National Council on Public History

Tawny Paul, Lecturer, Northumbria University

Proposal Type: Panel

Abstract: I wish to explore the ‘edges’ between public history and art, more specifically by addressing questions around the relationship between art and historical memory, how art can be used as a means of engaging audiences, and how art might act as a mediator between past and present. My research focuses on Scotland and considers how visitors interact with the history of nation through portraiture at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. It addresses how these interactions inform their understandings of national identity. I’m looking for collaborators who might be interested in exploring issues related to the above topics (in any national or local setting), either through other case studies or through discussion of theory.

Seeking: I’m looking for 2-3 collaborators (probably academics or museum professionals in education/interpretation) who might be interested in exploring issues around the relationship between public history and art either through a traditional panel format or through a roundtable discussion. The questions that we address might include: What is the relationship between art and historical memory? How can art be used as a means of engaging audiences? How art might act as a mediator between past and present?

My own research considers the intersections between portraiture, public history and identity in Scotland. In 2014, as it prepares for a referendum on independence, Scotland is actively considering its national identity. References to the past form part of a daily discourse about the future of life in Scotland. In recent years, several studies have addressed how Scotland’s museums and galleries represent the nation and its history, however the ways in which visitors interact with this history and how they conceptualise the relationship between past, present and future, remain more elusive. In order to address these issues, my research focuses on a case study of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

Established in the late nineteenth century, the gallery recently underwent a major refurbishment in which its collections were re-organised as a ‘Portrait of the Nation’. The gallery’s ambition was to provide ‘a unique, responsive and essential portrayal of Scotland’ and to offer ‘new and better ways for visitors to connection with Scotland’s history and culture’. Based on visitor research carried out in 2013, my paper will consider how audiences are reacting to the gallery’s portrayal of Scotland and where they find points of connection with the past. Visitor responses to the gallery provide insight into a number of important issues. First is the role that galleries can play in challenging perceptions of identity, in this case, by offering space to migrant groups normally excluded from popular understandings of Scotland’s history. Reactions to these ‘edgy’ displays were mixed and tended to be mediated by visitor understandings of local place identity. Second, it provides insight into the relationship between art and historical memory, in which art can open up a space not only for competing historical narratives, but for competing understandings of the relationship between past and present. Art is not simply accepted by audiences as illustrating standard historical narratives. Rather, it allows audiences to make emotive connections with the past, especially by identifying with character and with place.

Related Topics: Museums/Exhibits, Memory, Theory

If you have a direct offer of assistance, sensitive criticism, or wish to share contact information for other people the proposer should reach out to, please get in contact directly: Tawny Paul, tawny.paul[at]northumbria.ac.uk

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Discussion