Written to be a commentary on the minimum standard for museums to align themselves with, the ICOM Code of Ethics is organized like any formal document: a preamble and articles that make the entire document appear to be intimidating for those in smaller institutions or even for those of us that are students looking to make our way into the museum world. To make this document a bit easier to digest, I have broken the articles down into a more modern day interpretation that we can all make sense of. It is important to note that while I mainly relate these principles to collections and objects, they are meant to fully encompass every aspect in museums from audience, to preservation, to employees, etc.
Article 1: Museums preserve, interpret and promote the natural and cultural inheritance of humanity.
Museums are institutions that are meant to keep collections in appropriate condition, studied to their fullest potential and made available to the public so that each item can tell its specific story and its significance to natural and cultural history. Simple as that. Museums are the keepers of the keys for your Harry Potter fans. Meant to make sure that things are taken care of in a proper manner but made available to serve a greater purpose.
Museums must create a main message and carry it out through their collections and exhibitions, and continuously strive to flow with the times.
Article 2: Museums that maintain collections hold them in trust for the benefit of society and its development.
Simply put, museums that have collections must maintain and expand their collections as a part of their duty to society of preservation and education. As Spiderman would say, "with great power comes great responsibility". Once you're bitten by that radio active spider of the museum world you're bound to carry out the proper care, studies and exhibition of current pieces and to seek out new and exciting objects.
Article 3: Museums hold primary evidence for establishing and furthering knowledge.
This means that museums hold a responsibility to the care, accessibility and interpretation of pieces within the collection. You cannot simply acquire items and put them in a basement never to be seen or heard from again, but rather, pieces must be cared for as one would care for precious family heirlooms. Do you think that the Queen of England simply throws her crown jewels into a box and puts them in the basement of Buckingham Palace? No! She puts them on display for the world to see and learn from.
Article 4: Museums provide opportunities for the appreciation, understanding and promotion of the natural and cultural heritage.
Museums have a duty to broaden their educational spectrum and their audience. Rather than a simplistic, narrow-minded view and a select elite client base, museums need to open their arms to a whole variety of educational styles, ideas and participants. A kid from the "inner-city" may have just as much of an interest in Picasso as a kid raised in "high society". Both should have access. As well, who's to say that Picasso has as much to do with Van Gogh and Rembrandt as he does modern graffiti painting? Perhaps taken a more modern interpretation or even including technology and media might just be the ticket museums need to raise attendance and funds that are so quickly dwindling.
Article 5: Museums hold resources that provide opportunities for other public services and benefits.
The most popular phrase in American politics cans apply here: "Share the wealth!" Museums have privilege to some of the most invent specialisms, resources and skills that collaborations and sharing amongst various disciplines and industries that to selfishly cling to these things would be a greater harm than good.
Article 6: Museums work in close collaboration with the communities from which their collections originate as well as those they serve.
Although I feel this deserves a higher educational "duh" sadly this principle is not always followed. Museums need to collaborate with the community and allow the cultural perspective to be showcased alongside of collections. Without that context, what really makes an object so significant?
Article 7: Museums operate in a legal manner.
Here's that higher educational "duh" I was talking about. Duh! Museums have to operate in a legal manner. Follow the law or end up like Enron.
Article 8: Museums operate in a professional manner.
Again, duh! No sweatpants and cotton t-shirts unless you are working incredibly late at night. But even then, wear a pair of jeans an a nice looking t-shirt. In a more serious manner, museums have to follow ADA and have to provide their employees with a safe and productive environment.
With that all said and done, I hope that this brief overview helps introduce individuals to the Code of Ethics in a less intimidating manner than what it can be perceived to be.
#ICOM #CodeofEthics #PopCultureInterpretation #NotSoScary #ICOMforDummies
http://icom.museum/professional-standards/code-of-ethics/preamble/#sommairecontent
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