Museums in Nordland

Koen de Vette

We have visited several museums during the run of the course. Among others were the Peter Dass museum, the Herøy museum and the Vefsn museum. Aside from the various collections that we came to see, our objective was to discuss the matters in which a museum could contribute to the globally changing landscape. Surely it should be that reading the countless descriptions accompanying spears, ancient ornaments and what-have-you displayed there are perpetuating some revelation about the societal relevance of those objects being shown there in that moment. In other words, the collections assembled and explained about in museums should hold value as a part of something bigger than knowledge about those individual objects themselves, as a puzzle that could not be completed without the pieces of understanding that museums have to offer.

What puzzle is it then, that needs completion with the help of museums? In my opinion, it could be any topic that is currently relevant in this globalising world. A lot of problems are being addressed at the moment and this is a major cause for concern about the question where this world is going. One needs only to look at the media of today to find the most significant example: the election of Donald Trump as new president of the USA has stirred and shocked the world. He is often perceived as the result of the growing discontent of the people who do not feel represented by the government anymore, a fact Trump cleverly used in his campaign of pointing fingers and making claims to solve it by direct and aggressive countermeasures (e.g. building a wall, kicking out foreigners, stop investing in sustainability etc.) However much I am inclined to frustrate myself over the abyss the world seems to tumble into, effort to raise awareness about these global issues should never be stopped, which is where museums come in the picture. The museum is the place to spread (objective) information over the population, where science, literature, art etc. can be used as a means to this end.

In the case of the museums we have visited in Nordland, the global issues that I have written about were however not particularly highlighted. These museums where a valuable source of information for the local history and important figures which have shaped the area as it is today. In the Herøy museum, we gained a deepened understanding about how Norwegian life -on a farm- must have been in the past. The Vefsn museum was devoted to inform the public about the history Mosjøen and the Peter Dass museum contained all we needed to know about Peter Dass (duh). We should always be aware of the interest that museums might or might not spark in the public. Therefore, in this age of great and constantly fresh information flows, museums should contemplate on their appeal and consider to engage in this problem-laden world by addressing and elaborating on global issues. Naturally, not every museum is in the position to do this. The Vefsn museum for example is concerned with the history of the local region and can therefore hardly be integrating current global issues. However, opportunity should never be ruled out; it is my belief that every museum can trigger the motivation and imagination of the visitor -concerning the ways of life in some way or another- so that the role of museums is never questioned in terms of societal relevance.