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Focus of activities
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Cultural policy debate and advocacy
Redefining the relationship with society and highlighting
the significance of culture as a counterweight to the values
of commerce and competition as forces defining society are
the issues that will determine the fate of museums. Cultural
institutions must consider what is the value of art and culture
in today’s society, and what challenges and threats
they face. The purpose of the Art Museum Development Department
Kehys is to guard cultural values. To this end, it plays a
key role in reinforcing the social importance of museums.
Kehys is a mediator between decision-making in the cultural
sector and the debate in the art museum sector. It also reports
to the various actors relevant to the sector on current issues
and future strategies. It conducts research projects which
examine and assess the role and importance of museums today
from diverse perspectives.
Kehys is a museum policy tool to shape the future of the Finnish
art museum sector and to participate in the international
museum-related debate.
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Cultural equality and accessibility
Studies show that participation in culture is still socially
unequal; cultural institutions are part of an unequal society.
Museums must be aware of this and react to it – simply
opening the doors is just not enough.
Kehys offers its expertise in cultural accessibility to cultural
actors and makes what the art museum sector has to offer to
different audiences more accessible in accordance with the
principle of equality.
Museum experiences and the meaning of art are personal but
museums also emphasise shared and communal nature of meaning.
The activities of Kehys are focused on individuals and various
groups of the society around it and it aims to improve cultural
democracy and social equality. This involves communication
and networking across sectors.
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Evaluation and assessment of impact
In a world where the terms of success are laid down by the
logic of the economy and the market, art and culture often
find themselves at a disadvantage. Culture and especially
its public institutions should be challenged to consider and
justify their purpose. But if the terms of the debate and
the criteria for success are laid down according to principles
that are foreign to the objectives of the cultural world,
the battle is already lost and culture will be left to defend
itself using the unquestioned rhetoric of business. For this
reason we must determine the criteria and objectives of evaluation
ourselves.
Kehys supports art museums in efforts to construct their own
quality and evaluation systems and produces itself national,
internationally comparable information on the operations of
art museums. Kehys studies and develops good practices for
implementing evaluation and development projects and presenting
and utilizing their results. Kehys continues on the impact
assessment work on art museums and develops methods and indicators
for measuring social, cultural and economic impacts from the
perspective of art museums.
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Developing an art museum network
The Art Museum Development Department Kehys at the Finnish
National Gallery takes part in the national development task
in the art museum sector by encouraging the establishment
of networks and cooperation between art museums. Establishing
a network strengthens the operating conditions and regional
role of all the art museums and creates opportunities to cooperate
with other museum and cultural institutions.
16 of Finland’s art museums are regional art museums.
From the start of its operations, Kehys has actively developed
cooperation with regional art museums and regularly organized
joint meetings among directors of regional art museums. Seminars
organized together with regional art museums serve as an effective
platform for sharing good practices and experiences nationwide.
Kehys continues and develops activities that underscore the
role of art museums as regional cultural institutions.
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Disseminating know-how
The Art Museum Development Department Kehys has a bi-directional
role as a developer of expert services. On the one hand it
makes available and promotes access to the internal expertise
of the Finnish National Gallery for art museums and other
cultural actors. On the other hand, supported by the network
of partners and experts it has established, Kehys enhances
awareness of the art museum sector’s and the entire
cultural sectors’ national and international know-how.
It is involved in the planning, implementation, follow-up
and evaluation of continuing education and advanced training
of professionals in the art museum and museum sector and publishes
information and guidelines regarding the art museum sector.
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