Inventing Museums for Tomorrow: 21st Century Museums Report
This official report from the 21st Century Museums Mission, presented to the French Ministry of Culture, delivers a comprehensive strategic vision for the future of French museums. Developed over six months through extensive stakeholder consultation involving over 700 museum professionals, institutional partners, and nearly 3,000 citizens, the document identifies four emerging museum models suited to contemporary society: the ethical and civic museum, the multifaceted museum operating across in-situ, off-site, and virtual spaces, the inclusive and collaborative museum, and the museum functioning as a creative professional ecosystem. The report provides detailed structural recommendations and functional evolution pathways organized across territorial, organizational, and curatorial dimensions. It incorporates in-depth working group analyses, international institutional case studies, and thorough examination of citizen consultation data revealing expectations for museums that are more open, welcoming, and genuinely participatory. This reference work serves as both strategic guidance and actionable framework for museum leaders and cultural policymakers navigating institutional transformation.
Table of Contents:
- Preface .... 7
- Introduction .... 9
- Context .... 13
- SYNTHESIS: Positioning French Museums in the 21st Century: Emerging Models, Functional Evolutions and Projects to Launch .... 21
- The ethical and civic museum .... 25
- Emerging models .... 25
- Projects to launch .... 26
- Reference experiences .... 28
- The protean museum .... 35
- Emerging models .... 35
- Projects to launch .... 36
- Reference experiences .... 38
- The inclusive and collaborative museum .... 47
- Emerging models .... 47
- Projects to launch .... 48
- Reference experiences .... 50
- The museum as a creative professional ecosystem .... 59
- Functional evolutions .... 63
- Projects to launch .... 64
- Reference experiences .... 66
- Reports from the four working groups .... 73
- An ethical and civic museum .... 75
- A territorial foundation in perpetual reconstruction .... 76
- Inclusive values .... 80
- Debates and creation .... 86
- New projects to launch or continue .... 88
- The protean museum, in situ, beyond the walls, dematerialized .... 91
- In situ museum: the museum as a living place .... 91
- The museum beyond the walls: the museum in its territory and towards its audiences .... 97
- The digital/virtual museum: a field of experimentation .... 103
- Recommendations .... 109
- Reference experiences .... 111
- The inclusive and collaborative museum .... 113
- Building a new relationship with audiences, in an era of post-mediation .... 114
- Rethinking institutions as platforms of potentialities .... 120
- Reconsidering functional structures and governance modes .... 130
- Reference experiences .... 142
- The museum as a creative professional ecosystem .... 143
- Introduction .... 143
- Axes of reflection .... 146
- Prospective reflections, projects to launch and recommendations .... 152
- Emerging models and projects .... 163
- Reference experiences .... 167
- Citizen consultation .... 169
- What we know about museum audiences today .... 171
- Museums and audiences .... 171
- Visitors and visits .... 172
- The national consultation "let's imagine together the museum of tomorrow" .... 177
- Methodology .... 177
- Lexical analysis of contributions and votes from the citizen consultation "Let's imagine together the museums of tomorrow" .... 178
- Lexical analysis of contributions .... 178
- Content analysis and synthesis of votes .... 187
- Survey of the national population: a more open, more convivial museum oriented towards younger generations .... 193
- Opening the museum more to give everyone the desire to visit exhibitions more often .... 193
- Human interaction and conviviality at the heart of a new experience, more participative, more interactive .... 196
- Getting more involved in museum life .... 199
- Synthesis and conclusion .... 203
- Annexes .... 207
- Annex 1: Mission letter .... 209
- Annex 2: List of people interviewed .... 211
- Annex 3: The 21st Century Museums Mission at work .... 227
- Annex 4: Bibliography .... 237
Documentation must be downloaded on a computer (PC, Mac, or Linux).
Do not use a smartphone or tablet to download documentation; they generally lack sufficient memory capacity to handle large files, and few users know how to locate the download folder on these devices.
Once downloaded, you can use it right away and even print the pages you need, or use your smartphone in photo mode to translate into the language of your choice: Google Translate
Document Details
- Format
- Pages
- 251
- Size
- 3.2 MB
- Category
- Society & Culture