MaILHoC: Museums and Industry: Long Histories of Collaboration
Lead Research Organisation:
Science Museum Group
Department Name: Science Museum Research
Abstract
The starting point of Museums and Industry: Long Histories of Collaboration (MaILHoC) is that museums of science, technology, and medicine (STM heritage) are in a state of upheaval.
STM heritage is a child of the industrial revolution; it would not have existed without the patronage of industry. But processes of deindustrialisation, concerns about human impacts on the environment, and the influence of ideas like the degrowth movement, have turned this relationship into a source of controversy. Why does it seem that this long history has only recently been considered unethical?
By examining this phenomenon, MaILHoC responds directly to the challenge to 'explore the relationship between cultural heritage, democratic values, and politics in a historic perspective.' It examines how and by whom narratives about cultural heritage are produced, used, and communicated in different contexts.
To date, while there have been studies of the industrial patronage of the sciences, there is almost nothing on the industrial patronage of STM heritage. MaILHoC addresses this substantial lacuna by examining case studies from France, Spain, and the UK.
Drawing on this analysis we will: (i) describe historical attitudes towards industrial patronage; (ii) explore the actual or likely consequences of new approaches; (iii) explore the implicit normativity of existing practices, and (iv) analyse the institutionalisation of ethics in STM heritage.
MaILHoC's consortium of universities, museums and publishers will disseminate a range of interdisciplinary research outputs through a wide variety of scholarly, public and media channels.
While ethical dilemmas cannot ever be finally resolved, MaILHoC will both generate new understandings and build our social capabilities for a better informed, and more participative deliberation of the relationships between STM heritage and its industrial patrons.
STM heritage is a child of the industrial revolution; it would not have existed without the patronage of industry. But processes of deindustrialisation, concerns about human impacts on the environment, and the influence of ideas like the degrowth movement, have turned this relationship into a source of controversy. Why does it seem that this long history has only recently been considered unethical?
By examining this phenomenon, MaILHoC responds directly to the challenge to 'explore the relationship between cultural heritage, democratic values, and politics in a historic perspective.' It examines how and by whom narratives about cultural heritage are produced, used, and communicated in different contexts.
To date, while there have been studies of the industrial patronage of the sciences, there is almost nothing on the industrial patronage of STM heritage. MaILHoC addresses this substantial lacuna by examining case studies from France, Spain, and the UK.
Drawing on this analysis we will: (i) describe historical attitudes towards industrial patronage; (ii) explore the actual or likely consequences of new approaches; (iii) explore the implicit normativity of existing practices, and (iv) analyse the institutionalisation of ethics in STM heritage.
MaILHoC's consortium of universities, museums and publishers will disseminate a range of interdisciplinary research outputs through a wide variety of scholarly, public and media channels.
While ethical dilemmas cannot ever be finally resolved, MaILHoC will both generate new understandings and build our social capabilities for a better informed, and more participative deliberation of the relationships between STM heritage and its industrial patrons.
