In this thesis, I address the role of museums in contemporary Scotland, with specific reference to Glasgow Museums, the city of Glasgow’s municipal museums service. The empirical research focused on both the policy landscape within which Scottish museums are emplaced, and the activities and practices of museum staff. The research involved interviews with museum professionals, and participant observation within the museums service. The research findings emphasise the complexity of the role that museums play in contemporary society. In the thesis, I attempt to articulate the policy concept of social inclusion insofar as is it articulated within Glasgow Museums. I argue that in recent years Glasgow Museums has attempted to re-orientate its service around social inclusion, and yet the diffuse nature of the concept, coupled with the complexity of the institutional and organisational configurations within which it is implemented, means that many different – and extremely diverse – activities come to be considered part of the social inclusion agenda. The complex set of power relations through which social inclusion is articulated often results in conflict between different museum venues, departments and cohorts of staff. Through an examination of the theory underpinning the concept of social inclusion, and the practices privileged as part of Glasgow Museums’ commitment to social inclusion, I argue that it could usefully be understood as a therapeutic technology. I also suggest that community engagement has become an increasingly important part of socially inclusive practice within Glasgow Museums, yet I contend that community engagement represents a new and largely uncharted territory for many museum professionals. Through an exploration of the planning and execution of a community engagement project – entitled Curious – I argue that community engagement could usefully be thought of as a form of care. As a result, I contend that community engagement requires distinctive skills, and that these skills are often explicitly gendered.

The purpose of this study is to gain understanding of the types and purposes of art museum educational programs, services and collaborative projects that have been developed by art museum educators for university audiences. Additionally, this study examines the challenges in creating and sustaining these educational experiences. This study presents results from an exploratory qualitative web survey administered to art museum educators from public, private, and university art museums. This study provides insight into the relationships between the art museum educators and the university audiences. Additionally, this study underscores the importance of understanding theoretical differences from which art museum educators and university audiences view the educational role of the art museum and its collections.

Since the 1960s, the Petersburg Area Art League (PAAL) has obtained works of art for its permanent collection through purchases, private donations, and through the local art show, the Poplar Lawn Art Festival, later known as Artfest. Recently, however, the organization has decided to become a non-collecting institution in order to focus on its mission to promote the arts in Petersburg through gallery shows for local artists and educational programs. While PAAL’s staff members share a love of art and a dedication to the local community, they have not been trained in professional standards for handling museum collections as outlined by the American Association of Museums (AAM). Consequently, the PAAL collection had not been adequately documented or stored in a manner that protected the works from potential damage or degradation. This museums project was designed to help the Petersburg Area Art League meet AAM standards. During the summer of 2010, the collection of 150 artworks was accessioned; its storage facility was reorganized; a database was created; and a collections management policy that would ensure the continued care of the collection after the completion of this project was written and approved. This paper describes challenges encountered and resolved during the two-month project and provides a reference for those who wish to take on similar projects in the future.

Since the inception of new museum theory, and the emphasis it places on the social purpose of museums within society, museum professionals and museum studies theorists have struggled to define what role museums must take in combating prejudices and fostering better understating of difference. Richard Sandell is one such theorist who writes about the importance of, and need for, greater inclusion of disabled artists and works of art containing themes of disability into exhibitions and display. This thesis examines Sandell’s scholarship, noting its foundation in new museum theory and disability studies, and then, employing a case study of the American Visionary Art Museum, illustrates the issues illuminated in Sandell’s writing. Finally, utilizing the case study, this thesis will offer aims for further research within museum studies not yet considered by Sandell, especially within educational goals and activities of the museum.

During the Spring 2006 semester, Virginia Commonwealth University students enrolled in the graduate Museum Studies course on exhibition development collaboratively curated an exhibition entitled From the Seat of Authority, which opened at the Anderson Gallery in June 2006. This thesis project documents the exhibition and offers an account of the deliberative and creative development process in which student-curators engaged. It is different from other case studies that focus on the technical aspects of curating an exhibition.Major components of the development process include articulating a theme, selecting artworks, writing interpretive text, and designing display techniques. This thesis project aims to characterize the development of these components in relationship to the overall creative processes. It is important to note that the previously mentioned four components were not developed independently of one another, as the exhibit development process was non-linear and organic.

