How museums help communities heal Honor Harger

so as you’ve mentioned I’m the director

of our Science Museum

it’s a iconic building in Singapore and

what we do is explore the intersection

of art science technology and culture

here six months ago our museum was a

hive of activity at the heart of one of

Singapore’s busiest areas Marina Bay we

welcomed an average of about 2,800

visitors a day and they came to see

exhibitions they’re speculated on the

future one of those exhibitions met and

how climate change might shape the world

in the next two centuries another is

full of immersive installations by the

artist team led visitors young and old

tended to flock to our Science Museum to

catch a glimpse of the future and also

to learn through physical interaction

and social participation but then the

pandemic struck and in a matter of two

short months our reality completely

changed from early February the museum

began screening the temperatures of

every visitor who came to visit we

introduced safe distancing measures and

our curators and conservators had to

adjust to a very different way of

working in the galleries the closure of

the borders of Singapore plus a strict

safe distancing laws that were passed

manage the pandemic can’t our visitation

by 89% and normally lively galleries

fell silent

then in April like so many other museums

we closed a Singapore went into its own

version of lockdown we’ve started to

contemplate a future in a world that was

wrecked by the pandemic and it seemed

clear that everything that we knew about

how to run a museum from staging it

submissions to running education

programs to setting budgets and

communicating with audiences

was no longer really valid we had some

dark days trying to figure out how it

would be possible economically and

culturally to run a museum for only 11

percent of the audience that we once had

we realized that we were going to need

to say goodbye to some things that we

had held very dear and that was

difficult there was no time to mourn

within two weeks of lockdown we spun up

an online program that we call art

science at home it enables listeners to

experience the museum from the comfort

of their own home and in this program

we’re responding directly to the context

of covert 19 by staging online talks

about how we might adapt to this

uncertain future we find ourselves in

we’re putting on workshops that give

families learning activities to do at

home and we’re staging performances my

artists who were also knocked down which

enables us to support a local arts

community out science at home is now our

primary public program it’s a new

chapter in our evolution but perhaps

also an illustration of one way for

museums to work a bit more sustainably

during the pandemic era with the

pandemic forcing us to work from home at

a different pace to before we also

notice things that we hadn’t paid

attention to before we started listening

to members of our community who have

been marginalized and kept out of sight

we heard stories from unexpected places

that we felt needed to be told so

science museum is hosted conferences

online with people with disabilities

talking about how the move to online

working is creating opportunities for

them and we’re currently screening the

first film made by a migrant worker in

Singapore salary day by our Marvin the

new reality that we find ourselves and

the wake of Cove at 19 means there are

on-site visitation is going to be

dramatically reduced by both safe

distancing and border restrictions for

the foreseeable future

this is certainly

whirring yet there are surprising

impacts that we hadn’t expected we’re

listening more we’re reflecting on how

we can amplify the voices of

storytellers in our more marginalized

communities we know of course that our

role as museum professionals goes far

beyond being the custodians of an iconic

building and we find ourselves now

gravitating towards the original meaning

of the word curator which in Latin means

to care building back better after

covered 19 perhaps means curating in

that sense of the word caring for each

other and caring for our community one

of the ways that we think we can do that

is by presenting visions of different

futures our current show 22:19 is set in

a world that’s been transformed by

climate change 200 years from now it

enables visitors to confront that future

as we all face the global crisis of

covert 19 this type of futuring work

feels ever-important

the Ren the writer Rene Denfeld has said

of people in crisis I found that the

people who survived the people who end

up thriving even other people who have

the power of imagination if you think

about it imagination is actually a

reticle wet because if you have an

imagination

you can imagine yourself in a different

future thank you well thank you so much

for that honor it was wonderful to see

images of the art science museum both in

the past and and and now presently sort

of as you’re experiencing this pandemic

and thank you so much for being with us

I know it’s very late where you are so

thanks for staying up to chat with us

today and you know I want to just talk

about a little bit of that quote you

ended on I love that so much this idea

of imagination as a radical act and you

know I think exploring that as it

relates to your work we all know that

the pandemic has majorly disrupted

arts and culture and I think the idea

that things will ever really go back to

normal

probably feels unrealistic and so my

artists and curators you know how much

do you think this moment requires that

sort of radical imaginative thinking it

really does and sometimes a crisis like

the one that we’re living through

painfully right now is almost what’s

required to kind of push you know

thinking beyond the bounds you know that

we often found ourself find ourselves

constrained within certainly it’s been

really interesting for us to think about

what a museum that doesn’t have access

to its building might do and how does it

can you know engage with not only the