Organisations
- Science Museum Group (Lead Research Organisation)
- Deutsches Museum (Collaboration)
- University of Leeds (Collaboration)
- University of Westminster (Collaboration)
- National Air and Space Museum (Collaboration)
- Norsk Teknisk Museum (Collaboration)
- KING'S COLLEGE LONDON (Collaboration)
- University of Leicester (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF LONDON (Project Partner)
- DEMOS (Project Partner)
Publications
Bud R
(2024)
Interview with Robert Bud conducted by Emily Rees
Byrne A
(2024)
Une courte histoire des liens entre industrie et Musées de Sciences et de Techniques
in le Bulletin de l'AMCSTI
Jupp J
(2023)
The Ethics of Museum Patronage
Lourenco M
(2024)
Interview with Marta Lourenço conducted by Miquel Carandell Baruzzi
Parker H
(2024)
Book review: The Museum of Other People, by Adam Kuper (London: Profile, 2023)
in Science Museum Group Journal
Parker H
(2024)
On Museum Ethics
Rees Koerner E
(2024)
Ethics in a Museum Setting: An Example Workshop
| Description | As the first research project to subject industrial patronage of museums to any kind of scrutiny, MaILHoC's main achievement has consisted in generating a vast amount of new knowledge about the history of the museum sector. Generating this knowledge has enabled several further achievements: - It has pieced together a clear history of shifts in policy, internal organisation, and funding for museums over the last 50-100 years, in forms that can be of direct use not only to historians, but to policymakers and practitioners today. - It has made several key contributions in the field of Museum Studies and History of Science, by using museum-patron relationships as an optic to re-examine longstanding questions about the connection between museum displays and power. - It has built up a suite of historical data and run a series of engagement events based on this data that have worked to overcome what the project has identified as a major and increasing deficiency in institutional memory within museums. The original MaILHoC grant proposal mentioned two key research objectives: (1) to understand how museums have historically relied on support from industry, and with what effects; and (2) to use this history to offer new approaches to thinking about the ethics of museum-industry relationships. Meeting the first objective has proceeded by analysing discrete case studies, and highlighting the wide diversity of forms of industrial patronage, and the range of ways in which this patronage has impacted museums. Through putting these case studies in conversation with each other the second objective has also been met: a clear picture is now emerging of the ways in which ethical behaviour has been shaped and reshaped in the last fifty years or so. Special research attention in this respect is being attached to the period around the 1970s and 1980s, for reasons that MaILHoC's published outputs have explored/will explore. |
| Exploitation Route | Researchers: the research-based resources and published outputs of MaILHoC will be clear aids to further research. The collection of interviews with museum practitioners, for instance, contain much that is valuable for anyone wishing to write about the recent history of the museum sector. Outside of history/museum studies, however, there is clear potential for researchers working in cultural policy and applied ethics to use the materials and insights produced by the project. Professionals: MaILHoC's ethics workshops will be of direct assistance to museum practitioners in navigating complex ethical issues. Its historical findings will also help to redress a major gap in institutional memory within the museum sector, and thus help to inform more effective leadership and decision-making. Policymakers: the project has identified a lack of knowledge about the history of the museum sector among policymakers; the historical knowledge we have produced will help to inform decision-making about what is likely to prove helpful and unhelpful as policy interventions into the museum sector. |
| Sectors | Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
| URL | https://sciencemuseumgroup.iro.bl.uk/collections/afa7fa4c-4412-48e8-a97b-4f16456ad076?locale=en |
| Description | Grant for February 2024 project workshop |
| Amount | € 1,980 (EUR) |
| Organisation | Aix-Marseille University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | France |
| Start | 02/2024 |
| End | 02/2024 |
| Title | MaILHoC practitioner interviews and talks |
| Description | The Museums and Industry: Long Histories of Collaboration (MaILHoC) project team have run a series of practitioner talks and interviews, covering the lives and careers of several important figures in the museum world over the last 40 years. Its particular focus has been on practitioners in museums of science and technology, in the UK, Spain, and Portugal, including several former Directors of the Science Museum. The project team conducted, recorded and transcribed these interviews and talks, and collated the edited transcripts for use by researchers and practitioners alike. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Storing these interviews in the Science Museum Group Research Repository will enable their further use by other researchers looking to investigate any aspect of the recent history of the museum sector in the UK, Spain and Portugal. |
| URL | https://sciencemuseumgroup.iro.bl.uk/collections/5e5f1eac-8862-4a47-82f7-9b81b6bf2ca5?locale=en |
| Description | Collaboration with Deutsches Museum |
| Organisation | Deutsches Museum |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Since 2023, MaILHoC has been collaborating with Dr Ulrich Kernbach from the Deutsches Museum, Munich. The project team has hosted workshops, discussions, and knowledge exchange events, and its published outputs will be a venue for publication. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Dr Kernbach has agreed to act as a speaker and discussant for MaILHoC's programme of practitioner talks and roundtables. |
| Impact | Dr Ulrich Kernbach, Head of Exhibitions and Collections at the Deutsches Museum, Munich, was a keynote speaker at MaILHoC's project workshop / engagement event at Universite Aix-Marseille in February 2024. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Collaboration with Smithsonian Air and Space Museum |