From July through November 2002, the internship which I have been engaged in at Jackson Barracks Military Museum has afforded me opportunity to gain practical experience in both the curatorial and preparatory aspects of museum operations. Jackson Barracks Military Museum is part of a larger state agency, "The Military Directorate" and its governing board is appointed in accordance with state law. Jackson Barracks Military Museum is presently being restructured to acquire certification from the U.S. Army Center of Military History Museum Division. Katz in "Museum Trusteeship: The Fiduciary Ethic Applied" The Journal of Arts Management and Law (73) writes that the museum community has been compelled to develop codes of ethics and sound practices and procedures for their board members, and museum management. This effort will bring this State Museum more in line with the requirements of the American Association of Museums for certification. I was and am pleased to have had the opportunity to take part in this effort which required a complete tum around in how the organization approached its mission. I will detail areas of responsibility given to me, and my contributions to the ongoing effort to become the first National Guard agency to acquire certification.

This thesis examines the performance art of Serbian artist Marina Abramović from 2010 to today following her emergence into mainstream media with the success of her performance The Artist Is Present (2010). This thesis investigates Abramović’s approach to performance and how the roles of artist and viewer change in face of increased fame, documentation, and age. The thesis argues that as Abramović ages, she is becoming increasingly preoccupied with her fame and with securing her legacy and that this concern is reflected by her increased documentation and self-promotion, as well as her interest in transitioning into the role of teacher rather than artist. This thesis ends with an optimistic look at the opening of The Marina Abramović Institute in late 2015 as a new type of institute in which Abramović's presence and legacy will be mediated not through the static and limited representation of photographs and relics but by the experiences and actions of the visitors themselves.

