This thesis explores the symmetry between theatres and museums, and investigates how a museum experience is similar to a theatrical event. Particularly, this project examines how the Canadian War Museum performs historical narrative through its use of three performative elements of a theatre production: space, objects and actor’s body. Firstly, this thesis analyses how creating a historical narrative is similar to fiction writing and play writing. It follows the argument of Hayden White and Michel de Certeau who recognize a historical narrative as a performative act. Accordingly, this thesis examines the First World War exhibit at the Canadian War Museum as a space of performance. I apply Lubomír Doležel’s literary theory on possible worlds, illustrating how a museum space can create unique characteristics of a possible world of fiction and of history. Secondly, this thesis employs Marie-Laure Ryan’s theory of narrativity to discuss how museum objects construct and perform their stories. I argue that the objects in museums are presented to the public in a state of museality similar to the condition of theatricality in a theatre performance. Lastly, this thesis investigates the performance of people by applying various theories of performance, such as Michael Kirby’s non-acting/acting continuum, Jiří Veltruský’s concept of the stage figure, and Freddie Rokem’s theories of actors as “hyper-historians.” In this way, this thesis explores concrete case studies of employee/visitor interactions and expands on how these communications transform the people within the walls of the museum into performers of historical narrative. Moreover, according to Antoine Prost, the museum as an institution is an educational and cultural authority. As a result, in all of these performative situations, the Canadian War Museum presents a historical narrative to its visitors with which it can help shape a sense of national identity, the events Canadians choose to commemorate and their personal and/or collective memories. In its interdisciplinary scope, this thesis calls upon theories from a variety of academic fields, such as performance studies, history and cultural studies, museology, and literary studies. Most importantly, however, this project offers a new perspective on the performative potentials of a national history museum.

The aim of this study is to examine the temporary museum exhibit World of the Vikings (Welt der Wikinger), created by Sweden’s Statens Historia Museum (SHM), through the lenses of  gender and pedagogical analysis. The exhibit which was planned to be showcased in the German city of Kiel in time for the sailing Olympics in 1972 and had several goals in mind. The primary goals were to showcase models of Viking ships and achievements of their ship art (to coincide with the sailing Olympics), provide an overview of the Viking Age and showcasing all its different aspects as opposed to just the infamous warrior. Using a gender theory and the overarching analyst method ‘The Feminist Museum Hack’, primarily utilizing a discourse analysis and a visual method (as well as comparative reading, a quantitative method and content analysis, depending on which objects were analysed), this study examines archival material of the exhibit in order to unveil both gender and pedagogical aspects. The material used, consisting of protocols, memos, exhibition texts, booth overviews (consisting of photographs), catalogues and letter correspondents, provide an extensive look into the exhibit, its purposes as well as the overall structure. The main findings of this study are that the exhibit had a clear pedagogical goal in mind, as its content was divided into different parts and chapters to detail various parts of the Viking Age, including their everyday life. Several artifacts collected from various museums were showcased, and the exhibition texts were designed to both educate its visitors and inspire to seek further knowledge. Nuancing gender roles was not part of its purpose, which is confirmed by a gender analysis of the exhibit. A significant portion of the Nordic people mentioned were men while only a few women were mentioned, but  most of the featured men and women were also from a higher hierarchical standing. In terms of expression of gender and gender roles, men were the primary focus in describing and showcasing everyday Nordic life, whereas the women remained passive and secondary. Through the exhibit material, it is clear the roles and chores performed by men were deemed of a higher importance.

