A day in Edinburgh (‘Pinky’ Htet Mto Htut Aung, Myanmar, ITP 2024)
Written by ‘Pinky’ Htet Myo Htut Aung, Museum Coordinator, U Thant House (Myanmar, ITP 2024)
Hey, it’s Pinky again, greeting you from Scotland. I can’t believe we’re already in the second half of the ITP; every day has been so resourceful. This morning, our Glasgow team—Lillian, Tatiana, Shubhasree, and I—rushed onto a busy train led by Ed (from the Burrell Collection), who was trying to find seats for us. We’re heading to Edinburgh! According to our agenda, we’re visiting the National Museum of Scotland, but we had no clue who we’d meet or what the visit would be like.
The streets of Edinburgh’s old town were buzzing with street performers since it’s the first day of the Fringe Festival. Right after we got to the museum, Claire greeted us and invited us for an informal chat over coffee and tea. Our faces lit up at the thought of snacks and coffee after our early, hectic journey. When we walked into the room, we were pleasantly surprised by many unfamiliar but friendly faces. After a quick intro, we found out they were curators from different departments, and we had an amazing, unexpected networking session before they took us on a tour of the museum.
Each curator enthusiastically shared their thoughts on the displays, the challenges they’ve faced, and the work they’re doing to improve the galleries. I was impressed to learn they’re using more thematic displays rather than taxonomic ones, interpreting colonial history using subtle tones, using diverse mannequins for clothing displays to represent different body shapes and people, and showing portraits of the creators behind the artwork, making us feel more connected to the stories of the objects. They also have impressive contemporary collections of crafts and designs.
Coincidently, continuing the topic about Egyptian galleries from my previous blog, I was excited to see how they have done it. The Egyptian gallery has been thoughtfully reimagined to challenge visitors’ stereotypes and forge a connection with contemporary Egypt. The text highlights the continuity of Egyptian culture, illustrating how ancient traditions and contemporary life are intertwined. There has been some interesting discussion about displaying mummies among us but the curator explained how they tried their best to highlight the life and story of the individual behind the mummy, to go beyond the mummy as an artifact and to explore and share the human story that lies behind it. This dynamic presentation not only enriches the historical narrative but also invites visitors to see Egypt as a living, evolving society rather than a static relic of the past.
Overall, I was inspired by their efforts to bring change to every gallery: being more transparent about histories, being more inclusive, working with different communities, collecting and displaying more artworks by women, and eliminating stereotypical representations of cultures as much as possible.
Edinburgh holds so many core memories from my last visit, so I spent my free time reminiscing with my colleague Shubhasree, and of course, we ended our day with a little gin tasting!
