Chen Xiaochun

654789759@qq.com

Neal Spencer, chief curator and keeper of the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan of the British Museum, said that museums are places of diversity and debate.

Spencer explained to the Shenzhen Daily that museums are places that hold collections of objects and objects can have very different meanings. “So they can be associated with one side of a contested narrative.”

“For instance, there has been a revolution of a dictatorship. Objects can embody those struggles in different ways for different people. It’s important that museums don’t present just one idea but ask questions of its audience, presents contested ideas and also acts as a place for debates,” said Spencer.

To better support his view, Spencer talked about an exhibition on Egypt during the first millennium AD recently held at the British Museum.

“We covered the Jewish, Christian and Muslim populations. Many people think that these populations were always conflicting with each other. But actually we know from ancient resources that many of them lived together. They helped each other build their mosques, their churches, their houses. They lent tools to each other. So there were also co-existences between them.”

“We had the debate at the British Museum where we asked the question: how can this help us think about Egypt’s future,” said Spencer.

Besides, he emphasized the importance of the digital element in today’s museum industry.

“One of the strengths in museums at the moment is making our collections available digitally,” he said.

Spencer said that museums need to have partnerships with technology companies, universities and the private sector.

Editor: Jane Chen