International Association of Libraries and Museums of the Performing Arts

Société Internationale des Bibliothèques et des Musées des Arts du Spectacle

Theatre Exhibitions and Their Visitors - Facts and Findings

Pirkko Koski (Helsinki)

17. Internationaler SIBMAS-Kongreß / 17ème Congrès International de la SIBMAS / 17th International SIBMAS Congress, 1.-9. September 1988, Mannheim

Bericht / Actes / Documentation. Red.: Liselotte Homering. Mannheim : Städtisches Reiß-Museum, 1990. pp. 107-110

The heading can be considered from two points of view: from the view of the theatre museum and its activities or from that of the visitors. The facts do not necessarily represent an optimal or perfect or even satisfactory situation, especially if we are ready to accept the need for continuous change and new findings.

The Theatre Museum in Finland displays various aspects of the theatrical art: both at its permanent and non-permanent exhibitions. As its own premises are at the moment too small, the museum has annually rented other rooms for a certain period from outside the museum itself. In addition to that, there are occasional exhibitions in the foyers of the theatres, and mobile exhibitions regularly tour different parts of the country, finding their place at the museums, theatres etc. The permanent exhibitions display, first of all, history and the development of the various fields of the theatre like dance and set design. They have been put together using items from our own collections. The non-permanent exhibitions are complementary to the permanent ones. In practice this means an increasing opportunity for a simultaneous exhibition of material kept in the stockroom. On the other hand the non-permanent exhibitions - at least at the Theatre Museum - are made up of material from the theatres and other museums. Parts of these exhibits remain permanently in the collections, either in the stockroom of the museum or at the exhibitions. This situation is due to the essential fact that the primary task of the theatre is not conservation and the exhibits of national interest are to be removed to a museum.

Is exhibition activity concentrating on putting together exhibitions being done at the expense of the maintenance of the collections, cataloging or collecting material? This is an issue that has often brought up. One is bound to ask oneself the same question at regular intervals. This - if so - is not an acceptable situation, but the resources are limited. That is why matters must be set in order of importance. The existence and maintenance and conservation of the collections are, of course, in the first place. This results in a challenging consequence. The exhibition activity must be in harmony with the maintenance of the collections. Whether this challenge is carried out depends on the exhibition policy put in practice. The exhibitions planned by the Theatre Museum itself have been selected almost invariably so that a special field of the theatre is surveyed. A national museum has to know where certain material is kept and whether historical documents exist at all. The museum must make an active effort to remove things which are at the risk of losing. In connection with the exhibitions information is gained about the material kept in the stockrooms of the theatres. This is how it is possible to make a central file covering different fields of the theatre. The Theatre Museum has carried out surveying projects, concentrating on more extensive central filing. Likewise, at the exhibitions we have managed to collect a catalog of scenic material (pictures, drafts, dresses, props) connected with Kalevala, our national epic, the history of the art of recitation (a remarkable part of the documents has been donated to the museum), props, pictures of various actors and plays, programs etc. In this respect the exhibition activity does not have to be in conflict with the maintenance of the collections.

The Theatre Museum displays both theatrical history and dramatic art as an art form. The Museum's point of view is somewhat pedagogic but naturally we strive to give space for creating living, rich experiences. The starting point of the activity must be based on research work: the outlook on the theatre given by the Theatre Museum must be wide enough and it must rest on scientific knowledge. However, one has to remember that an expert does not know the best way to visualize the subject matter. If the exhibition gives the visitors living experiences, then even knowledge is conveyed more efficiently. Exhibition work means co-operation with an architect - and in this field it is advisable to take the expertise of a visual expert into consideration. The museums with an emphasis on a scientific approach are in danger of being places where only those already well-versed enjoy their stay.

The visitors do not, however, come to the museum to see theatrical performances, although, they hope that the exhibition would include some theatricality. On the contrary at the museum it is possible to stop the performance, it can be explained in a concrete way and it can be divided into parts, different decades can be brought together. An optimal situation would arise if displaying facts by the museum make the visitors find experiences. Creativity is not merely a problem within art, it is also needed when displaying art. The word "museum" has in general a rather dated connotation that the professionals of the field try to erase by writing disapprovingly about the users of the word in their own publications. However, we have every reason to ask whether we can change the word by writing. The best way to change the contents of the word is to make the visitors find new contents in the institutions representing the word.

Unlike the professionals, the visitors evaluate museums mainly on the basis of their exhibitions. When the exhibitions are considered from the visitors' point of view the interesting thing is how to define the indeterminate word "visitors". It is self-evident that the museums are frequented by tourists and school children for whom the visit itself is more important than the contents of the exhibition. It does not have to be any evil thing if somebody is in the habit of visiting museums. As its best the museum can even give a surprise and offer something to break the dull daily routine. As a matter of fact, this should probably be strived for. Regular visitors are a good thing but they should be exploited in an active way. On the other hand, it is of vital importance to reach new generations, youngsters and children, city people, neighbours etc. The theatre museum is, of course, visited by those who are interested in the theatre. Or is it not? Does the museum have something to offer for those, too, who are keen on living art?

Art education itself is an important part of the museum's exhibition activity especially in the field of the theatre because theatre and drama in education have marginal positions in the curriculum and perhaps sometimes there is no education at all - at least this is what happens in Finland. Surprisingly the place where this takes place is Finland where the theatre is taken for granted, as a well-known art that everybody thinks he is familiar with in a self-evident way. The task of theatre education is not only to give new information but to break attitudes as well. The theatre education of the museum cannot only deal with the description of the theatrical past. In addition to that, it has to take into consideration the essence of theatre and its various aspects. This is a difficult but rewarding task for the museum. Of course, the permanent exhibitions take the key position as well as the continuous co-operation with educational establishments, but the interest and certain topicality of the non-permanent exhibitions have their effect on the stability of the cooperation between schools and the museum.

