Unit Summary

Building on the previous training, this workshop looks at the evolving place of research in contemporary museums. In a rapidly evolving set of contexts and conditions, how can museum professionals orientate their practices with a view to engaging in a more sustained and embedded form of scientific research? How does the increasing diversity of contemporary museum audiences necessitate new approaches to communicating research findings on both a scientific and public level? The introduction addresses the fundamental importance of activating research awareness within museum institutions, with specific emphasis placed on the research potential offered by the Saadiyat Cultural District project. Focus then turns to the established research practices within museum institutions and the ethical importance of maintaining and deepening knowledge production around cultural heritage. The second part of the training addresses the specific challenges presented by the rapidly-evolving contexts in which museums now operate, with a view to exploring alternative forms of reflective research practice that are rooted in new modes of embedded scholarship. Throughout the training, references were made to specific case-studies from Louvre Abu Dhabi alongside discussion of the possible trajectories for research offered by the Saadiyat project.