Are our museums in crisis?

For International Museums Day we examine the contemporary value of museums and harness the 2017 theme of saying the unspeakable.
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Santos Museum of Economic Botany, Adelaide; Photo ArtsHub

Thursday 18 May is International Museums Day (IMD). It is a moment when the global community of museums celebrates their value to society. This year’s theme champions “Museums and contested histories: Saying the unspeakable in museums”.

While the theme inadvertently points to programming – both from a curatorial and public engagement perspective – saying the “unspeakable” in museums might have a very different tone for those working within the sector.

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina