The 6th International Symposium on Art Museum Education, 2011

From Transmission to Interaction: Museum Education Spaces

With the objective of promoting the educational role of museums, the International
Symposium on Art Museum Education serves as a professional curatorial mechanism
for the release of major research findings, and a platform for the accumulation of
knowledge, publication of research, and dialogue concerning art museum education in
Taiwan. Since the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM) held the first International
Symposium on Art Museum Education in 1999, every two years it has gathered
together scholars and museum workers from both Taiwan and abroad to address a host
of topics related to museum education, exchanging experiences and deliberating ideas.
Considered a major biennial event of museum education since its inception, the
symposium is being held for the sixth time this year.

In 2011, TFAM is in the midst of renovating its dedicated education space. This is the
museum’s largest education-oriented project since it was opened in 1983, one that
serves as a benchmark for Taiwan. Scheduled to be completed and opened to the
public next year, the new facilities will be a social communication space and an
interactive environment encompassing an outdoor plaza, reception center, children’s
art gallery and workshop. This project will lay a solid foundation for engagement and
innovation in art education and promotion, and will serve as a yardstick for art
education in such dimensions as content, conceptualization and spatial design.

In recent years the establishment of dedicated education spaces has become a trend
among Taiwan’s major public art museums. For example, in 2005 the Kaohsiung
Museum of Fine Arts established an affiliate Children Museum of Fine Arts, and the
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts unveiled its Family Room. In 2008 the
National Palace Museum opened its Children’s Gallery. Education is gradually
occupying a substantial domain within museum spaces, becoming a new focus of
museum development, and the 6th International Symposium on Art Museum
Education dovetails with this ongoing process, adopting the central theme “From
Transmission to Interaction: Museum Education Spaces.” This two-day symposium
will explore four major topics: (1) Current Issues Regarding Museum Education
Spaces; (2) The Positioning and Development of Education Spaces; (3) The Role of
Education Spaces in Visitors’ Museum Experiences; and (4) The Study and Practical
Implementation of Interactive Exhibits. For this symposium, the Taipei Fine Arts
Museum has invited museum education professionals, scholars and experts from
Taiwan, Britain, Canada, France, Switzerland and U.S to speak, presenting their latest
research results and case studies. By addressing this subject from a variety of angles,
the symposium is designed to present contemporary perspectives and a diversity of
practical methods for museum education, providing substantive discussion and
dialogue regarding the future development of museum education spaces.

I. Current Issues Regarding Museum Education Spaces

Starting out from the trend of museum development, this segment will explore the
origins and development of the concept of incorporating education spaces into
museum spaces, as well as related issues, serving as the main subject of the
symposium.
Discussion topics include: how museums can transition from the concept of
conveying knowledge to emphasizing interaction with visitors, as they implement
educational functions; the evolution and development of museum education spaces;
and new trends in education spaces. Through concept-oriented presentations, this
segment will examine trends in museum development, and the process of moving
from transmitting concepts to innovative ideas.

II. The Positioning and Development of Education Spaces

For this topic, museum education professionals will present case studies of education
spaces, discussing such aspects as foundational concept, roles, positions, functions
and developmental strategies.
Through the mutual sharing of practical experiences, museum workers will come to
understand both conceptual and practical aspects of establishing museum education
spaces, and by building up a reservoir of shared experience, will gain an appreciation
of the difficulties and challenges, arriving at a broad outline of future prospects.
Besides, the role played of education space within the whole museum will be better
clarified.

III. The Role of Education Spaces in Visitors’ Museum Experiences

Education spaces serve as a bridge of communication between the public and the
museum, symbolizing a new era in which museums are focusing attentions on public
participation, and redefining the relationship between the museum and the visitor.
This topic explores such issues as: How do visitors learn? What are the motivations
for participating, models of participation, and special characteristics of participatory
activity? How do learning spaces influence the ways visitors use museums?
Additionally, this segment will examine the museum itself; how to develop a suitable
plan in terms of exhibition format, services and educational activities; and how to
cultivate participant groups.

IV. The Study and Practical Implementation of Interactive Exhibits

When a museum sets up a dedicated education space, it frequently includes either
permanent exhibits or interactive exhibitions that are changed periodically, serving as
a medium for encouraging visitors to become more familiar with art, and a new
experimental model for the museum’s interpretations and presentations.
This theme will be extended to interactive exhibits, exploring the challenges and
possibilities that arise when the medium of an exhibit engages visitors in
communication. Issues to be discussed include: the basic nature of interactive exhibits;
how exhibit designs can assist visitors in finding meaning in an exhibition; and the
special characteristics of interactive exhibits in an art museum.

This segment will make use of practical examples, exploring methods of creating
interactive displays. It will also consider possibilities for helping visitors gain in-depth
understanding of the exhibition discourse and exhibition objects, and how visitors are
impacted when they understand the exhibition discourse.