EXHIBITON DESIGN
CONFERENCE REVIEW
AUDREY O’CONNELL HEAD OF PLANNING AND DESIGN CONSULTING NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, UK
How was Ecsite 2011 for you? This was the 21st Ecsite conference I’ve attended and it was one of the best. It’s reassuring that natural history muse- ums continue to have a clear place within this community and that, despite having different philosophies, they continue to work collaboratively with science muse- ums and centres on a range of topics.
What were your highlights? Michael Jones’ keynote speech. He talked about some of Google’s new and incred- ibly impressive projects. I was surprised by the political stance of projects such as Map the Fallen, an online memorial hon- ouring service members who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was a revela- tion for me that Google’s so interested in museums. The talk highlighted how the company’s continuing to develop and give people the power to explore. Robert Firmhofer was elected Ecsite
president, and is the fi rst president from this region of Europe to represent the network. It was impressive to see more delegates from eastern European coun- tries, who were keen to contribute and gain exposure to lessons from across Europe.
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What could be added? If I were to suggest improvements, I’d like to see more encouragement, and perhaps opportunities for delegates, from outside museum and science centre industries to engage with our industry. Not everyone can take a booth in the Business Bistro, and fi nding opportunities to make those links, would be a win-win for all. Although the programme has gone from
strength to strength, it’d be good to have more sessions in learning best practice in museum operations and sustainabil- ity, including essential topics such as development and fundraising, marketing, communication or catastrophe planning.
What was your experience? I contributed to a session on the oppor- tunities and challenges of international relationships. It was heartening to hear other speakers and delegate’s accounts of similar experiences and how they responded to the challenges of different cultural settings. There was a lot of interest in the NHM’s touring exhibitions and plan- ning design consulting businesses across Africa and the Middle East. This year’s conference reinforced my
belief that it’s a truly fantastic network and opportunity for personal and professional growth, as well as a business opportunity. This event showed that, despite its
growth from 200 delegates 10 years ago, to more than 850 now attending, Ecsite continues to foster a family feel within the organisation, yet it achieves this with an ever-growing professionalism.
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(Above) Nocturne at the Copernicus Science Centre. Delegates got to test the new exhibits at this evening event
ERNESTO PÁRAMO DIRECTOR, PARQUE CIENCIAS, SPAIN
What was your experience? The staff at Copernicus Science Centre worked really hard during the conference and gave everyone a warm welcome. Poland is a very dynamic country, which is going through a period of enormous boost and you can see that in the new museum. This positive atmosphere added enormously to the event.
What was your aim? It was very important to meet heads of museums with whom we have joint projects – the telephone is very impersonal. I also wanted to approach new compa- nies and see some temporary exhibition productions. The Business Bistro is a great opportunity to meet up with 20 companies that show you the best they have to offer. My aim is to involve more Spanish muse- ums and companies in Ecsite. Now, more than ever, we need to be in Europe and internationalise our activity. Our museum is in Granada, in the south of Spain and Europe, but we don’t want to be peripheral – we all win through collaboration. ●
AM 3 2011 ©cybertrek 2011
PHOTO © ECSITE
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