Laura Vodanovich: From the MTG

MTG, Marine Parade, Napier. PHOTO/FILE

I often think about where we're going and what we're doing in the museum industry. One interesting issue is the tension between public enjoyment of objects and their preservation: at times an incredibly fraught balancing act.

In the not too distant past, collection objects were put on display for decades at a time and, not surprisingly, were damaged by the constant exposure to light - to the point where fabrics literally rotted to pieces; paintings lost their colour; writing on pages faded away and so on.

From the, sometimes literal, ashes of this practice, conservation emerged as a discipline. Conservation focuses on preventing or limiting deterioration, rather than trying to make an object look new again.

There are varying levels of invasive to non-invasive techniques and generally treatments are designed to be reversible so that, should better methods develop in future, we can undo what has been done today.

Having the physical care of collections as one of the focuses in museums is a good thing. However, as with everything, a practice that has developed in response to one extreme (complete neglect) can sometimes go to a new extreme (over protection).

Now, I'm not advocating leaving objects on display for decades to decay in front of our eyes but I also think replacing them every six months or so is impractical and some common sense needs to come into play.

Most visitors will not notice for example that the cloak they saw on display a few months ago has been replaced with a different cloak. This sort of rotation takes considerable amounts of staff time and resource without achieving any improved visitor outcomes.

Objects that haven't been seen for decades, and will probably not be seen again for decades, would only be allowed out for a short period of time according to recommended conservation standards.

This may be heresy to some of my colleagues but I say nonsense: if such an object is coming out of storage it can stay on display for a year and longer. The reality is that many (if not most) museums do adopt a practical approach to determine how long an object is displayed - factoring in the object needs, museum resources, and visitor experience.

Of course we have a duty of care, a need to protect the objects we hold for the future but should we be prioritising this at the cost of short-changing the present? Museums are about much more than preservation. If we have rigid rules around our collection care and an internal focus on what we're doing - how do we keep the visitor, both present and future, at the forefront of our decision-making?

If all our time and resources are spent changing things to meet conservation standards then we've no capacity left to focus on creating experiences that matter to the public.

Museums require constant compromise between the purist position of protecting the collection at all costs and the other extreme, which would allow everyone to touch all objects, take things home for the weekend, etc.

It's our responsibility to continually explore the balance between all aspects of a museum's purpose and ultimately remember who (not what) we're doing this for.

Events

• Over the Top by Amanda Jackson provides a theatrical insight into the lives of nine young people who enlisted for WWI and their families left behind, Century Theatre, tonight at 7pm. Adults $24, children $12.50. Tickets available through Wardini Books. Door sales available.

• Chamber Music NZ presents Kuuken Quartet, Century Theatre, Saturday, July 8, 7.30pm. Tickets available from Ticketek.

• Winter Deco Curator's Floor Talk: He Manu Tioriori, Songbirds, Saturday, July 15, 11am. Free with museum entry.

• School Holidays at MTG Hawke's Bay: Our popular family drop-in zone will be open every day of the school holidays. Adult supervision is required.

• Laura Vodanovich is the director of the Museum Theatre Gallery (MTG) Hawke's Bay.