| Organisation | National Air and Space Museum |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Since 2023, MaILHoC has been collaborating with Dr Margaret Weitekamp from the National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC. The project team has hosted workshops, discussions, and knowledge exchange events, and its outputs will be a venue for publication. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Dr Weitekamp has contributed time and expertise by agreeing to act as a speaker and discussant for MaILHoC's programme of practitioner talks and roundtables, and will contribute to a forthcoming edited volume. |
| Impact | Dr Margaret Weitekamp, Curator and Department Chair at the National Air and Space Museum, was a keynote speaker at MaILHoC's project workshop / engagement event at Universite Aix-Marseille in February 2024. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Collaboration with University of Leeds Global Ethics MA |
| Organisation | University of Leeds |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The MaILHoC team hosted a reading group and knowledge exchange session with students from the MA in Global Ethics at the University of Leeds. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Two students from the Global Ethics MA at the University of Leeds presented their work to the group. |
| Impact | Multidisciplinary collaboration between the fields of Applied Ethics and History/History of Science. The collaboration resulted in a report written by Jasmine Jupp and Lucy Hamilton on the Ethics of Museum Patronage, hosted on the SMG Research Repository. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Partnership with King's College London |
| Organisation | King's College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Since 2023 MaILHoC has been collaborating with applied ethicist Jon Owens from King's College London. MaILHoC's contribution has been to invite Dr Owens to speak at the project's inaugural workshop, which gathered several key museum practitioners. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Dr Owens's main contribution has been the provision of expertise and time. |
| Impact | The main outcome of this collaboration so far has been the planning, organisation, and delivery of an ethics workshop for museum practitioners. This was first delivered as 'Ethics in a Museum Setting: An Example Workshop' by Emily Rees Koerner in Oslo in 2024, and it drew directly from the insights and suggestions made by Dr Owens from King's College London. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Partnership with Norsk Teknisk Museum |
| Organisation | Norsk Teknisk Museum |
| Country | Norway |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Organisation of a two-day research workshop in September 2024 in conjunction with research project 'Sustainable Energy Narratives' (BEN), including research presentations, film screenings, panel discussion, recorded interviews, and an ethics workshop for museum practitioners. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Organisation of a two-day research workshop in September 2024, including research presentations. Provision of venue, staff time, speakers. |
| Impact | The primary output of this partnership was a two-day research workshop in Oslo in September 2024, which drew together an audience researchers, museum professionals, and industry figures to discuss museum patronage and sponsorship in international, comparative, perspective. The collaboration also led to the delivery of MaILHoC's first ever ethics workshop, in a format which has since become a template for all further workshops. The training materials used at this workshop (Rees Koerner E, 'Ethics in a Museum Setting: An Example Workshop') have since been published on the SMG Research Repository. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Training collaboration with University of Leicester |
| Organisation | University of Leicester |
| Department | School of Museum Studies |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Provision of a training session for the 'Developing Professional Practice' module in the MA in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester. The session consisted of an extended interview with Sir Neil Cossons about his career in museum leadership, preceded by a talk by Dr Harry Parker setting out the historical context. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Professor Tilly Blyth, former Head of School, conducted the interview with Sir Neil Cossons. The University of Leicester provided recording equipment and a venue. |
| Impact | Multi-disciplinary collaboration between History/History of Science and Museum Studies. Outputs included: Engagement event - a presentation and training session delivered for the MA in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester. Research data - an edited transcript of an interview with Sir Neil Cossons |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Training collaboration with University of Westminster |
| Organisation | University of Westminster |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Organisation of a training session for MA Museum Studies, University of Westminster, in December 2024, consisting of an interview with Dame Liz Forgan. Dr Scott Anthony conducted the interview. Separately, Dr Emily Rees Koerner taught a session on museum sponsorship and patronage for the MA students in November 2024. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of venue, introductory talk given by Dr Alison Hess (University of Westminster). Dr Hess also submitted an abstract for an upcoming journal special issue. |
