The International Council of Museums (ICOM) will vote on a new definition of museums in September. The proposed change includes language about “social justice, global equality and planetary wellbeing.” Critics say the text is too political for most museums to employ. — Hyperallergic
After almost 50 years of consensus, the definition of the museum as "a nonprofit institution” that “acquires, conserves, researches, communicates, and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study, and enjoyment," is being challenged.
The new definition "would incorporate mention of 'human dignity and social justice,'" reports Hyperallergic. This has caused intense debate amongst members of the ICOM. Jette Sandahl, the leader of the commission proposing the new definition and pushing for a more modern "language of the 21st century," has received consistent backlash.
Critics have said that the proposal is an "ideological manifesto" with "over inflated verbiage." Professor François Mairesse of the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle and the chair of the International Committee of Museology, told Art Newspaper, "A definition is a simple and precise sentence characterizing an object, and this is not a definition but a statement of fashionable values, much too complicated and partly aberrant."
ICOM will vote on the new definition on September 7.
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