Reflecting the Now: Project Management and Contemporary Collecting in a Multi-disciplinary Museum

Nearly two million visitors a year will pass through the new permanent galleries of the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. This article reflects on the planning and collecting that presaged their redevelopment in the context of twenty-first century museum practice in the UK. We focus in parti...

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Main Authors: Samuel J M M Alberti, Stephen Allen, Xavier Dectot, Ruth Gill
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Leicester 2018-01-01
Series:Museum & Society
Online Access:https://journals.le.ac.uk/ojs1/index.php/mas/article/view/2427
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author Samuel J M M Alberti
Stephen Allen
Xavier Dectot
Ruth Gill
author_facet Samuel J M M Alberti
Stephen Allen
Xavier Dectot
Ruth Gill
author_sort Samuel J M M Alberti
collection DOAJ
description Nearly two million visitors a year will pass through the new permanent galleries of the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. This article reflects on the planning and collecting that presaged their redevelopment in the context of twenty-first century museum practice in the UK. We focus in particular on two elements: firstly, the fundamental project management work that underpins any development of this kind. Were established methodologies and practices conducive to open-ended, outcomes-based objectives such as research? Secondly, we ask this question specifically in relation to contemporary collecting in art, and in science. How can the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns of contemporary collecting be mainstreamed in project management workflows? What boundaries endure in museum processes and products?
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spelling doaj.art-60aa97a99b1a41728d5b4392ed8d0db82022-12-21T18:33:59ZengUniversity of LeicesterMuseum & Society1479-83602018-01-0115332434210.29311/mas.v15i3.24272412Reflecting the Now: Project Management and Contemporary Collecting in a Multi-disciplinary MuseumSamuel J M M Alberti0Stephen Allen1Xavier Dectot2Ruth Gill3National Museums ScotlandNational Museums ScotlandNational Museums ScotlandNational Museums ScotlandNearly two million visitors a year will pass through the new permanent galleries of the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. This article reflects on the planning and collecting that presaged their redevelopment in the context of twenty-first century museum practice in the UK. We focus in particular on two elements: firstly, the fundamental project management work that underpins any development of this kind. Were established methodologies and practices conducive to open-ended, outcomes-based objectives such as research? Secondly, we ask this question specifically in relation to contemporary collecting in art, and in science. How can the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns of contemporary collecting be mainstreamed in project management workflows? What boundaries endure in museum processes and products?https://journals.le.ac.uk/ojs1/index.php/mas/article/view/2427
spellingShingle Samuel J M M Alberti
Stephen Allen
Xavier Dectot
Ruth Gill
Reflecting the Now: Project Management and Contemporary Collecting in a Multi-disciplinary Museum
Museum & Society
title Reflecting the Now: Project Management and Contemporary Collecting in a Multi-disciplinary Museum
title_full Reflecting the Now: Project Management and Contemporary Collecting in a Multi-disciplinary Museum
title_fullStr Reflecting the Now: Project Management and Contemporary Collecting in a Multi-disciplinary Museum
title_full_unstemmed Reflecting the Now: Project Management and Contemporary Collecting in a Multi-disciplinary Museum
title_short Reflecting the Now: Project Management and Contemporary Collecting in a Multi-disciplinary Museum
title_sort reflecting the now project management and contemporary collecting in a multi disciplinary museum
url https://journals.le.ac.uk/ojs1/index.php/mas/article/view/2427
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