PRIORITISING HUMAN RESOURCES IN MUSEUMS

Panel:

Dr. A. Nagender Reddy (Director, Salar Jung Museum. Hyderabad), 

Dr. Parul Munjal (Director, INTACH Heritage Academy), 

Shalini Bansal (Co-Founder, HopOn India and Museums22) and 

Vani Viswanathan (C0-Lead Programmes, TARSHI) 

Moderator: 

Anjchita B. Nair (Co-founder and CEO, Culture)

Museums are key contributors to the well-being and to the sustainable development of communities, and can play a key role in bringing about positive change. They can be drivers of creating inclusive and healthy work environments where importance is given to developing skill-sets of their staff, while also prioritising their mental health and wellbeing. Building on this narrative, the panellists discuss the need to prioritise Human Resources in Museums. 

Here are five takeaways from the talk:

  1. Interdisciplinary collaborations  - Museums function at an intersection of various disciplines like Sociology, Anthropology, History, Economics, Psychology et al. An interdisciplinary mode of learning that allows museum professionals to have an open minded approach to their practice must be encouraged by institutions. Departmentalization of the Museum-scape is ultimately a restrictive dimension and must be discouraged. 

  2. Necessity for comprehensive academic curriculums - In the cultural dimension, there is a lack of structured and accessible opportunities for those in the heritage sector and for future aspirants. Many courses currently in academia cater to conservation and otherwise, have a restrictive curriculum which reduces the capacity to learn, unlearn or relearn. Currently, in India, to develop existing skill sets, one can look out for courses offered by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, INTACH Heritage Academy and the Mehrangarh museum. There is a need to go beyond and explore other avenues like marketing, finance, administration, technology, museum management and more. 

  3. Emotional wellness in the heritage sector - There are various emotionally charged repercussions to what the museum professionals do that may emerge because of lack of resources, opportunities, validation, funding, staff and audience turnout. The challenging environment acts as a catalyst for stress and burnout, and creates a space where emotions can not be expressed. Within museums, it is advisable to have team and group discussions and debriefing sessions to create a space of communication and empathy. Inclusion of expressive arts therapy is a viable option while acknowledging the fact that organisational leaders play an important role in deciding where and how the team is headed. 

  4. Requirement for technological upscaling - In present day and age, the world is advancing by the minute and it is imperative that museums keep up with the same. Museums must adopt a positive view of technology which enables them to be more accessible to a larger audience. Such openness and progressiveness would help them in reducing gaps within the teams of museum professionals, and dissolving the digital and physical divide. Outsourcing is suggested to ensure that the museum doesn’t have to put on a lot of weightage on existing staff. A technical committee, under the museum purview, can undertake new technologies and algorithms, such as OpenAIs, AR/VR and metaverse, while making documentation, research, social media, exchange of resources and website handling more efficient. 

  5. Enhancing organisational functioning - The current knowledge bases of India run the fear of being obsolete in the near future. Museums must take steps to ensure that the organisation and professionals function better through upskilling and exchange of assets. This can be rendered through collaborations with foreign museums, training courses/ workshops, continuing skills audit and development, and conversations with academia to ensure that the museum professionals of the future are better equipped. Organisational policies like those in place at the Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad which allow professionals to undergo training programs with museums like the British museum have helped increase the research capacity and productivity of those who work there. 

 Prioritising human resources in museums is integral for the effective and productive functioning of the community-driven institutions.  A sustainable organisational understanding and functioning is the key to creating flourishing work environments.