From August 10 to 17, Rio de Janeiro heldthe 23rd triennial General Conference of the International Council
of Museums (ICOM). The Conference was a great opportunity to meet other museum
professionals and learn about projects from cultural centers world-wide.
The Cidadedas Artes was the venue chosen for the event, a beautiful location where
shows, performances, art exhibitions are presented on a regular basis.
Museums
(memory + creativity) = social change was the
theme of ICOM RIO2013. Panelists brought to the conference interesting topics
and collective work proposals to the event, like the idea of a Collaborative
Database where visitors (users), cooperative work and experience create a
narrative database improving the quality of information provided to the users.
This specific presentation was a good way to demonstrate how ACCI is currently
working with the latest concepts of museum and collections development as ACCI
has already started its Online Database project to unite and improve the
searchability of Eeyou Istchee collections. Storytelling, collaborative
involvement of the community in educational projects, creativity and the use of
technology and Social Medias were topics well explored during the event.
One interesting visit was to the Museu da Favela, a museum located on the
top of the Cantagalo-Pavao-Pavaozinho favelas (slum). The museum is a community
based institution supported by both governmental entities and private
institutions. A very successful partnership was created with Universidade Federal do Rio (Federal
University of Rio); the university is helping the museums with special projects
like architectural plans for the constructions of a new headquarters and
in exchange students use the museum for internship as well as to develop
projects from different departments (museology, tourism, design, social studies
among others). This partnership has generated interested from community members
seeking for higher education and for university students to understand the
community work and the role of the museum in the community.
One of MUF’s successful projects is the Casas Tela (Canvas Houses) where
community members allow pre-selected local artists to paint one external wall
of their houses to create a mural along the favela. Even before the work is
starts, the house owner becomes responsible for that space as he/she prepares
the wall to receive the art, safely maintains the artworks safe and
encourage others to learn and join the project.
It was surprising to see the commitment of those involved with the Casa Tela project and how it has improved
visitation to the museum and the region. Below is an image of the routes and
artworks current on display.
ACCI Coordinator of Collections and
Exhibits presented the paper Cultural
life in today’s society: the Cree Culture revitalized in which
she spoke about ACCI mission and specifically the promotion of the culture to
young generations through creativity and technology. There was a good exchange
of information and many colleagues were interested in learning more about ACCI
and some of its projects.
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| Marina Piza |
The presentation opened discussion about
the role of community museums in isolated regions, how to integrate community
members in projects developed by the institution and more important how to
ensure access to information in a non-exploitive environment.
ICOM RIO2013 was a great event bringing
together different aspects of the museum work, as well as government agencies,
educational institutions and many other professionals all willing to learn and
share knowledge.
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Written by Marina Piza, Coordinator of Collections and Exhibits
