Participation in the (Art) Museum Policy.

■ Participation in the (Art) Museum Policy.

Museum subcommittee of the council for cultural affairs. Number 1.

I will participate from this term.

We will discuss the promotion of museums, art galleries, zoos, etc.

Prospects of what museums should be like after COVID-19, whilst taking on the major task to revise the Museum Act's registration and curatorial systems.

I will give my personal views on the role art plays in the digital age.

Three initial comments.

1. legal reform.

This clears up a long-standing concern. I support it.

However, why has the system not moved to the point where there is no benefit to registration?

That is also the question of whether there is public support for the institutional change.

It is a community issue, and may be a low priority for the public.

To arrive at legal reform, is it not necessary to make efforts to raise the priority level?

It is important to persuade the public of how important revisions of the Museum Act's registration and curatorial system are for people's lives and the social economy.

It should be stated how when museums change in this way, the benefits to the public will be like this.

At the beginning of the interim summary, museums are viewed as "Facilities that are indispensable to the lives of the people", but we need to make a rigorous evaluation and verification of whether the public actually views them in this way.

2. The role of museums.

WG Chairman Hamada summarized it as follows.

① "Protection and inheritance" - Protection of collections, and the preservation and inheritance of culture

② "Sharing" - Sharing of culture

③ "Cultivating" - Inheritance by future generations

④ "Connecting" - Responding to social issues

⑤ "Managing" - Sustainable management

Sharp, easy to understand, and precise.

The question is whether museums will be allowed to play this role.

Knowledge is rapidly being dispersed due to digitization and networks.

Information and activities are shifting from happening at real places to being virtual.

Conversely, the significance of museums will be severely called into question.

What kind of value will museums strike back with?

Computerization and networking are the central issues.

3. Data sharing.

In order to raise the priority of museum policy and develop a vision, I want to share the data that is a precursor to these things. 

Usage trends: How many people use museums per year/how much time is spent in museums per year?

Market size: What is the total annual operating cost?

Revenue structure: Is the ratio of public, corporate sponsorship, and admission fees sustainable?

How do these basic figures stand when compared with other cultural facilities (education, entertainment, etc.)?

How do they stand when compared to other countries such as G7 and China?

Based on these things,

how do we envision a strategy for growth?

How do we ensure sustainability?

How do we correct the disparities?

I said we needed to draw up policies and strategies based on these things. 

I know it is too much for a newcomer and an outsider to say, but instead of being satisfied with the inside stories of academia and industry, based on the fact that the Museum Act was once setback by legal reforms, etc., I wanted to make a scientific policy argument based on numerical evaluation and analysis, which is usually done in the field of public administration.

Start the discussion.