Abstract
Ever since Renaissance Cabinets of Curiosity, museums have been engendering emotions. Yet there is something new today in the growing emphasis and attention given to emotions in many aspects of both museum theory and museum practice. The point of departure for this presentation is precisely this recent and ongoing ‘affective turn’ in museums. This is a broad, comprehensive, mostly intangible and hardly visible process. In order to give it visibility, I propose the concept of ‘affective curatorship’, denoting curatorial approaches specifically aimed to affect visitors emotionally.
The main aim of the presentation is to substantiate this concept. I will draw on museological theory and examples of museum practice that illustrate the impact and the potential of a more aware and purposeful mobilization of emotions in museum work. I will consider three realms: i) emotions as a portal to new forms of visitor engagement; ii) emotions as factors in decision-making in the set up of exhibitions; and iii) emotions as tools to transform workplace relations and enhance the well-being of museum staff.
In the conclusions, I will reflect on the implications of affective curatorship, in terms of rethinking the notion of museum expertise, and subtly repositioning the social role of museums as institutions able to provide emotional support.
Biographical note
Dr Marzia Varutti is a museologist based at the Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva. Her research explores the interrelations between museums, emotions and ecology. This has brought her to write on an eclectic range of topics, from the representation of cultural diversity in museums to mourning ecological losses, and from the arts and crafts of the Indigenous peoples of Taiwan to cultivating ecological awareness through ecopoetry. Her work has been published, among other, in the International Journal of Heritage Studies; Museum and Society; Museum Anthropology; and Museum Management and Curatorship. She is the author of the monograph Museums in China: The Politics of Representation after Mao (Boydell & Brewer, 2014).
