Narratives influence exhibition staff in the same ways they do exhibition visitors. This section examines how the narratives staff carry within their own consciousnesses impact on how they respond to the exhibition narrative and to each other.
If we recall the complex layered narrative model of Lyotard, Boje and Nelles59 it is
possible to consider four levels of narrative operating for staff at any given time.
The first and most unique levels of narrative are those that constitute personal identity. In the past traditional scholars imagined an essential unitary identity for each
individual, though more recently the notion of multiple, hybrid, fluid identities has taken hold.
It’s the story we tell about the self in order to know who we are. Narratives of selfhood provide templates for orienting and acting in the world: by differentiating between good and evil, by providing understandings of agency and selfhood, and by defining the nature of social bonds and relationships (Jacobs, 2002, p.205).
Exhibition team members are influenced by the differences of class, gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation that inevitably demarcate any group of people, though they are more likely than many people to engage also with debates around biculturalism,
59 See section 2.2.7
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representation, appropriation and national identity because of their particular position in the cultural community.
Secondly exhibition team members are influenced by the organisational narrative of the museum that employs them. Te Papa’s narrative is described by its mission: “Te Papa is a forum for the nation to present, explore and preserve the heritage of its cultures and knowledge of the natural environment in order to better understand and treasure the past, enrich the present and meet the challenges of the future”
(MNZTPT). The narrative is also informed by the values embodied in its corporate principles: Te Papa is bicultural (valuing and reflecting the cultural heritage and diversity of Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti); it speaks with authority60
(underpinning activities with scholarship, drawing on systems of knowledge and
understanding including mātauranga Māori61); It acknowledges Mana Taonga62
(recognising the role of communities in enhancing the care and understanding of collections and taonga63); it is a waharoa (serving as a gateway to New Zealand’s
natural and cultural heritage and providing a forum in which to explore and reflect on our national identity; it is committed to excellent service (seeking to meet the needs of audiences and the communities); and it is commercially positive (seeking to achieve successful financial outcomes and offering experiences and products that contribute to the sustainability of the Museum). Because there are potential tensions between different corporate principles64, strategic alignment across these values should be
explored.
60 See discussion in section 6.6.4 61 See discussion in section 6.6.2
62 See quotes by Oriwa Solomon and Athol McCredie in case study for Out on the Street 63 See section 6.6
64 See quote by Oriwa Solomon in case study of Out on the Street for comments about whose
knowledge system constitutes scholarship; also “disputes in the collaborative development of exhibitions are typically discussed in terms of tensions between scholarship and popularization” (Lee, 2002, 184)
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Thirdly, within the exhibition team different exhibition staff are influenced by different professional narratives, depending on their role and position, which underscore these different prioritisations of corporate values and different views about how exhibition development works. Professional narratives are often reinforced within collegial networks and manifest through what conferences different staff attend. The way to address this conflict is not to impose a one-size-fits-all solution that suppresses diversity, but to build a team culture where different kinds of expertise are embraced.
Differences between participants unique life-worlds lead to
misunderstandings, conflict and uncertainty, and participants appear to contest, or challenge, each other’s contributions. The situation is exacerbated because, while the need to collaborate with other groups requires participants to gain an understanding of one another’s life world (including language, expectations, and normative behaviour), participants must focus on their specialized language, knowledge and normative behaviour to solve design tasks. The types of conflicts encountered in team-based museum exhibition development are universally experienced by other types of multi-disciplinary collaborative development projects. What seems like conflict is, at least in part, a process of learning and a dialogue of exchange (Sonnenwald, 1995 quoted by Lee, op.cit.,p.186).
Fourthly the exhibition team works within the exhibition narrative itself. A robust, well- crafted exhibition narrative will have an integrating effect on team members who work on it. It will provide a shared umbrella under which all team members can and will fit.
[Shared] narratives help individuals, groups, and communities to
“understand their progress through time in terms of stories, plots which have beginnings, middles and ends, heroes and antiheroes, epiphanies and denouements, dramatic, comic, and tragic forms” (Alexander & Smith, 1993, p.156). By arranging characters and events into stories, people are able to develop an understanding of the past, an expectation about the future, and a general understanding of how they should act. …The fate of the group – whether large or small, long-established or still in formation – depends on its ability to marshal and maintain a shared story that allows potential members to feel at home (Ronald Jacobs op.cit. p.206).
The current challenge in exhibition development is to achieve cohesiveness in a context of diversity. The tension between these qualities means that exhibition teams inevitably operated in a contested domain, and some level of conflict is inevitable. A
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challenge exists for museums to manage this conflict in inclusive and productive ways and the model of layered narratives provides a tool for this.