Revisiting Museums of Influence presents 50 portraits of a range of European museums that have made striking innovations in public quality over the past 40 years. In so doing, the book demonstrates that excellence can be found in museums no matter their subject matter, scale, or source of funding.
Written by leading professionals in the field of museology, who have acted as judges for the European Museum of the Year Award, the portraits describe museums that had, or should have had, an influence on other museums around the world. The portraits aim to capture the moment when this potential was identified, and the introduction will locate the institutions in the wider history of museums in Europe over the period, as well as drawing out common themes of change and innovation that unite the portraits.
Providing many very diverse portraits, Revisiting Museums of Influence captures the immense capacity of the museum to respond to changing societal needs. As a result, the book will be essential reading for students of museology and museum professionals around the world in shaping the museums they wish to create. Scholars and students of art history, archaeology, ethnography, anthropology, cultural and visual studies, architecture, memory studies and history will also find much to interest them.
About the Author: Mark O'Neill is an independent researcher and consultant and former Head of Glasgow Museums; Chair of the European Museum of the Year Jury; Associate Professor, College of Arts, Glasgow University; Research Fellow, Museum Studies, Leicester University; and Adviser, Event Communications, London.
Jette Sandahl has been the founding director for two pioneering new museums, the Women's Museum of Denmark and the Museum of World Cultures in Sweden. She has served as Director of Exhibitions and Public Programmes at the National Museum of Denmark, and as Director Experience at National Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Most recently, she was director of the Museum of Copenhagen, Denmark. She is Chair of the European Museum Forum, which oversees the European Museum of the Year Award.
Marlen Mouliou is Assistant Professor of Museology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens-NKUA. From 2010 to 2016, she served as Secretary and Chair of the International Committee for the Collections and Activities of Museums of Cities (ICOM-CAMOC). Since 2016, she has been Member of the Panel of Judges for the European Museum of the Year Award and Vice-Chair of the European Academic Heritage Network (UNIVERSEUM).
