KINGSTON UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF ART & DESIGN
HISTORY
BA Art,
Architecture and Design History, April 2003
Sample Student Work
How far does the Museum of London reflect the cultural diversity of London's population, past and present?
'I see nothing that affects my identity
here, I see an authorized version of the story of London' - Jack Lohman, Director of the Museum of London’[1]
London has the most diverse population in the United Kingdom: a recent report
estimates that residents speak up to 300 different languages and follow at
least 14 different religions whilst the city itself is home to both the richest
and some of the poorest households in the country.[2]
The new director of the Museum of London, Jack Lohman, claims he wants 'to make
a museum that is relaxed about being multicultural' one that brings diversity
to the fore. After nearly a year in post, and currently mid-way through
the first phase of a £333 million, five-year redevelopment programme, he faces strong
criticism.
In this essay I shall examine the way the Museum of London, with
particular reference to the World City gallery, reflects and represents the
cultural diversity of London's present population and that of its
history. I shall consider not only the permanent exhibits within the
museum but also the special events and workshops offered to the public and the
information available to its on-line visitors.
The World City gallery, the first to be covered by the present
redevelopment programme, spans the capital's history from 1789 to the outbreak
of World War One in 1914, during which time London was at the centre of the
world in terms of power and wealth - the capital of a huge British Empire and
pre-eminent capital of the world. The museum audio-guide informs 'there
were more Scotchmen (in London) than in Edinburgh, more Irish than in Dublin,
more Jews than in Palestine and more Roman Catholics than in Rome.' The other
(historically earlier) galleries make little reference to this cultural mix.
A small panel in the Tudor gallery refers to the beginnings of the slave trade,
crown patronage of European craftsmen and the refuge sought in London, after
Henry VIII's split with the Catholic church, by those suffering religious
persecution abroad. A similar panel in the Stuart gallery tells of the
increasing fashion of owning African or Asian slaves, that Cromwell allowed
Jews to re-settle in London and Charles II encouraged merchants from Holland to
live and work in the city. It is not until the Eighteenth Century gallery
that an exhibit refers to a personal story. Tucked away under the heading
'politics and literature' the small volume of letters from Ignatius Sancho, the
child slave brought from the West Indies who became a butler before opening his
own grocery store on Westminster Bridge. Little information is given in
the display with the book, but the Museum of London's website proves
informative with extracts from his letters home, portraits of Ignatius Sancho,
a biography and his musical scores. The same site also provides
information on other slaves - biographies, travel maps, essays on the slave
trade and links to related websites.[3]
In the World City gallery reference to the immigrant community (during the
period over one third of the population of London had not been born in the
capital) presents a depressing story. The Irish, the largest immigrant
group, fled from poverty only to live in the poorest, unhealthiest properties;
the poor black immigrants came to the city with the promise of work but
examples then quote road sweepers, dishwashers and beggars. Under the
heading 'Philanthropy - voices from the past' an exhibit relays stories from
residents of the East End Rothschild Buildings, Jews who fled to London
escaping persecution in Russia and Eastern Europe under the British 'open door
policy' yet still to face intolerance when reaching London.
There are however a few success stories, though these are sometimes
difficult to find amid the larger (perhaps rightly so) displays on the Great
Exhibition of 1851, the suffragettes, costumes, education and disease. An
exhibit on Mary Seacole the Jamaican nurse who, when her application to join
Florence Nightingale's band of nurses was rejected, travelled to the Crimea at
her own expense to tend the British troops and on Imre Kiralfy, the Hungarian
Emigré of Jewish descent who staged theatrical shows and rebuilt the Earls
Court and White City exhibition grounds. In a 'listen to the past' panel
- located in a dark corner of the gallery - extracts from speeches by the first
Indian Member of Parliament to represent a London constituency and from the
first person of African descent to address the House of Commons. In the
large display on 'Entertainment', the Victorian theatres and music halls, the
names of prominent performers give clues to their ancestry - Chevalier, Gounod,
Delivine, Bernhardt and the black Samuel Taylor-Coleridge. In the
Victorian Walk too the shops display tea and coffee, tobacco from the West
Indies, European glassware and a barrel organ from Italy, but again it is
through the internet and not the displays themselves or even the children's
work sheets, that details on where these commodities came from or how they
reached London, are available.