Along with the contents of the exhibitions and the way they display things the most decisive factor for the visitors is perhaps the exhibition policy. Who else but the theatre museum displays the visitors various aspects of the theatre, new trends, syntheses and analyzes? As far as the theatre museum is concerned this may often be rather a goal than reality, but in any case the policy of the theatre museum can include all this in a natural way. The exhibition policy is a way to make different kinds of visitors become familiar with the museum. The museum remains as the object of passive tours by tourists and school children seeking for compulsory museum visits without an exhibition policy which calls for a discussion. What is the relationship between the theatre museum and the professionals of the theatre? Do they come to look for stimuli from the museum? What is the relationship to the cultural authorities or the people occupied with culture? Do they experience the museum as a place where new and different views and ideas can be exchanged? Is it generally felt to be an institution abreast of the times? Between the theatre museum and the visitors there can be a mere gap of information, the visitors may not know what treasures and ideas the museum has to offer. The passing of information is, no doubt, a problem because the museums often lack in sufficient funds. Along with the exhibition activity the visitors gain increased information from guided tours, lectures, discussions and publications. Above all, this means open doors and attitudes both from the museum towards the theatre professionals and from the visitors towards the museum.

At least in Finland the Theatre Museum is - or it could be - a unique institution. It is the only museum of its kind. It is a research centre to a great extent but simultaneously an institution for popular education but we hope it will be more of an information centre. It strives to give art experiences in its own, it may be in a much more modest way. The goals are clear and they are gained better and better every year. The decisive factor rests on the co-operation: the theatre museum is part of the living theatrical field as a part of which it has its own task. Especially in terms of exhibitions the co-operation has often got very concrete forms: the museum is also for the artists of the theatre an arena where the different elements of this art form can be displayed and given a longer life than that of the performance. The museum cannot risk isolating itself from this group of the professionals. On the contrary, it will have to keep on looking for new forms of co-operation.

The borders between the states are nowadays easy to cross and even theatrical trends move from country to country. The international connections of the theatre museums should - according to my opinion - be increased to a great extent especially as far as the exhibitions are concerned. The Theatre Museum in Helsinki has had many positive experiences in this field but the situation is far from being optimal. The theatre of any nation is not a lonely island. It develops in a process linked with the theatres of other countries in many ways. The visitors need information about the theatres in other countries in order to understand the theatre of their own. The museum can clarify the international development of the field for the professionals, too. An artist can go to see well-famed performances but he cannot watch the remarkable productions of the 1920's. At its exhibitions the theatre museum, nevertheless, is capable of bringing up this information and these experiences, even as far as some other country is concerned. Internationality is closely connected with the relationship between the museum and the visitors because internationality is certainly a theme that the visitors expect from the museum, too.

I shall mention some practical examples of the Theatre Museum's activities of the last few years. As a starting point it is worth mentioning that the space of the non-permanent exhibitions is small (about 100 square metres) but temporarily it is possible to rent or occupy rooms from others premises. The museum has to live with insufficient funding, too. Financially bilateral agreements between countries and the support given by the state for a certain purpose have proved to be useful. The museum has arranged the following international exhibitions:

• 1984 Les Ballets Suédois is, an exhibition of Dansmuseet (Stockholm) in the foyer of the Helsinki City Theatre (the stage was not in use) while the large stage was used for an international dance competition
• 1985 Modern Czech theatrical costumes
  Gustav III and the theatre, an exhibition of Drottningholms teatermuseum (Stockholm)
  Marionetti, historical puppets from Italy (Milan), a big exhibition in the crypt of the Helsinki cathedral
• 1987 Theatre masks made by Wolfgang Utzt (GDR)
  The human tragedy. The great Hungarian writer Imre Madách, an exhibition of the Petöfi Museum (Budapest)
  Face, mask, gesture. Vasco Ascolini's photographs of the theatre (Italy).

In addition to those mentioned above there have been things borrowed from various museums at the Museum's exhibition on Asian theatre.

The experiences from the exhibitions have been positive without exception. The most important lesson we have learnt is, however, the fact that international exchange should be much more lively than now, it should be based on the current issues of the day more clearly than what happens today and the scale should be sufficiently wide extending from big special exhibitions to small intimate introductions. For instance, the mask exhibition of Wolfgang Utzt proved that there was reason enough to have that kind of small exhibition, too. That exhibition displayed the Finns a mask tradition which is less known in our country, and the course held by the Theatre Academy in connection with the exhibition guarenteed on one hand the participation of the professionals. On the other hand, the topicality guaranteed the interest of the press and the visitors. It took place in the premises of the museum. An opposite example is the exhibition displaying historical marionettes from Italy. This exhibition found its place in the crypt of Helsinki cathedral. It was extensive and costly (insurance value) because of the original puppets. Its charm was based on exotism. Such a large scale exhibition needed and also gained the wide attention of numerous visitors.

Finally I want to make a brief summary:

• The museum must show by its exhibition activity that it is not an institution far behind its time. But at the same time it has to remember that history can be alive, too. The present day includes the past and the present; it can be viewed from many viewpoints.
• Co-operation with the professionals is important and means giving and taking from both sides.
• The museum has to make active search for new audiences but it has to strive to activate its present visitors, too.
• For the museums the exhibitions are an enormous opportunity, not a mere obligation. Highly specialized museums need international co-operation to invigorate their exhibition activity. Small exhibitions are as important as large-scale events. Also international cooperation has to reach the theatre professionals, the theatre institutes, the organizations and festival organizers of various countries.

(Translation: Ilpo Hietaniemi)

17th Congress

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