Corporatism

Today, I am just demonstrating that this information has gone into my brain. I didn't have time to do my own research... This was a particularly long article, which I think is why I'm writing this blog on Saturday rather than Friday.

My goal for next week: going back to my tuesday-wednesday-thursday schedule and getting all museum studies things done during the weekdays :)

Museums, Corporatism, and the Civil Society by Robert R. Janes:

Like I said, long article, but good stuff.

Corporatism

Dealing with the fact that museums, too, are businesses and are also "shot through with commitment to the goods and services of global economy" (550). This will play into institutional decision making, no matter what. There's a certain amount of integrity that goes into this decision making, and if you don't consider the original purpose of the museum, it can become a pursuit of popularity and a contest to "keep up with the next guy."

The Civil Society 

That middle ground between the private familiy society and the society of governmental state. All organizations of common interest, basically. Since I'm not really active in a family society (considering I live far from my family and mostly, my life is separate from theirs), and I'm not super active in matters of state, I felt like I really identified with being a part of the Civil Society. For the most part, college students in general probably would. We're kinda in that in-between. But anyways, museums are part of this civil society. A museum is pulling for a certain goal regarding the common interest of preserving art and displaying it for the public. I support this effort. :) Go museums.

Social Capital

Museums are creators and generators of social capital. This means they bond similar people and bridge the gap between people who are dissimilar. It's a great thing to produce social capital. Again, go museums. :)

Art and Healing

Loved the part about the gallery in a hospital, and how art can help heal people. Also, the majority of people who attended the hospital's gallery were actually not patients or hospital staff. Interesting to think of why... maybe it's just a mindset of going to a healing place to experience art. Museums tend to be very intellectual. Maybe if we thought of them less in that way all the time, we could experience healing by going to any museum and just taking in the beauty of art.


Basically then the article talks about what it means to work in or run a museum in light of these things. Reforming the marketplace, creating more autonomous museums, and branding the civil society. So he says museums should do what they can to keep accountibilty in staying grounded in societal interests and aspirations, trying to stay out from under government control, and branding your museum as a "values brand" in the civil society.

Welp, that's all folks. Til next week!!