A lot of research on the experience of atmosphere uses physical measurements. However, a recognised idea among lighting designers is that these physical values and the experience of light is not always the same, which makes it relevant to work more with visual observations to understand and analyse spatiality and the effects of light. The purpose of the study was to investigate how spaciousness and atmosphere in museum and art gallery environments can be linked to their lighting and art. This is to provide an increased understanding of how light affects spatiality and how it relates to the room’s atmosphere, and to be able to see how the atmosphere is experienced in connection with the exhibits. The study was conducted through visual observations during site visits, for each evaluated room at each museum and art gallery. The rooms were analyzed using the PERCIFAL and Branzell methods, but the values of illuminance, color temperature, color rendering index, and spectral power distribution were also documented. Additionally, an online survey was sent out to collect further data concerning the experience of atmosphere. Part 1 was quantitative and focused on atmosphere words and was judged on a 7-point scale, while Part 2 was qualitative and focused on the connection between the exhibited object and the room. Here, the respondents responded in text form. The result of the study shows that the experience of atmosphere is affected by the interplay between light and spatiality, and that it is not one lone parameter that is decisive. The respondents thought that an interplay between atmosphere and the exhibited object could elevate the experience of art, and that light was a big part of how the room and its atmosphere was experienced. This shows that there are opportunities to work more with lighting in gallery spaces to create an atmosphere that connect more with exhibitions and objects. The study was limited to art-related exhibitions in Sweden. Due to the study was conducted in a very specific context it can not be said with certainty to be generally valid, though parts of the result pertaining to the atmosphere affecting parameters are likely able to use in other situations. / Mycket forskning om atmosfärsupplevelse använder sig av fysikaliska mätningar. En vedertagen idé bland ljusdesigners är dock att fysikaliska värden och det upplevda ljuset inte alltid är detsamma, vilket gör att det blir relevant att arbeta mer med visuella observationer för att förstå och analysera rumslighet och ljusets påverkan. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur rumslighet och atmosfär i musei- och konsthallsmiljöer kan kopplas till deras belysning och konst. Detta för att ge en ökad förståelse kring hur ljuset påverkar rumsligheten och hur det anknyter till rumsatmosfären, samt att kunna se hur atmosfären upplevs i anknytning till utställningsföremålen. Studien utfördes genom visuella observationer under platsbesök i respektive rum för varje museum och konsthall. Rummen analyserades genom metoderna PERCIFAL och Branzellmetoden, men även fysikaliska värden som belysningsstyrka, färgtemperatur, färgåtergivning och spektralfördelning dokumenterades. Slutligen skickades en digital enkät i två delar ut. Del 1 var kvantitativ och fokuserade på atmosfärsord och bedömdes på en 7-gradig skala, medan Del 2 var kvalitativ och fokuserade på kopplingen mellan utställningsföremålet och rummet. Här hade respondenterna möjligheten att svara i textform. Resultatet i studien visar att atmosfärsupplevelsen påverkas av samspelet mellan ljus och rum, och att det inte är en enskild parameter som avgör. Respondenterna ansåg att ett samspel mellan atmosfär och utställningsföremål kunde förhöja upplevelsen av konst och att ljus hade en tydlig påverkan för hur rummet och dess atmosfär uppfattades. Detta visar på att det finns möjligheter att arbeta mer med ljus i utställningslokaler för att skapa en atmosfär som samspelar mer med utställningar och utställningsföremål. Studien har begränsats till enbart konstutställningar på museer och konsthallar i Sverige. Utifrån att detta arbete genomfördes i denna specifika kontext kan det inte med säkerhet sägas vara generellt giltigt, men vissa delar av resultatet kring de atmosfärspåverkande parametrarna är sannolikt möjliga att överföra i andra situationer.

The aim of this thesis is to map the role of a regional museum in art education. Based on my own experience as a museum education officer I have tried to describe the context of the development of an educational policy of a small museum. By comparing three examples of different educational programmes with clearly stated goals I arranged some participatory active research in which I took part and which I observed. Through analyzing these individual cases and comparing their partial aspects it came to light how beneficial it is for the museum's education officer to participate in developing and arranging the exhibition. Furthermore, these cases prove the point that museum-school communication is of vital importance and the programmes that had been discussed with teachers beforehand reach further and are more meaningful than programmes without consultation. Art education in a regional museum is irreplacable. Not only does it allow contact with the artefacts peculiar to the place where the student/client of the museum lives, but it also brings the possibility to practice other than just rational ways of thinking and perception. It has the capacity to reach out of its own bracket and become an interdisciplinary subject.

This study investigates the practices of four museums in two countries in relation to the notion of social inclusion and how their museum professionals reflect about the topic. The aim is to provide an empirical grounding of Sandell’s theory about the three levels of impact within which museums can address social exclusion: with individuals, specific communities and wider society. The practices of four museums will be analysed and discussed: Västmanlands läns museum and Västerås Konstmuseum in Västerås, Sweden and Musei Civici and Fondazione Palazzo Magnani in Reggio Emilia, Italy. To answer the research questions, nine qualitative semi-structured interviews were performed. The informants selected are museum professionals responsible for different public practices at their institutions. The interviews were taped and at a later stage transcribed. Additionally, documentation from different sources completes the empirical data. A qualitative analysis has been employed to analyse the data. Text analysis and thematic analysis were selected to scrutinize the data. I employed the deductive method to trace Sandell’s theory on the data. The findings show that the notion of social inclusion is a subjective concept. Nonetheless, all the informants’ ideas of social inclusion are consistent with Sandell’s definition. The practices enhanced by the museums to address social inclusion are different in nature but mirror the understanding of the concept expressed by the museum professionals and it is in line with Sandell's model. Therefore, his theory about the three levels of impact that museums can achieve implementing inclusive practices is verified by the empirical data. Moreover, my hypothesis about the link between the social inclusion enact by museums and the socio-cultural context is proved too. This is a two years master's thesis in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies. / Denna uppsats undersöker på vilket sätt fyra museer i två länder arbetar med social inkludering samt hur deras medarbetare resonerar kring detta. Syftet var att se huruvida det går att empiriskt belägga Sandells teori, som handlar om att museer kan bekämpa social exkludering på tre nivåer: med fokus på individer, särskilda grupper eller samhället i stort. Den publika verksamheten i fyra museer har analyserats och diskuterats: Västmanlands läns museum samt Västerås Konstmuseum i Västerås, Sverige; Musei Civici samt Fondazione Palazzo Magnani i Reggio Emilia, Italien. För att besvara uppsatsens frågeställningar gjordes nio semi-strukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer med musei-arbetare. Informanterna arbetar i olika publika verksamheter inom dessa museer. Intervjuerna spelades in och transkriberades sedan. Utöver dessa har olika dokument från andra källor använts som komplettering. Analysen gjordes med hjälp av textanalys samt tematisk analys utifrån en deduktiv ansats, för att undersöka Sandells teori.  Resultatet av denna studie visar att begreppet social inkludering har olika subjektiva innebörder. Icke desto mindre överensstämmer alla informanters idéer med Sandells definition av social inkludering. Museers publika aktiviteter kopplade till social inkludering är olika till sin natur men speglar museiarbetares förståelse av konceptet och är i linje med Sandells modell. Därför stödjer forskningsresultaten hans teori om att museer kan bekämpa social exkludering på tre nivåer. Dessutom styrks även uppsatsens hypotes om sambandet mellan museernas sociala inkludering och det sociokulturella sammanhanget.  Detta är en masteruppsats i musei- och kulturarvsvetenskap.

