Collection GB 0074 LMA/4302 - THE MUSEUM OF

7.97 linear metres

Until August 2001 the records were held at the Bargehouse building at Oxo Tower Wharf on London's South Bank.

GB 0074 LMA/4302 1998-2001 Collection 7.97 linear metres The Museum Of , temporary museum project

The Museum Of was a series of temporary "museums" housed in the Bargehouse building at Oxo Tower Wharf on London's South Bank; a building owned by the Coin Street Community Builders that had been derelict for the previous forty years. Beginning in October 1998 and ending in July 2001, The Museum Of ran five temporary "Museum" projects: The Museum of Collectors (Nov 1998 - Mar 1999), The Museum of Me (May 1999 - Oct 1999), The Museum of Emotions (Feb 2000 - Jun 2000), The Museum of the Unknown (Oct 2000 - Feb 2001) and The Museum of The River Thames (Mar 2001 - Jul 2001). The aim was to explore and question the place of museums in our culture, our experience of them and what we might want from them in the future. The project also aimed to encourage new audiences, commission new work, animate the building and surrounding area and create possibilites for innovative collaboration and partnership with a lasting legacy.

The core values of The Museum Of:
Question - At the heart of The Museum Of's concept lies a question about museums. What is a museum? Why do we visit? What do we want from a "museum" experience?
Participation - The five temporary "museum" projects that made up The Museum Of involved the participation of a broad range of people both in the creative process, as visitors to the museums and as decision makers, shaping the future of the project and regeneration of the area. The project encompassed the ideas and aspirations of people who lived and worked in the area together with local schools, colleges, arts and business organisations. Participation in the project and access to the museum was free.
Innovation - The Museum Of commissioned new work, created new partnerships and encouraged new audiences. The work explored and challenged our relationship with museums and culture in a different way from a "traditional" arts event and animated the interior and exterior of a disused building.
Collaboration - Each "museum" invited the contribution of artists, performers, local people, museum professionals, anthropologists, businesses, schools and audience members. Since the launch of the project The Museum Of has collaborated with: The Central School of Speech and Drama, The Horniman Museum, University College London, The Social Sculpture Unit at Oxford Brookes University, The Poetry Society, Wimbledon School of Art, The London Contemporary Dance School, Scarabeus Theatre Company, Primitive Science Theatre Company, Shunt Theatre Company, Crazy Horse Theatre Company, The London School of Fashion, The Actors Centre, Trinity College of Music, and numerous residents and business people.

The Museum Of has received support from: Coin Street Community Builders, The South Bank Employers Group, Erco lighting, Mills and Allen, The Poetry Society, The Body Shop, The Sirat Trust, The Arts Council of England, NESTA, London Arts, Bloomberg and Thames Water.

Until August 2001 the records were held at the Bargehouse building at Oxo Tower Wharf on London's South Bank.

Donated to the Archive in September 2001.

Papers of 'The Museum Of ...' temporary museum project. The collection holds material from four of the five "museums" that together formed The Museum Of. These are: The Museum of Collectors, The Museum of Me, The Museum of Emotions and The Museum of the River Thames. The collection holds no records for The Museum of the Unknown.

The Museum of Collectors (Nov 1998 - Mar 1999): The Museum of Collectors looked at who collects, what people collect and why? It housed a display of forty-two local people's collections, everything from rejection letters and snow domes to snails and monsters. The collections were displayed in consultation with the collectors by an interdisciplinary team. The records held in the collection include: Glassine pockets containing items collected by visitors to the museum, photos and text relating to collectors exhibiting at the museum and advertising material.

The Museum of Me (May 1999 - Oct 1999): The Museum of Me combined art works that looked at the self with a chance for visitors to experience, record and display aspects of themselves as they travelled around the space. Responding to input from artists, poets, performers, psychologists, designers and anthropologists, each visitor was given the opportunity to contribute to the making of The Museum Of Me by creating their own personal museum exhibits during their visit. The records held in the collection include: Tin Cans containing items belonging to visitors, miniature glass bottles each containing a written "secret", large glass bottles containing multiple "secrets", a range of labels on which visitors wrote down various aspects of themselves and their experiences, black and white portrait photographs and a selection of emphemera including a promotional t-shirt and several diaries containing handwritten comments by visitors filled in about days that were important to them.

The Museum of Emotions (Feb 2000 - Jun 2000): The Museum of Emotions asked the question where and how do we express our emotions? Ten artists were commissioned to evoke different emotions through creating a series of interactive environments. An ephemeral experience created by light, sound and installation explored how much feeling is lost, found and expressed in the context of the museum. Records for this collection include: plastic bottles each labelled with a visitor's response to the question "What makes you cry?", a large hardback book containing visitors comments on the theme of love and a number of advertising leaflets.

