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Museums look to innovation for future

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Museums should no longer be thought of as reinforced concrete buildings housing inanimate objects in glass cases, but should instead focus on interacting with visitors and raising revenue, according to a seminar in Beijing.

"Museums and Cultural and Creative Development Communication" was held at Palace Museum on Nov 5.

Co-hosted by the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Chinese Museum Society, the seminar explored issues around the "cultural and creative industry chain" for museums, with international specialists.

The challenge facing museums is how to translate their offerings into a revenue stream, either through ticket sales or souvenirs.

Xiang Yong, deputy director of Peking University's Institute for Cultural Industries, believes a museum artifact has three core values: worship, demonstration and interaction.

"For example, there is only one Mona Lisa in the world. Its rarity creates the 'worship effect' on the audience. They want to interact with the masterpiece and take souvenirs home rather than just seeing it," Xiang said.

"So the key is really about how to transfer the three values into economic value."

Xiang identified Yilan county in northeast Taiwan as a successful example.

Yilan once suffered from pollution and economic problems related to traffic congestion. Since the 1980s, however, the county has brought polluting factories under control while developing new-concept eco-museums that include among their exhibits depictions of nature, farms, villages and architecture.