Thesis advisor: Richard Jackson / This study examined organizational change in science museums toward practices that are inclusive of people with disabilities. Guided by two overarching frameworks, organizational learning and the social model of disability, this study sought to answer the following: What are the contexts and processes that facilitate, sustain, or impede a science museum's change toward practices that are inclusive of people with disabilities? The research orientation was a qualitative, multiple case study. The cases featured three science museums that varied in size and location, but shared a documented history of efforts to include people with disabilities. Data were collected through observations and interviews with people with disabilities, interviews with staff members, observations of museum work, and documentation. Data analysis focused on generating descriptions and interpretation of the individual cases and the collection of cases. Findings demonstrate that change toward inclusion in these three museums is an on-going process that is embedded within the work of a broad range of organizational areas. Findings also suggest actions science museums can take to facilitate change toward inclusion, including involving people with disabilities in organizational work, engaging in experimentation and reflection, promoting the idea that practices that benefit people with disabilities also improve the museum for others, and embedding information about inclusive practices into internal communication, professional development, and large projects. These actions appear to promote organizational learning and sustainment of inclusive practices by concretizing the purpose of inclusion, developing staff who serve as internal resources, providing mechanisms for on-going feedback, and raising staff awareness of the importance of inclusion. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Como toda Dissertação de Mestrado este trabalho não visou chegar a nenhuma comprovação e sim a uma verificação dos requisitos básicos para a criação de um programa adequado dentro das necessidades básicas da nossa cidade na área de museus assim como da Arte Brasileira e suas manifestações artísticas, acarretando um aprofundamento no conhecimento da arquitetura de museus e da arquitetura como um todo, através de uma atualização das correntes arquitetônicas, das novas tecnologias, dos novos materiais e de um novo sistema museológico, evidenciando um novo papel do museu e da arquitetura de museu no mundo atual. Espero ter demonstrado, através dos trabalhos programados realizados entre 1994 e 1995 e da proposta de um museu para a exposição de arte contemporânea no segmento das instalações e propostas interativas realizado entre 1996 e 1997, o conhecimento adquirido e modestamente poder ter contribuído com o aprendizado nesta área. Assim a Dissertação intitulada \"Arquitetura de Museus\" foi dividida em duas partes: Pesquisa e Projeto. A Pesquisa denominada \"Arquitetura de Museus - A Produção Mundial Arquitetônica em Exposição\" foi dividida em quatro partes; 1. \'O Mundo dos Museus\' com uma abordagem evolutiva da história dos museus no mundo. 2. \'O Museu e seus Visitantes\' trata das relações do museu com seu usuário, as partes integrantes do museu e sua estruturação dentro de um programa proposto. 3. \'1970-1995\' apresenta um painel da produção mundial da arquitetura de museus e finalizando com a relação de 15 projetos divididos em 5 áreas, a saber; Reestruturação, Anexos e Ampliações, Projetos Completos, Galerias e projetos. 4. \'Conclusão\' visa salientar os pontos positivos subsequêntes desta corrida arquitetônica e evolução museológica observada nos últimos 25 anos, bem como suas causas. O Projeto derivou da constatação da necessidade de um museu para a cidade de São Paulo dentro dos padrões museológicos atuais e mundial, visando preencher uma lacuna existente no segmento das instalações e artes interativas como modo de expressão artística, além de um espaço urbano destinado à arte como um centro de atividades múltiplas, comerciais educacionais e de lazer. É muito importante destacar que o intuito, tanto da pesquisa como do projeto não foi, em momento nenhum, fixar um paradigma de museu. O que ocorreu, isto sim, foi a verificação da possibilidade de idealidade de um museu para com o seu programa, seu tema e seu caráter previamente propostos. / This paper, as every Dissertation of Master\'s Degree, has not a purpose to confirm, but only to verify the necessary basic qualifications to the creation of a suitable programm for the basic necessities of our town concerning Museums having as subject Brasilian Art and its artistical manifestations, leading to an improvement of the knowledge of museum architecture and of architecture as a whole, by the means of modernization of architectural currents, of new technologies, of new materials and of new systems for museums, showing clearly a new role of the museums and a new role of the museum architecture in the contemporary world. I hope to have been able to prove through the Established Works done between 1994-1995 and through the proposal of a museum built to exhibit contemporary art in the section about installation and interactive proposals done between 1996-1997, the acquired knowledge and humbly hope to have been able to contribute to apprenticeship in the area. In this way the Dissertation under the title \"Museum Architecture\" was divided in two parts: Research and Project. The research named \"Museum Architecture - The World Architectural Production Explaned\" was divided into 4 parts: 1. \'The World of Museums\' with an evolution approach of the history of museums all over the world. 2. \'Museums and its Visitors\' deals with the relations between the museum and its visitors, the components parts of the museum and its structures within a suggested programm. 3. \'1970 - 1995\' - presents a picture of the architectural world production of museuns ending with a list of 15 projects divided in 5 areas as: Restructure, Annex and Enlargement, Complete Projects, Galleries and Projects. 4. \'Conclusion\' it intends to print out the positive aspects of this architectural run and museological evolution observed in the last 25 years, as well its causes. The Project derived from the verification of the necessity of a museum for the city of São Paulo, within the actual and worldly accepted museological standards, trying to fill up a gap existing between the segment of interative art and installation as a mean of artistic expression, beyond that a city space devoted to art as a center of multiples activities, shoppings and leisure. Its very important to accentuate that the purpose of the research as well of the project, was not, at any moment, to establish a model of museum, but indeed, a verification of the possibility of idealizing a museum with its own programm, own theme and own character, previously proposed.

This thesis aims to go beyond the concept of so called ‘virtual museums’. In this work I will attempt to trace a new definition of the term ‘virtual museum’ providing the concept with renewed dignity, comparable to ICOM’S definitions of museums and other existing definitions of the concept. To do so the main part of this thesis is about creating a meta-model of taxonomy capable of including all the experimentations that have taken place in the field of ‘virtual museums’ in the last 20 years. In this direction I have investigated the concept of the museum as a medium as described by McLuhan and other thinkers, both within and outside the field of museology. The discovery of an unabridged work by McLuhan on technology in museums endorses, and opens a discussion on how technology is intended to be used for the communication of heritage. Another aim of this thesis is to investigate how museum professionals can deal with the new role of Information Technology in communicating heritage. In this thesis I intend to respond to the need of museum professionals both inside and outside ICOM for definitions and clearer understanding concerning the following questions ‘What is a virtual museum? Can it be comparable with a ‘real’ museum? What different kinds of virtual museums can be discerned in past experimentations? Can they be included in a taxonomy? How does this change the day to day work of museum professionals in accordance with the new technological potential for the communication of heritage?