| Impact | Research data: recorded interview with Dame Liz Forgan, stored on the SMG research repository. Publication: Alison Hess has contributed an abstract to a proposal for a journal special issue. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Applied Science, Policy, and Power: Robert Bud in conversation with Sir Geoff Mulgan |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In May 2024 the Science Museum hosted a book launch for Robert Bud MBE and his new book 'Applied Science' (CUP, 2024). This took the form of a dialogue between Dr Bud and Sir Geoff Mulgan. The discussion was chaired by Deborah Cohen, Science Editor at ITV, and attendees were drawn from media, policy, academia, and museums/heritage. An introduction by Dr Scott Anthony drew attention to the MaILHoC project and its focus on questions of power and patronage in science. The event was extremely successful in raising awareness of the project across a range of high-profile audiences. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Dame Liz Forgan interview, University of Westminster |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | 20 or so students taking the MA in Museum Studies (many of them international students) attended a live interview in December 2024 organised by the project team in conjunction with its partner, the University of Westminster. The interview was with Dame Liz Forgan, former Chairman of the Arts Council (among other roles), and was conducted by Dr Scott Anthony. The school reported increased interest in the history of the heritage sector; the interview was recorded and is now available open-access on the SMG Research Repository as a source of data for future research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Keynote talk and project workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 20 July the Science Museum hosted a public lecture by Dinah Casson, CBE RDI a British interior designer, specialising in museum and exhibition design which examined issues and example relating to the patronage of exhibitions and display. Dinah also joined the project team for discussions - including with a number of practitioners, representatives from industry, publishing, and the policy making world - to help us shape the research direction of the project. The talk was extremely successful in raising the profile of the project amongst museum practitioners - a key audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Museum Studies training, University of Westminster |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | In November 2024, Emily Rees Koerner taught a class for the MA in Museum Studies at the University of Westminster on 'Management in Cultural Heritage Organisations'. The class drew directly on the insights gained from MaILHoC's research, thus extending the reach of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Project Workshop, Oslo |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In September 2024 MaILHoC hosted a joint workshop with the Norsk Teknisk Museum, drawing around 20-30 professional museum practitioners from across Norway. A significant element in the event was discussing research insights with Jannik Lindbaek from Equinor, a major sponsor of museums in Norway and the UK, thereby extending the reach of the research beyond the museum world. Another significant outcome of the event was the first 'ethics in a museum setting' workshop, led by Emily Rees Koerner, which was extremely well received among the professional practitioners present. The ethics workshop also drew on a longstanding collaboration between MaILHoC and Dr Jon Owens of King's College London. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Project workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We held a project workshop on 26-27 February, Aix-en-Provence, France. The largest impact of the workshop was gathering together of new international expertise. Notably with contributions from Michèle Antoine, Director of Exhibitions, UNIVERSCIENCE, Andrée Bergeron, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle and Bertrand Cousin, Director of exhibitions, Musées des Arts et Metiers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Project workshop, Barcelona |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In December 2024, MaILHoC hosted its fourth and final project workshop in Barcelona. The event brought together around 15 academics and museum directors from across Spain and Portugal, thus broadening the project's audiences and allowing it to benefit from new international expertise. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Reading Group - Museum ethics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | To help us orientate the project, from September 2023 we have run a bimonthly reading group. The reading group has allowed us to build a professional network and orientate our archival research, but it has also led to us building a relationship with the ethics programme at the University of Leeds and building a relationship with their faculty and postgraduate students. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| Description | Sir Neil Cossons interview, University of Leicester |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | 70 or so students taking the MA in Museum Studies (many of them international students) attended a live interview organised by the project team in conjunction with its partner, the University of Leicester School of Museum Studies. The interview was with Sir Neil Cossons, former Director of the Science Museum, and was conducted by Professor Tilly Blyth. The school reported increased interest in the history of the museum sector; the interview was recorded and is now available open-access on the SMG Research Repository as a source of data for future research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Symposium: Past, Present and Future of Food |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Nearly 35 years on from the Science Museum's seminal Future of Food gallery - itself the subject of a seminal museum studies text by Sharon MacDonald - the Science Museum is planning a new Future of Food exhibition. This workshop and public talk bought together curators from Science Museum shows old and new to discuss the making of exhibitions. In the afternoon curators from the Food Museum, the Wellcome Collection, and the Museum of English Rural Life discussed contemporary issues around the display of food and agriculture. The public sessions were an enormous success drawing a range of high profile figures form the heritage sector. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |