Object and Identity in a Digital Age
CHArt 25th ANNUAL CONFERENCE
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Object and Identity in a Digital Age
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Helena Tomlin and Irit Narkiss, The Manchester Museum
Making Connections: Children, Objects, Meanings and Museums
Using the Manchester Museum’s recent project ‘The Museum of Me’ as a case study, we will explore the process of engaging children with museum objects, collecting and the real life work of museum professionals.
Our research project aimed to find out how 10-year-old children from a Manchester primary school could develop their understanding of archaeology. The exhibition ‘Lindow Man - A Bog Body Mystery’ was used as a starting point for activities, extending the multi-vocal ethos developed for the exhibition itself. What made this exhibition of Lindow Man so unique was the presentation of the discovery, research and significance of Lindow Man through various view points, and encouraging visitors to add theirs.
The children worked with two artists to explore in depth the notions of time and identity. The artists brought their specialist practice of sculpture and illustration to the project and developed activities that focussed on process, debate and experimentation. Museum staff also worked with the children to explore how they might interpret, display and care for objects in their own classroom. During visits to The Manchester Museum they critiqued an exhibition, explored the collections, created potions, handled objects and discussed preservation. Back in the classroom, the children created `The Museum of Me'; which included the children's own prized objects and artefacts made with the artists. The children's discussions and preparations were clearly informed by their interactions at the Museum, and these were recorded at every stage by a photographer working alongside the group as well as the children themselves through drawing and note taking in their own personal journals. It was clear that direct contact with objects, enabled them to make cultural connections of their own; validating their own culture and personal memories. The physicality of the object proved a powerful route to the intellectual and conceptual.
Helena Tomlin joined The Manchester Museum as Curator of Learning in 2006. She has a degree in history of art from The Courtauld Institute of Art and an MA in Fine Art. As a practising artist and experienced lecturer and teacher her work crosses different fields of enquiry. After 20 years of leading teams of educators in museums and galleries across the North West, she is now developing research into the ways children learn within the museum environment. Helena has also worked with organizations such as Creative Partnerships, and MLA to evaluate projects involving partnerships with schools, museums, galleries and creative practitioners. She is currently working with The Manchester School Art, Manchester Education Partnership and The University of Salford to develop research into the use of sketchbooks.
Irit Narkiss (ACR) initially trained and worked as an archaeologist. She graduated with a BSc in archaeological conservation from the Institute of Archaeology, UCL in 1994 and developed a portfolio career in conservation in Britain and abroad. In 2003 she attained an MA in Museum Management at Nottingham Trent University. Irit has recently served as Editor of Icon’s The Conservator journal. She has worked at the Manchester Museum since 2004. In her capacity as Conservator of Objects and Access, in addition to ‘usual’ conservation duties, she spends much of her working time at the interface between the collection and collection users.