During 2014 and 2015, Roos Wijnen and I developed an independent research project into new work forms and organisational models within the contemporary contexts of the arts world. Questioning traditional structures and processes, we brought together independent arts professionals and institutions (museum organisations) to shared our experiences at various professional conferences like VNK (The Hague), Salon de Muséologie (Amsterdam) and MuseumNext 2015 (Geneva)
Our point of departure:
The Museum Association still states that: ‘freelancers have an important role to play but it’s not always recognised.’ Nonetheless, Freelancers add massive social, financial, emotional, creative and educational value to institutions and provide the necessary view across (sector) boundaries. It’s sort of a ‘dirty little secret’ of the museum world that freelancers do so much work and really aren’t officially recognised as part of the operation. Museums, as physical institutions holding heritage treasures, generate public engagement to subsist as well as to fund scholarly research and conservation. As for many museums this is vital to their existence, we ask questions such as: can we strenghten museums by encouraging the dynamic and intimate connections with their audiences, by constructively engaging freelancers in museum organisations?
Freelancers in museums now often operate on many organisational levels at the same time. The museum of the future could adapt a much more flexible approach to their organisation by focusing more systematically on the ‘projects’ they work on. On a first, basic level this could mean a fresh look on the hiring process and creating “seasonal” positions (e.g. rotating the curatorial team through calls for submissions). Although this will mean an increase of (administrative) work, a great aspect of this is that different curators will have different outlooks on things, and this can help broaden the scope of a museum’s discourse. Why shouldn’t museums “come clean” and formalise these important relationships in their organisational charts at the very least?
Thus, we discussed the first part of our research at a symposium organised by the Dutch Society of Art Historians (VNK) at Gemeentemuseum, The Hague (find the programme here) : what would happen if we bring about an inversion of an outward dynamic by creating a permanent space for freelancers inside the museum’s structure, through debates and publications. We want to invite institutions to be open to develop and share their perspectives on the possibility of taking steps in changing their organisation in the future. We shared thoughts with with freelancers about their roles, responsibilities and challenges as an external individual working with an institution. We shared the outcomes with an international public in Geneva.
From curation to cultural programming, interpretation development to project management, freelancers and consultants now perform a significant proportion of work in the European heritage and arts sector. Does this trend signal a 'brain drain' of in-house knowledge and skills, or a forward-thinking use of resources that adds resilience to the sector?We want to open up a discussion on the inclusion of freelancers in the museum practice.
The force of the freelancer at Gemeentemuseum The Hague
Photos: Helewise Berger
Me and Roos found each other in the process of starting up as freelancers in the arts and heritage sectors. The many obstacles we encountered in this field inspired us to begin an independent research project about The Force of the Freelancer. Coming from different backgrounds we both developed our own perspectives on the museological and institutional context and set out to combine our visions and take a fresh outlook on the museum field.