The International Committee for Exhibition Exchange

Program:

Contact:

Chairman: François Tremblay
Directeur, Direction des expositions
Musée de la civilisation
16, rue de la Barricade, C.P. 155, succ. B
Québec, Québec G1K 7A6 Canada
Work: 418.643.2158
Fax: 418.643.7229
e-mail: ftremblay@mcq.org

Secretary: Monique Horth
Manager, Centre for Exhibition Exchange
280 Metcalfe, suite 400
Ottawa Ontario K1P 6P4 Canada
Work: 819-243-6422
Fax: 819-243-7273
e-mail: mhorth@museums.ca

ICOM 2004 Seoul ICEE Coordinator
Seunghye Sun
Curator of Japanese Art, Department of History
National Museum of Korea
Work 82-2-2077-9539
Fax 82-2-2077-9549
Cell Phone 82-10-3170-7665
e-mail: ssun@museum.go.kr | shsun21@hotmail.com

JOINT SESSION - ICOM Korea
ICEE – International Committee on Exhibitions and Exchanges
INTERCOM – International Committee on Management
ICAMPT - International Committee for Architecture and Museums Techniques
CIPEG – International Committee for Egyptology

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6TH 2004 9:30 – 13:00

Speakers:
Dr. Rita Freed, Curator of Egyptian, Nubian and Near Eastern Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA
Brent Cooke, Director of Exhibitions, Royal British Columbia Museums, Victoria, Canada
Han Meeter, Director, Projecburo Meeter, Leiden, Netherlands
Dr. David Fleming, Director, National Museums Liverpool, UK

Moderator:
Dr. Nancy E. Zinn, Assistant to the Director, Director of Exhibitions, The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, USA

THE QUEST FOR THE ETERNAL BLOCKBUSTER:
Impressionist Paintings of Egyptian Dinosaurs

At first glance, perhaps, intangible heritage and blockbuster exhibitions may appear to represent polar-opposite manifestations of the museum profession. On closer examination, however, there is a synergy between the two. At its most elementary level, this interplay exists when a museum presents in physical form and interprets through the display of objects, "the culture or traditional ways of life of a certain community, for example, their religious rites, traditional economies, ways of life, folklore, etc."

More broadly, exhibitions showcase and diffuse the "symbolic and metaphorical meanings of the objects that constitute intangible heritage." The romance associated with 19th century Paris is an important part of the allure of Impressionist paintings. The thrill of exploration and discovery, key reasons for the ongoing fascination with ancient Egypt. And fossils and bones add concreteness to every child's imaginings about the world of dinosaurs. Giovanni Pinna, chair of ICOM-Italy, summed it up succinctly when he wrote that "every object has two dimensions: its physical aspect, for example its shape and size, and its meaning, which derives from its history, from the interpretation it receives from others, from its capacity to link past and present." That duality is what traditionally has linked intangible heritage and exhibitions in a museum context.

That synergy is also expanding as new presentation and interpretation techniques are added to exhibitions. Oral history, audio guides, recordings, music, hands-on activities, computer terminals, even smell have become standard tools in the curator's and designer's repertoire.

Four collaborating committees--ICEE, ICAMT, INTERCOM and CIPEG-- will discuss the interplay between physical exhibitions and intangible heritage. The strategic thinking behind the decision to present a ‘block-buster’, conservation issues, and business challenges will be addressed as well as how blockbusters are developed, managed and toured, the impact they have on the staff and operations of the museums that organize and host them, on the museum community for which they have become a staple, and on the museum-going public that has come to expect them will round out the program.