Page 18 - EXPOTIME!Sept2017

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mercial aspect (“to make the greatest benefit out of it”) Notes
was in some presentations overwhelming and had noth- 1 Rein 2016_17
ing to do with museums nor with cultural institutions. 2 http://culturebrands.de/corinne-estrada/ (visited Sep-
This critical point became obviously, when the Bundes- tember 2, 2016)
wehr (German Armed Forces) presented their advertise- 3 In both conferences I participated as a journalist writing
10
ment campaign “Mach, was wirklich zählt" (Do what for EXPOTIME!.
really matters). With thought-provoking impulses about 4 http://network.icom.museum/icom-milan-2016/registra-
the meaning of life and prejudices in our society and tion/how-to-register/ (visited August 1, 2017)
working world, the Bundeswehr makes believe to offer 5 “We cultivate dialogue" was the motto on one pp slide. As
new perspectives for sense-making as the focus, when dialogue partners were mentioned: museum profession-
being a member of the German army. However, in their als, business partners, digital experts, arts & travel jour-
nalists, city stake houlders, and cultural networks”.
campaign, which reminds more to advertisement cam- 6 They had two different fees for the two parts of the con-
paigns of a fitness studio (“Test your limits”), words like ferences. In Berlin the fundraising day was added for the
„death“, „killing" or „war" were obviously avoided. 11 first time with an own fee including the best practice
training. One could choose only one part or pay for the
When the campaign started in 2015, immediately it was complete programme. The website https://culture-com-
intensely criticized in the public. This seemed to be not munication.fr/en/events/event/communicating-the-mu-
a surprise for the two presenters in the CTM conference. seum-berlin-germany/ (accessed 26 July, 2017) mentions
One of their key learnings was: “Use the power of our the price for the regular conference ticket: 1.080,00 $
critics”. Despite that, after the presentation critical voic- (without the fundraising and best practice). For Quebec
(November 16 until 19, 2016) I found the following rates:
es from the plenum were not welcomed. The Bundeswehr regular Early Bird Rate for Non Profit 950,00 €; Early Bird
was presented as a "company" which needs “new blood" Rate for Business 1.700,00 €; Best Practice Training 15
in any circumstance. Because museums do not attract November 2016 250,00 €. https://www.weezevent.
young academics with such advertisement campaigns, it com//?c=sys_widget (visited September 2, 2016)
has to be questioned why those presentations got space 7 http://culturebrands.de/corinne-estrada/; see also
in a CTM conference. http://www.agendacom.com/ (visited September 2,
2016).
To sum up, in both conferences nobody was really inter- 8 The Programme of the conference: http://www.agenda-
ested in critical debates and both events were likewise com.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/07/CTM16_
Programme_5-July.pdf (visited July 26, 2017)
framed by a strict timetable. The main positive aspect in 9 http://www.agendacom.com/communicating-the-muse-
the ICOM conference was the possibility to meet mem- um-2016-berlin/ ; http://www.agendacom.com/wp-con-
bers of ICOM from all over the world and to exchange tent/uploads/sites/10/2016/07/CTM16_Berlin_KeyLearn-
about future collaborations. Contrary to the ICOM style, ings.pdf (visited July 26, 2017)
the CTM conference offered more interactive opportuni- 10 https://www.bundeswehrkarriere.de/?pk_campaign=-
ties for the participants. The firework of methods and Google%20AdWords%20Grundrauschen&pk_kwd=Bunde-
ideas which crackled on the participants during the swehrJobs (visited August 8, 2017)
three days in Berlin, could not mask the fact that the 11 https://www.taz.de/!5254884/ (visited August 8, 2017)
composition of the participant group was so heterogene-
ous, that many of the questions being asked in the work-
shops could not have been answered by everybody. Usu- References
ally, museums are very hierarchical organized, so not
everybody is responsible for the creation of a new Aubris, Zenaida des: Conference report: Communicating the
branding or to find sponsors. With these problems, main- Museum, Berlin 2016. Arts Managment Newsletter, Octo-
ly museum directors are confronted with, and usually, ber 24, 2016. https://www.artsmanagement.net/index.
only they keep track of the different parts of the institu- php?module=News&func=display&sid=1765 (visited July
tion. But, as museum directors did not play a major part 1, 2017)
at the conference, I had the impression that it was the Hodge, Chloe: The museum of the future is strange, open, and
innovative. APOLLO, August 11, 2016. https://www.apol-
goal of the conference to offer knowledge of the rulers. lo-magazine.com/the-museum-of-the-future-is-strange-
open-and-innovative/ (visited July 1, 2017)
The very good interactive facilitation during the fundrais- ICOM: ICOM Milano 2016. 24th General Conference. Museums
ing day, mainly by Fiona Menzies and Corinne Estrada, and cultural landscapes. Programme. Paris 2016.
could not be continued during the next days with the http://network.icom.museum/icom-milan-2016/pro-
whole group of participants. Networking together with gramme/icom-milano-2016-programme/ (visited Septem-
the presentation of more or less provoking theses (most of ber 3, 2016), http://reactprofile.org/ebook/ICOM2016_Fi-
them were old hats to experienced museum people), the nalProgramme/#3/z (visited November 5, 2016)
possibility of meeting international colleagues, different Rein, Anette: Communicating a museum organisation: the
ICOM General Conference in Milan. EXPOTOME! 2017_17,
methods of the workshops, together with the subsequent pp. 6-14.
publication of key learnings, were the inspiring moments
of the CTM conference.

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EXPOTIME!, issue August/September 2017