If it is Jack Lohman's aim to bring 'diversity to the fore' (he himself is the
son of two Polish emigrés to Britain), at this stage of his redevelopment
programme I can only agree with a recent statement by Stephen Douglass, head of
culture and heritage at Southwark Council. 'I don't think the Museum of London
has made enough effort to address diverse communities...it claims to represent
and reflect London as a whole but it doesn't.'[4]
There are over 200 registered museums and galleries in London at
present covering not only the needs of local communities but also such diverse
topics as, for example, dental collections, Jewish art, textiles and medicinal
herbs.[5]
A study in 1998 by the Museums and Galleries Commission set out to discover the
perceptions of museums held by British ethnic communities. Their main
finding was common across all ethnic groups. Museums were perceived as
'quiet, reverential and unwelcoming to children' places for intellectuals;
elitist and difficult - 'White people's territory.'[6] It
was thought exhibits were constructed from a white perspective with little
acknowledgement made to the achievements or experiences of minority
populations. There was however general agreement that society needed
museums, that even if people did not visit them they felt reassured by their
existence.
It is perhaps through the programme of special events and workshops that the
Museum of London is best trying to dispel these prejudices and embrace the
cultural diversity of the capital. In May 2003 as part of Museums and
Galleries Month it presents a series of talks, workshops and events based on
'Cultures: Then and Now'. Discussion will take place on outstanding black
individuals of the 19th century and the immigrant population of London from
Roman times onwards. A Jamaican writer presents a workshop on tracing
family history whilst costumed guides tell stories for children of famous black
Londoners, of spice sellers and traders from the West Indies. Music and folk
cultures that have made their way into London from all corners of the world
will be performed and in the museum's 'gallery drama' presentations actors
portraying Mary Seacole and Olaudah Equiano, an 18th century African who as a
writer fought against the slave trade, will tell their
stories.
This is admirable, and hopefully such events will continue beyond the
designated month. In an article entitled The Other Side of the Story two members of the Victoria and Albert
Museum recently discussed whether Black History Month (an event taking place in
the UK every October) was a token gesture or whether it had an important part
to play in the celebration of black culture and history.[7] Their
arguments could also be used for and against the case for these special events
during the 'Cultures: Then and Now' month at the Museum of London.
Steve Martin contends 'the idea of having a specific month...only
serves to re-enforce notions of black dysfunctionality and otherness.
Black history is part of local, national and global history and should be
treated as such...it would be cheaper and more effective to finance programmes
aimed at the long-term inclusion of material from non-white and minority
communities.' Eithne Nightingale concludes that museums need to change,
to re-invent themselves if they are to survive and that changes must
incorporate all aspects of the museum 'diversity in governance, diversity in
staffing, different marketing approaches.'[8]
My latest visit to the Museum of London was during the Easter school
holidays. There were few visitors and I was certainly not aware of the
multicultural nature of London's present population either from the other
visitors or from the staff on duty at the museum. Audio guides,
information leaflets and children's work sheets were only available in English
- the museum's guide-book was however also available in French, Spanish and
German.
No doubt during term time local schools and communities use the museum
to a greater extent; certainly many of the special events and workshops are
already over-subscribed. It will be interesting to see how the
redevelopment scheme progresses during the next four years and whether, at the
end of it, Mr. Lohman achieves his aim of presenting a multicultural
museum. He still has a long way to go. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hooper-Greenhill, Eileen (ed.), The Educational Role of the Museum,
Routledge: London & New York 1999 (2nd edition)
Hudson, Kenneth, Museums of Influence, Cambridge University
Press: Cambridge, 1987
Journals / Leaflets
Museums Journal, Museums Association, London, October 2002 edition
Museum of London - Exhibitions and Events, Museum of London
Publication, 2003
Museum of London - World City Children's Activity Sheets, Museum of London
Publications, 2001
Museum Practice, Issue 19, Museums Association Publication, London,
2002
Internet Sources
www.museumassociation.org/pub3.html
[1] Jack’s London, Museums Journal, October 2002 edition, Museums Association Publication London, 2002, p.18.
[2] Figure from the Greater London Authority, cited by Jane Morris, in Capital Punishment, Museums Journal, ibid, p.20.
[4] Stephen Douglass, representative of a group of London local authority museums. Cited by Jane Morris, in Capital Punishment, ibid, p.23.
[5] The Croydon Clocktower, opened in 1995, is an example of a successful museum, library and arts centre which places emphasis on the diversity of its inhabitants in a borough where a quarter come from ethnic minorities, providing a strong community and education programme.
[6] Hooper-Greenhill (ed.), The Educational Role of the Museum, Routledge, London & New York, 1999 (2nd edition), pp. 7-8.
[7] The Other Side of the Story A discussion between Steve Martin (writer and researcher) and Eithne Nightingale (head of access, social inclusion and community development at the Victoria and Albert Museum), Museum Journal, Museums Association London, October 2002, pp. 16-17.