community of visitors that we you know

kind of so affectionate towards but the

artists and scientists who collaborate

with us on the creation of our programs

how do we continue to keep those bonds

solid to keep them you know really

strong at a time where our building is

not available to us and this is really

you know kind of I think not just for us

but for many institutions and for many

creative practitioners put them in a

headspace where they’re having to think

radically differently not just for this

moment but to almost make permanent

changes to how their institution or

their practice might work now and can we

talk I guess a little bit about

Singapore specifically sort of what

you’re experiencing I know that you’re

in the early stages of reopening there

so what is that looking like for for

your museum and other cultural

institutions in the country so as of its

of the the kind of the moment right now

museums are still closed in Singapore

we’re still closed we’re in phase one of

Singapore’s reopening plan and we’re

shortly at the end of this week going to

be moving to phase two

but even in the first part of phase two

museums remain closed as do libraries

theaters and cinemas so we’re having to

continue to be innovative about how we

operate for the time being and think

really carefully

when we are able to open about how we do

so what kind of measures we need to put

in place to keep our staff safe what

kind of measures we need to have for our

audiences to feel confident to return

and we’ve got a bit of time yet I think

to think that through it’s really and

you mentioned the you know art science

at home initiative and how you are sort

of pivoting in this moment and it sounds

like that will continue for at least the

next few weeks until you have some plans

to reopen them and I think it will

continue beyond because one of the the

wonderful I guess points of empowerment

that the museum is is felt through the

creation of art science at home is being

else to tell stories through that

program that we probably wouldn’t have

thought to do with our on-site program

it’s it’s encouraging us to engage with

artists with filmmakers with scientists

with kind of political leaders with

community organizers that we may not

necessarily have had on our radar you

know when we were thinking about our

on-site programs it’s also helping us to

think that our community is not just in

Singapore it’s an international

community and just as we’re doing right

now being able to think about how to

stage events that kind of bring

participants from other points in the

globe is is something that the online

space offers us there’s a building

perhaps wouldn’t I mean and I think it’s

even talking about that one thing that I

was really struck by was your point that

you know this pandemic has really forced

you to to notice things that you hadn’t

noticed before specifically you know in

talking about the experiences of migrant

workers and I’m curious to just hear

more from you about how this pandemic

has really opened your eyes to to some

of those community experiences by

communities that are maybe marginalized

in Singapore or just otherwise are not

often highlighted through through your

work absolutely I think one of the the

the real truths of kovat 19 around the

world is that it’s amplified

inequalities that were already there

and in in in nearly every country which

has suffered you know with the pandemic

it’s it’s people who you know were

already suffering from multiple indices

of social deprivation that have been in

the you know kind of in the worst

condition and certainly there’s no

exception here and I think it’s a

compassionate group of curators

education kind of staff and organizers

it’s it’s really felt like a moral

obligation on our part I think to think

about you know reaching out to those

communities and trying to facilitate

ways that they can speak for themselves

trying to think about how we use our

platform you know as a museum and now as

a as an online museum to enable kind of

communities to tell their own stories

not mediated by a snore edited by us you

know canna simply to provide that

platform for voices that simply just

weren’t being heard to be heard you know

from a you know to much wider audience

that’s something that we hope to carry

forward I think into the future of the

museum that’s that’s powerful anywhere

in the world right at being able to

people to speak for themselves well we

have some questions from our community

that I’d love to bring into the

conversation just a moment we have one

here that is how can art and science

usefully interact in this moment to

guide or suggest a brighter future oh

that’s a lovely question thank you so

much to whoever answered it Aster’s and

we always feel you know as an

institution that is all about the

marriage of art and science that it’s

the intersection of the the two areas

where you see the the greatest power we

like to you know to say that it’s the

the understanding and the knowledge

generated by science in dialogue with

the empathy and the emotion which is so

powerfully able to create that will lead

us to the greatest insight

you know we’re in a time right now in a

global pandemic where scientists are

very much leading the way we need the

science community to be empowered

obviously from the perspective of

frontline workers but also to the

researchers who are working on

treatments and working on the

possibility of a vaccine but our touches

the soul at is able to to change

behavior to change psychology and when

we bring these two areas together I

think this is where we can really start

seeing powerful change wonderful it’s

wonderful one we have another question

here which is it seems like listening

more is something we all need to do more

of at this moment do you have any

insights both on how to do this

effectively and then importantly to

implement what you hear that’s an

excellent question and I think you know

to a very large extent you know every

cultural institution in the world is

asking that question of itself right now