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Ever since the beginning, museums around the world have tried using different techniques to attract visitors. Some open-air museums have even started to create small worlds of their own, wherein they perform living history. The idea is that visitors will be able to step into history, and see different time periods with their own eyes. A prime example of an open-air museum that uses this kind of concept, is Skansen in Stockholm. There, visitors can walk around on cobblestone streets and go into old houses, where they are greeted by staff in historical clothing. This thesis examines how Skansen uses performance and historical clothing to teach history, in the quest to create an immersive experience for the visitors. The empirical material consists of observations and interviews with staff at Skansen, as well as visitors. Drawing upon Richard Schechners definition of performance theory, different parts of Skansen are dissected to determine how museums can use this kind of method in order to appeal to visitors.    Furthermore, the historical clothing is used as a reference point to gather and analyze the thoughts and experiences of the staff and visitors at Skansen. It became apparent that clothes can help you feel like a part of history, both in the sense that it makes you look different and move your body differently. This highlights how clothing can affect people’s bodies and minds. In that way, we see the relationship between humans and objects, and how they interact in different settings. The interviews also showed that people can have different approaches to the performance aspect. While some appreciate the playful nature of stepping into a role, others can feel uneasy about playing pretend. Nonetheless, many of the staff members stressed that they use the historical clothing to create a new persona, which separates their work life from their free time. This shows that clothing and performance can be used as tools in working environments, in order to protect one’s integrity.

<p>This dissertation analyzes Wolf Vostell's <italic>Fluxus Zug</italic>, 1981, arguing that it was simultaneously a work of art, a museum, an academy, and an archive. I explore the art work/alternative institution in relation to other museums that Vostell conceived and realized from the 1960s until his death in 1998; the interdisciplinary collaborations that he established in the 1960s; his concept for an ideal academy from 1969; the archive that he began building in the 1950s; and recent theories of the Archive. This microhistorical study reveals Vostell's centrality to contemporary experimental art. I argue that the spirit of Vostell's art and ideas are very much alive today as artists demonstrate widespread interest in curating as an art practice, in the construction of alternative pedagogies, and in working in, with, and against the Archive.</p> / Dissertation

This dissertation investigates the interplay between a selected set of museum practices, such as online strategies, digitisation of artwork reproductions, and crowdsourcing, through a theoretically grounded perspective. Existing discourse and debate on the museum's movement from an exclusively physical, to a digital or hybrid presence display an excessive interest in advocacy, usually focusing on small examples of successful practices which are then argued as somehow empowering or resolutive, usually from a 'social justice' point of view. Conversely, in those same discourses little attention is paid to the macro-context within which these cases take place: current debates lack an articulation of how museum practices reflect ongoing trends and paradigms on a culture-wide level, and also eschew non-advocative, neutral discussion of the politics, discourses and power relations that such practice entail. I suggest that the contemporary constructivist, digital museum can be better contextualised if we frame emergent digital museum praxis within a framework that resorts to well-established, and well-described theoretical paradigms that can be observed in other cultural and social contexts as well. The advantage of such an approach is that museum practice, and the museum as an institution, can then be seen in continuity with current macro-trends, rather than as isolates whose usefulness and sustainability begins and ends within the museum's precinct. This dissertation begins this proposed shift in point of view by addressing emergent museum practices such as the drafting of digital strategies; the creation of digital reproductions of artworks for online display; and crowdsourcing in the context of theoretical frameworks such as the utopian imagination; ontology of digital-beings; and contemporary labour practices. While not comprehensive, and exploratory in nature, this dissertation contributes to the discipline by providing a new, more in-depth point of view on 'hot' practices, encouraging a contextualisation of the museum that goes beyond the museum itself, into a theoretical and interdisciplinary field that takes advantage of ideas developed within digital humanities, labour critique, informatics and cultural studies.

This thesis explores the display of Roman floor mosaics in museums and in situ. Taking the original mosaic to museums for display and protection, and replacing them on site with replicas, is best for the preservation of the original material and its context.