Connecting to Community

Image of sheep shearers from the Dwyer and McKay photograph collection of the Western Australian Museum History Department.

The survival of small museums often lies in the strategies it develops to build more interest and involvement in the organisation, within the community. This will attract more volunteers and supporters, and help ensure ongoing operations and development.

Points to consider

• Do a bit of research – who are the locals?  Develop a sense of the demographic.  What proportion of visitors are locals and tourists?  Who is and is NOT coming to visit?  This information will help determine whom you want to target.

• Spot the gaps.  What audiences would the museum like to attract? Are there things in the museum of interest to them?  For example, museum staff would like to get more of the younger members of the community interested in the museum.  Unfortunately, if the majority of the collection pre-dates World War II there may not be very much that immediately relates to that age group, unless it is presented and explained to them in a way they understand.  Remember, museums are about recording and reflecting on the life of the community today as well as yesterday.  Collecting significant contemporary material is very important in this regard.

If the youth of the area spend every Saturday afternoon in large numbers down at the skate park or motocross this is a significant part of community life and it should be documented in some way.  What about having a photographic or art competition that records this aspect of youth life and showing some of the best entries in the museum?  It could even be linked to the art curriculum at school.

• Exhibitions can be excellent vehicles for engaging different sections of the community.  Consider either a particular part of the collection to draw attention to in a display, or which presents opportunities for involving local people OR identify a particular sector of the community to work with to develop a display.  Are there any anniversaries coming up that relate to a group within the community? eg. migration anniversaries or reunions, the emergence of a key industry in the area, or establishment of a local service like the fire brigade.

• Don't always choose exhibition topics in which the museum staff are experts.  Calling on expertise outside the museum is a great way of involving other people in the museum’s activities.  Another way of doing this is to invite people in who may know specialised information about material in the collection, to assist in thoroughly documenting it.  This applies to everything from farming and mining equipment to household items.  It is an opportunity to draw people in that might not normally come through the door.

• Think about other ways to bring the displays to life, through such things as performance, music, demonstration or cooking.  Music can bring a whole new dimension of understanding to an exhibition: it can evoke an era or a mood.  One way to do this might be through a partnership with another local group - perhaps a theatre or arts group, who can bring their skills to the museum to interpret the site or the collection in new ways.

• Consider an exhibition to mark a major local annual activity such as harvest.  It is always a very busy time, but if a couple of museum members not directly involved in harvest could photograph the process, this could later form the basis of an exhibition, complemented by relevant items from the collection. 

• Link in with other local events such as festivals or Heritage Week.  For example, develop a heritage walk around the town to coincide with a local celebration.  The walk could be developed in co-operation with the drama students of the high school who could dramatise events and characters from the town's history, as museum volunteers guide groups around the town.  See if the activity can be counted as part of the student’s assessment for their drama subject. Alternatively work with Art students to develop signposts and information sheets to be used – again this may be able to be assessed as part of their studies.

• Consider the idea of a museum without walls.  Perhaps some of the duplicates in the collection could be made into a separate education collection that can be carefully handled by visitors and more robust items sent to schools accompanied by information, such as an education kit.  This kit could also be taken to other community events like market days or the local agricultural show.  If your collection is on a database, would it be possible to have a copy of the database at the local library and/or school?

• Another area to think about is membership of the museum committee.  Is there a section of the community or key voices which are not currently represented on the committee?  For example, extend an invitation to particular school teachers, someone with legal knowledge, a cultural or community development officer or another key shire staff member.  Look for champions who can advocate the museum in different circles.

References and further reading:

Museums Australia Inc (NSW). Museum Methods: A practical guide for managing small museums.  Section 2 – Marketing and Public Relations

Museums Australia website: Special Interest Groups: Community Museums Special Interest Group contact details