is concerned. In this context, museums, which are at the same time a resource, an agent and a catalyst, begin to seek different narrative strategies and techniques, launching communication and dialogue with the general public. Within this process, the integration of art by science museums and natural history museums to forge a kind of new space for communications is an exceptionally powerful method. Through the involvement of artists, using on-site manufacturing or art installations, museums create an emotional link between content and audiences. This kind of perceptual sensation can enable visitors to experience more diverse, complex meaning. It’s an effect that traditional knowledge-based displays cannot achieve.

Starting from this perspective, we believe not only that the aesthetic experience within science museums can strengthen visitors' attention and enhance their understanding of the information, but, at the same time, that aesthetic experience is a powerful conversational tool which can establish creative links between researchers, museologists and audiences. Apart from this, as far as visitors are concerned, this kind of experience may be able to transcend the original communicative purpose of the exhibition, reconstructing a more complex perspective.

On the basis of the above, this year’s biennial conference has the following aims:

I.    Through the emphasis on the openness and vagueness of the anthropocene, as well as raising the breadth of scientific, social, cultural and ecological questions arising under the concept of the Anthropocene, to rethink the current character of museums.

 

II.   To test museums' roles in constantly updating, especially the way in which museums create dialogue in different communities, and, through such communicative media as exhibitions, provide diverse perspectives.

 

III.  To explore the imperative for, and challenges involved in, blending art and science in contemporary museum exhibition narratives.

IV.  To explore how museums enhance visitors' sense of responsibility and their spontaneous responses.