I think this fascination goes deeper than wispy spirits and howling in the rafters, though. And to me, ghosts are not so much an expression of the paranormal as they are the metaphor for all the stories, habits, and, sure, beings, that populate a space, that make up the space's identity. Perhaps my preoccupation is with what I will call "Institutional Ghosts," or what some might call "institutional memory." Such memory can be invaluable to the continued existence of a long-running institution. In order for things to run smoothly, there is value in listening to those soft voices in the rafters.
Of the things that I have experienced this summer with the Greater Denton Arts Council, and there are many, none are more striking to me than the impact memory exerts on this or any institution. Ghosts of programs or exhibitions past. Ghosts of former workers, city history, relationships... It occurs to me, reflecting on my work here, that not one thing happens in this cavernous space that the very walls don't seem to remember, waiting to whisper to future interns in the voice of the way things have always been done.
It is all about choice, after all. Choosing which exhibitions to bring in, which programs to offer, which community representatives to work with - these are things an institution must plan for, agonize over. At what point do we choose to listen to those whispers, those vague apparitions of the past, when we set the agenda for the institution's coming years? And at what point do we choose to acknowledge those Ouija board sentiments and instead choose to change trajectory? Ideally, there is a mix of both. A museum needs to appear consistent in the eyes of its community - the community should have some idea of what to expect from its local institution's exhibitions and programming. But in order to remain relevant to the community it serves, a museum must also be flexible and forward-thinking, listening to new ideas and keeping an open mind.
The details of my research this summer need to remain private, proprietary to GDAC. It is, however, internal research that I think at some point in all of our museum careers we will (at least we SHOULD) see being done around us. Internal reflection is vital to the life of an institution, just as it is vital to being an educator. We cannot represent ourselves, our collections, or our communities without first understanding ourselves, our collections, and our communities. And in order to gain that understanding, the Institutional Ghosts need to be heard.
I'd like to think that, in my time with the GDAC (which actually started in January), I have had the opportunity to impart my own Institutional Ghosts into the space. Perhaps they will lurk in the large pink industrial pipe/valve setup in the Festival Hall, a relic of the building's past life as a steam power plant. I hope that, next year, the ghosts of my Summer 2015 Arts Scouts will live on and mingle with whomever is planning camp. I hope that the spirit of my research lives on as GDAC continues to reflect on itself and its role in the community. Maybe someone will tap on the pink pipe and feel the sensation of an Arts Scouts uniform across their chest, and feel the pride it brought to the 40 inaugural scouts. Or maybe not.
I do know with absolute certainty that I will find companionship with the spirits I have internalized from the Arts Council. On the multidimensional spirit exchange, I do not think we can always control what we will or will not take away from any given experience. While I began working with GDAC in January hoping to get more experience planning programs, that almost feels like the least of what I've done. Trust, teamwork, creativity, resourcefulness, pure and unadulterated exhaustion... I have a feeling I will be haunted (in a good way) by these ghosts for years to come, in whatever museum I work in, in whatever positions come my way.
Our experiences will add up, and I think that as we travel throughout our careers, our Institutional Ghosts will both depart from us and hitchhike with us to other institutions in a slow, steady spread of stories and experiences. And maybe a few ghost stories around the campfire.
Experiences make impressions, some embossed more thoroughly than others. And someday in the future, those embossed experiences, those spirits, will empower me to speak poignantly of the past as it relates to the future.
Happy haunting, everyone!
Alli,
ReplyDeleteI think your idea of ghosts is really beautiful. There is not one thing or person that we interact with that is entirely without ghosts. Even people and objects that we are experiencing as new have some sort of past, and with each experience we have we change and so do all of the things we interacted with during each experience. It's like a kaleidoscope where some central things are the same but with each twist it changes and becomes something new.
It's not always predictable either; as you said, "I do not think we can always control what we will or will not take away from any given experience". I'm sure we've all had experiences that affected us in ways we didn't think they could. Certain things stick, that at the time seemed unimportant, and other things that seemed very important at the time fade. Or maybe they don't fade, and just hitch a ride with someone new or plant a flag somewhere else.
I know you'll be leaving a friendly ghost in the Art Building and I'm sure you and your Art Scouts will be at the GDAC too!