How can existing initiatives add to the RECHARGE project experience?

Thoughts after the field trip carried out by Sound & Vision's RECHARGE team

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At Sound & Vision's we believe that understanding the ins and outs of the daily work of cultural heritage spaces, such as museums, is important to better develop the work and the team contributions to the project. So, on the 5th of April 2023 we set out on our first field trip. We chose the Museum Catharijneconvent, where we visited the Gospel - musical journey of spirit and hope exhibition. Here are our impressions about the exhibition and the work done by the museum.

The exhibition

The Gospel exhibition was organized in thematic rooms in which different contexts and backgrounds were discussed. An interesting and striking fact is that the exhibit presented not only the history of this musical genre, but also tied in historical context and brilliant discussions about slavery, social movements and anti-racism. In addition, the exhibit narrative generously visited the influences of this specific genre on other musical genres and artists who express the influences of gospel in their music. 

Opinions on the show? here is what Kelly Hazejager thought: “I loved it. I really appreciated that the exhibit reflects how religion, music, history, politics, art and heritage are all woven together in our daily lives. The chosen themes really helped me understand the chronologies of gospel music, especially the different perspectives and facets. It reinforces for me how music, especially when people come together to sing, makes something very powerful, greater than the sum of its parts.” While Nienke van Schaverbeke commented: “I really enjoyed the exhibition. It was moving, it was light and it was heavy at times, but in balance. I learned a lot and I took the time to reflect on it after the exhibition.”

Collaboration and networking

The Gospel exhibition is a perfect example of the importance of collaborative work and networking for cultural heritage institutions. The vast majority of the objects on display came from other cultural institutions. Without the loan of these materials the exhibition would not have happened. Focus groups were held with different parties, involving the Dutch gospel communities (singers, choir-directors, musicians, arrangers), church leaders and specialists on religious themes, experts at diverse areas such as civil rights movements, inclusive language, music and african percussion/rhythms to collaborate in deciding the themes of the exhibition.

This reality leads us to reflect that collaboration and networking are fundamental for a museum, even in its most basic function, which is to organize and promote an exhibition. Now, let us reflect on the countless other possibilities that open up when a CHI recognizes the importance and invests in participatory collaboration. It is through these initiatives that knowledge and experiences can be shared, in addition to the possibility of broadening the scope and opening discussions on a wide variety of topics.Rasa Bočytė concluded that “the exhibit would not have been a success and would not have been possible without collaboration. What struck me as an important point was that in charge of the exhibitions were individuals (Willem Driebergen and the lead curator, Shirma Rouse) who already had established links with relevant communities. I don’t think it would have been as successful if curators who were outside of these communities would have started such an exhibition - it might have risked becoming an exercise of a museum reflecting from outside on others (which is a more common stance for museums but it’s way less effective in my view).”

Gospel & RECHARGE: Possible Connections

What correlation can we draw between our experience in this visit and the work that has been developed in the RECHARGE project?

The general feeling we had while visiting the Gospel exhibition was that the collaborative work was present in the entire process of design/organization of the exhibit. Without it Gospel would have had a completely different result. Perhaps it would have been more restricted in terms of objects exhibited, or it would not have covered the variety of themes discussed throughout the display that resonated with so many people. However, we also came to the conclusion that through this exhibition the museum reached out to a larger range of visitors, resulting in an additional benefit of financial health to this institution. Kelly Hazejager commented: “The focus groups held at the very start of the exhibition design process are an important model to learn from. It ensured that the narrative and themes would be relevant and interesting to the target audiences.”