or there should be I think in there in

the wake of the black lives matter

movement which is really really caught

the you know caught the attention of

people right around the world listening

more has been one of the key you know

one of the key sort of refrains that

we’ve heard again and again in our case

within the museum what we’ve tried to do

is to speak to communities as we were

saying before who really you know we’re

not being spoken to let alone listened

to and to try and provide a space on you

know platforms such as art science at

home for those communities to speak for

themselves a good example here is the

online screening of celery day by muffin

the first film made by a migrant worker

and Singapore there’s been migrant

workers in Singapore for many many many

years and the fact that you know this is

the first occasion where a film has come

into being and has been shown you know

on in the context of a museum is really

important it provides you know kind of

validation for that

voice but it’s the filmmaker you know

kind of himself you know who was telling

his own story and a film which his

directors written and then stars and so

I guess that’s the way that we’ve tried

to do this is to go to communities and

ask them what stories do they want to

tell and then provide you know kind of a

way of being able to let those stories

reach an audience yeah salary day I

watched that film it was beautiful and I

feel like for everyone out there should

take a look at this I think it says so

much just about an experience of the

community in Singapore but also I think

something that people probably

experience really worldwide and I mean

it’s really great to see that you have

featured that on on a on your site and I

think we have one more and which is just

simply can-can art change society a

resounding yes I would say from the

perspective of our institution

particularly our winners in dialogue you

know with with other fields of research

like science you are changes minds

shifts you know shifts mentality can art

changes the behavior of people it

changes the way they think and how they

feel so of course it can change society

we’ve seen that again and again and I

think this this kind of twin moment that

we’re going through right now with both

covert 19 and with that claves meta you

know we’re seeing I think the power of

culture and art to both heal but to also

you know kind of facilitate quite

dramatic change that’s great you know

and I I mean I think I really love this

point that you made William emphasized

the being a curator and sort of how that

means caring curator means caring and

how that has really affected the way

that you curate your work especially in

thinking about this more locally how you

can care for the community and and so

I’m curious you know as you’re

implementing these changes right now

what are the long-term lasting impact of

impacts of this do you do you see

I was carrying over into the future of

how you approach creation at the art

Science Museum well interestingly just

before we went into lockdown which is

called the circuit breaker in Singapore

we actually had a workshop with with the

whole team of the museum representatives

of the whole team from visitor

experience to the tech team the curators

the education staff to really kind of

emotionally work through how the

pandemic was was making people feel and

how that the team felt this was going to

impact on the future of museums it was a

workshop facilitated by two futures

practitioners Ariel Muller and Sheryl

Chong and in the group work that we did

over two days what was really

extraordinary is that in all the

scenarios that the teams worked up they

all ended up coming back to this issue

of care in the community completely

unprompted you know kind of by the

facilitators you know all by the

leadership team of the museum from the

grassroots of the museum it became clear

that the staff felt that their identity

as museum professionals were you know

very much defined as carers and so we’ve

really taken this on board it’s it’s

it’s going to permanently change our

values I think and what we do is an

institution and not just for this period

but I think you know kind of permanently

and you know finally we’re going to go

to our group conversation shortly but I

just am also curious there’s you know

been so much conversation here about

artists and curators and you know people

who are creating art and how that’s sort

of been changed by this moment but how

do you also see this moment changing for

people who are just art lovers or

patrons of museums how should we be

approaching this all differently well

you know what’s been extraordinary in

the past few months has to see is to see

how many museums and theatre makers have

have taken to the Internet to share what

they do with a much much wider audience

than perhaps they had access to before

I’ve been blown away by the the

the performance work that’s been made

available right around the world by

large and small theater companies by

musicians by dancers this is really you

know kind of changing I think sort of

the received wisdom they’re only you

know kind of physical encounters with

the art object I kind of all with the

performance were valid ways of being

able to you know kind of experience

culture the pandemics really turned that

notion on its head and I think it will

be hard to put the genie back in the

bottle

I think addressing a global audience or

in fact an audience that for whatever

reason can’t leave home and that of

course you know is not simply you know

kind of folks who are living in one’s

locality but people who may be living

with a disability you know kind of may

not necessarily have the financial means

to leave home and travel to have

cultural experiences we need to start

thinking as cultural institutions now

how how do we you know unfold folks who

are in that situation into our community

and to keep addressing them beyond you

know the specific moment of the pandemic

well thank you so much for all this