International Training Programme 2016 Final Report Barbara Vujanović, senior curator Ivan Meštrović Museums - Meštrović Atelier, Zagreb barbara.vujanovic@mestrovi.hr Supported by the John Armitage Trust Before coming to London to participate in the British Museum's International Training Programme, I didn't have any knowledge of it. My colleague, Ana Šverko, and I have been the first Croatian participants. Not having any past information regarding the programme, I was really excited when I received the kind invitation from Claire Messenger and Emma Croft, following the recommendation given by Dr Ian Jenkins, Senior Curator, Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities. When I started to read the received materials, and those that can be found online, I was overwhelmed with testimonies from former participants. The proposed 1
schedule of the programme seemed a perfect learning opportunity for a museum professional in one of the greatest museum institutions in the world. It covered every possible aspect of how museum functions, and it included many, many treats; like visits to other venues, theatres, etc. I am thankful to all staff in the British Museum, the partner museums in Manchester, and in London and Brighton, that I've met. I am very grateful to the John Armitage Trust for enabling me with their financial support to participate at this exquisite programme. Every day I am becoming more and more aware of its benefits, professional and personal. I am richer in many new friendships, all across the world. Somehow we manage to keep the contact and this fact makes my days more beautiful and meaningful. As a senior curator in the Ivan Meštrović Museums I am involved in my institution international projects, such as Auguste Rodin retrospective, which I curated with its co-author, Véronique Mattiussi, from Musée Rodin. In the last six years I have participated in exhibitions abroad and I have participated in many international conferences (China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Sweden and United Kingdom). One of my main interests is international promotion of the Croatian sculptor and architect Ivan Meštrović (1883-1962) and learning about experiences in other countries, which I could apply in mine. For that reason, I was so happy when I realized that for six weeks I will be learning from British colleagues, and exchanging knowledge with an international group. My other interests, regarding my current career, are exhibition planning and delivery, and scientific research. I was also keen to learn about every other aspect of museum skills, practices and work, which intertwine with my own work. Although I have participated in many programmes, none of them were so extensive, going deep and wide into the structure of museum work. I realized I got an amazing opportunity and my expectations were to refine existing skills, and to discover some other interests and segments I didn't have possibility to be engaged with before. I hoped to promote my institution and to apply and pass the received information, regardless the differences in scale and missions, of the British Museum, other English institutions I would visit, and mine. 2
After completing the programme, I must admit that my expectations were exceeded. The abundance of given materials, the numerous workshops and lectures that complemented each other perfectly, gave me a completely unexpected insight. I was amazed by highly professional colleagues and their willingness to share every possible piece of information. They were also able to pull from the programme's participants not only their skills but also their unknown talents, thoughts, ideas. For six weeks we formed not just an international network, but also an inexhaustible network of skills and ideas. We all came from such different institutions, backgrounds, cultures, that every piece of information we learnt had many different aspects in which it could be applied, developed. The base for all that learning, without any doubt, is the British Museum. I will remember forever visiting the permanent collections with Dr Ian Jenkins and Kusuma Barnett. Seeing how they apply their knowledge and show their passion about the collections and the museum was one of the highlights of the programme. Also I must point out going to the stores, where I've learnt a great deal about the 3
possibilities of keeping and preserving sculptures, and also saw all the (mostly) hidden jewels of the collections. I would also like to mention my departmental time and the kind help and interest in us, from Dr Jenkins, Celeste Farge and all other colleagues at the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities. They achieved the fine balance in introducing their work, taking us to day trips and enabling us to carry out the Room 3 project (mine was The meaning and the potential of the fragment). For me it was the summary of our training. It enabled me to engage my previous knowledge and my expanded skills, brushed up during the 6 weeks, and especially during the departmental time. It went so smoothly, with lots of enthusiasm from us, the participants, and our mentors. The challenge the British Museum gave us, to rethink the possible exhibition, provoked me to conceive a concept, in which I was able to apply knowledge about choosing one specific object, and enabling it to speak as many possible stories. It made me rethink ways and possibilities of transmission of a message, to a wide audience, while attaining scientific levels. During the six weeks I had a 4
possibility to expand the initial idea (meaning of a torso in modern art), and gain many new information and a fresh insight on the subject. It will help a lot in my future research, linked to my PhD theses which I am currently preparing. Regarding my curatorial career, I have to note how beneficial it was for me to see the ongoing exhibitions, Sunken cities - Egypt s lost worlds and Sicily culture and conquest. It was such a privilege being able to talk to its authors (Aurélia Masson- Berghoff and Dirk Booms) and to have a deeper insight on the preparing of such grand projects. My expectations were surely met with the final workshop on exhibition planning and delivery with Amandine Merat. Since I am currently leading two international projects (I am organizing the loan of Meštrović works for the Rodin exhibition in the Grand Palais, Paris, 2017; I am co-author of the Meštrović retrospective in Krakow, 2017) I am using the knowledge I gained this summer. Although I had previous experience, now I am better prepared, more aware of different details and very well equipped. Something I have applied right away in my museum is arranging the weekly meetings during which all museum staff exchange information on their ongoing projects and their possible problems and thoughts. We have resolved some issues with better and quicker exchange of information which benefits everyone in the institution. Every day I am trying to pass on some aspect of my training to my colleagues and apply it on my everyday routine or on my long term projects. 5
My future projects, inspired by the time spent in the British Museum, would be projects engaging the public. For instance, it would be very interesting to organize a hands on project in which we would make it possible for visitors to hold in their hands some objects which would teach them about sculpture, its forms, and the way it is made. I will surely pay more attention to ways exhibitions mediate the information; adjust them more carefully to younger and wider audiencse, by implementing knowledge about interpretation. Attending the British Museum International Programme is, without any exaggeration, a life changing experience. It gave a strong push to my own development and to the development of my institution. When I returned to Zagreb I immediately started to work, so the transition from the UK to Croatia was a little less painful. Never the less, every day I feel a little bit nostalgic about my summertime schedule in the British Museum. Luckily I have my books, kindly given by the British Museum, to comfort me, and all the abundant materials, covering every possible aspect of the programme. To conclude, I must admit that the phrase Museum of the World - for the World, gained a whole new and personal meaning for me. Now I understood how the British Museum is deeply involved in the world's museum community and through it the world. After this summer I feel more strongly and deeply connected with the world of the museums and the world itself! 6