The Museum of The River Thames (March 2001 - July 2001): The Museum of The River Thames focused on the River Thames as the largest public space in London. Creating a journey from the Bargehouse to the river and back again The Museum of the River Thames reflected on the experiences of those people and places, that told a story of their environment and personal relationship with the river. The Museum included collaboration with: The London Rivers Authority, The Thames Explorer Trust, The Millennium Bridge Trust, Platform and The Museum of London. The collections includes: Origami Boats made by visitors to the Museum, drawings and comments on possible uses for the space if the River Thames did not exist and a variety of objects found in the river.

The final series is entitled "Marketing and Administration" and this includes advertising material relating to all five of the "museums" and a press pack that sets out the aims and intentions of the project, detailing the nature of each "museum" and setting out how the projects developed and progressed.

The Collection is arranged in the following series according to the chronology of the exhibitions themselves:
LMA/4302/A Museum of Collectors;
LMA/4302/B Museum of Me;
LMA/4302/C Museum of Emotions;
LMA/4302/D Museum of The River Thames;
LMA/4302/E Marketing and Administration.

These records are open to public inspection, although records containing personal information may be subject to closure periods.

Copyright to this collection rests with the City of London.

English

Fit

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

August to October 2010. Cultural resources Cultural facilities Cultural centres Heritage interpretation centres Museum facilities Museum collections Museums The Museum Of , temporary museum project Specialized museums Museum visits Museum policy Museum administration Museum activities Museum programmes London England UK Western Europe Europe Thames, river Collections

Donated to the Archive in September 2001.

Papers of 'The Museum Of ...' temporary museum project. The collection holds material from four of the five "museums" that together formed The Museum Of. These are: The Museum of Collectors, The Museum of Me, The Museum of Emotions and The Museum of the River Thames. The collection holds no records for The Museum of the Unknown.

The Museum of Collectors (Nov 1998 - Mar 1999): The Museum of Collectors looked at who collects, what people collect and why? It housed a display of forty-two local people's collections, everything from rejection letters and snow domes to snails and monsters. The collections were displayed in consultation with the collectors by an interdisciplinary team. The records held in the collection include: Glassine pockets containing items collected by visitors to the museum, photos and text relating to collectors exhibiting at the museum and advertising material.

The Museum of Me (May 1999 - Oct 1999): The Museum of Me combined art works that looked at the self with a chance for visitors to experience, record and display aspects of themselves as they travelled around the space. Responding to input from artists, poets, performers, psychologists, designers and anthropologists, each visitor was given the opportunity to contribute to the making of The Museum Of Me by creating their own personal museum exhibits during their visit. The records held in the collection include: Tin Cans containing items belonging to visitors, miniature glass bottles each containing a written "secret", large glass bottles containing multiple "secrets", a range of labels on which visitors wrote down various aspects of themselves and their experiences, black and white portrait photographs and a selection of emphemera including a promotional t-shirt and several diaries containing handwritten comments by visitors filled in about days that were important to them.

The Museum of Emotions (Feb 2000 - Jun 2000): The Museum of Emotions asked the question where and how do we express our emotions? Ten artists were commissioned to evoke different emotions through creating a series of interactive environments. An ephemeral experience created by light, sound and installation explored how much feeling is lost, found and expressed in the context of the museum. Records for this collection include: plastic bottles each labelled with a visitor's response to the question "What makes you cry?", a large hardback book containing visitors comments on the theme of love and a number of advertising leaflets.

The Museum of The River Thames (March 2001 - July 2001): The Museum of The River Thames focused on the River Thames as the largest public space in London. Creating a journey from the Bargehouse to the river and back again The Museum of the River Thames reflected on the experiences of those people and places, that told a story of their environment and personal relationship with the river. The Museum included collaboration with: The London Rivers Authority, The Thames Explorer Trust, The Millennium Bridge Trust, Platform and The Museum of London. The collections includes: Origami Boats made by visitors to the Museum, drawings and comments on possible uses for the space if the River Thames did not exist and a variety of objects found in the river.

The final series is entitled "Marketing and Administration" and this includes advertising material relating to all five of the "museums" and a press pack that sets out the aims and intentions of the project, detailing the nature of each "museum" and setting out how the projects developed and progressed.

The Collection is arranged in the following series according to the chronology of the exhibitions themselves:
LMA/4302/A Museum of Collectors;
LMA/4302/B Museum of Me;
LMA/4302/C Museum of Emotions;
LMA/4302/D Museum of The River Thames;
LMA/4302/E Marketing and Administration.

These records are open to public inspection, although records containing personal information may be subject to closure periods.

Copyright to this collection rests with the City of London.

• English

• Latin

English

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

• English