Yesterday one was voted new definition of museum at the General Assembly of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), which is being held these days in Prague. The definition of a museum has changed significantly for the first time in fifty years, following a vote by representatives of more than 500 museums from around the world, who approved the new definition with 487 votes in favor (92%) and 23 against (4%). The main novelty is that, for the first time, words such as inclusivity, accessibility, sustainability and ethics.
The new definition of museum pray like this: «A museum is a non-profit institution, permanent and at the service of society, which investigates, collects, preserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible and inclusive, museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate in an ethical, professional, and community-engaging manner, offering a variety of experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection, and knowledge sharing.”
Alberto Garlandi, president of ICOM, tells ‘The Art Newspaper’: “This new definition is in line with some of the major changes in the role of museums today. We have been forced to change. I really believe that this decision will enhance the role of the museum around the world.” The definition will be taken over by UNESCOand will help determine whether new galleries and private institutions around the world can describe themselves as an officially recognized museum.
In 2019, at the last ICOM General Assembly, held in Kyoto, Japan, no consensus was reached on a draft museum definition before it was put to the vote. The lack of a resolution meant that the old definition of a museum, created in the 1970s and last amended in 2007, stood firm.
“The old definition did not reflect the reality of museums around the world,” Bruno Brulon, co-chair of ‘Icom Define, the permanent committee for the definition of a museum, tells ‘The Art Newspaper’. Brulon acknowledges that the new definition was necessarily the result of a negotiation process. “It has reached a commitment“, He says. “We had to talk and listen to people with very different perspectives. Some people think that a term like repatriation is a very political word. But this new definition is still, I think, a very progressive statement.”
Words like decolonization, repatriation and restitution, the central themes for many museums in the developing world, are absent from the new definition. Some spokespersons for Icom National Committees believe that the definition not progressive enough. It seems inevitable that these terms will end up being included in future definitions, since requests for restitution of looted works are the order of the day. This is the case of the Benin Bronzes, the Parthenon Marbles or the Rosetta Stone, the latter in the British Museum collection.