On September 20th the third edition of Ask a Cura0tor was held. This is an international initiative that urges people from all over the world to ask the curators and workers from the museums specific details about the different museums and cultural institutions via Twitter under the hashtag #aksacurator. This year the participation reached 622 museums from 37 different countries and a total of more than 26,000 tweets.
And these figures make you reflect – a lot! In each edition the number of museums registered has increased, and also the number of questions and answers sent, both at a general level, and at a level of museums in particular. And the contents covered went from specific consultations about the collections to the work and training of the curators, as well as about education, visitors, accessibility, communication, exhibitions… a long list. Among the many, many questions it is difficult, not to say impossible, to make a detailed selection of the interesting questions from throughout the day without leaving any out. But here is a selection of questions with some of their answers:
@Andreabgood @museothyssen @kidsinmuseums our educational department @EducaThyssen does think of the different segments in our public 2/2
— Guillermo Solana (@guillermosolana) September 18, 2013
@AndreaArriet The smallest work is “Two heads of women” (4 x 13,2 cm) MPB 111.653 Take a look! http://t.co/8G5N4h82xk #AskaCurator — Museu Picasso, Bcn (@museupicasso) September 18, 2013
@tomkaters @AskACurator Easy! Our interactive Snow Queen story den- part tent, part tunnel, all fun- text & textiles. Awesome! #AskACurator — Polar Museum, SPRI (@polarmuseum) September 18, 2013
@curiousother We’re able to engage new people and talk to them easily, so I would say openness, dialogue and fun! #AskaCurator — Historical Museum (@1stHistorical) September 18, 2013
@AmedeoGiulia Our collection curator suggests ‘Manual of a curatorship’ by Thompson, John M. A. London: Butterworths, 1986 #AskaCurator — Museu Picasso, Bcn (@museupicasso) September 18, 2013
Thank you again for the 622 museums in 37 countries that took part in #askacurator. There were over 26,000 tweets! 🙂 — Ask A Curator (@AskACurator) September 19, 2013
This year’s participation has been very positive both in terms of individuals and of museums and the hashtag #askacurator was once again a trending topic. Will there be another edition in 2014? We hope so and that the people continue to be curious enough to want to find out about the inner-world of the museums and the cultural institutions.
Cristina Martín
Community Manager
Related links
Questions and answers to the curators: Ask a Curator 2012
After ASK a CURATOR: notes for assessing a good idea
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