Hessian Museum Association

The Hessian Museum Association e. V. ( HMV for short ) is the nationally organized and active professional association for state, municipal and private museums in Hesse. The association supports the non-state museums in Hesse by providing specialist advice, further training events, financial support and public relations measures. As an umbrella organization, it is also the technical contact person for the state government in all questions relating to the Hessian museum system. He represents the Hessian museums on a national level, especially in the German Museum Association .

The association is a registered association and has its office in Kassel. It is institutionally funded by the Hessian Ministry for Science and Art .

history

The museum association for Kurhessen and Waldeck was founded on April 21, 1928 at the constituent general meeting in Kassel. It came about at the suggestion of the Prussian Minister of Education, Otto Boelitz, in 1922, who recommended that all museums in the individual provinces work together.

In 1933, the association already had 11 rural districts, 15 municipalities, 13 other members, including several museum and history associations, and 22 affiliated local museums .

During the time of National Socialism , the association took an opportunistic stance as a result of the Gleichschaltung . An increasing influence of Nazi ideology on the activities of the association is evident. From 1940 the association work stagnated and came to a complete standstill in the following years due to the war and the shortage economy. In 1947 the resumption of the association's work was approved.

In 1955 it was renamed the Museum Association for Kurhessen, Waldeck and Upper Hesse , since Upper Hesse members were now also present. An expansion of the regional area took place in 1964 with the connection of the museums from the Starkenburg area and in 1967 with the museums from the Nassau Museum Association, which up until then was still independently operating. On October 31, 1968, the general meeting decided: “The association works in the state of Hesse”.

Membership in the Hessian Museum Association is not only open to museums, districts, cities and municipalities. With a private membership, interested individuals can also support the museum sector in Hesse. Currently [as of 10/2016] the association has 414 institutional members, including 142 districts, cities and municipalities, and 101 personal members.

Support for non-state museums through museum advisory services

Museum advice was the responsibility of the curators of the state museums until the 1970s . As part of their service activities, they took care of the non-state museums in Hesse and ensured a regular exchange between full-time and voluntary museum employees. In 1971 the first full-time position of a museum curator was set up at the State Art Collections in Kassel . In 1973 the second position followed at the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt . Due to the numerous new museums founded in the 1980s and the associated professionalization efforts, this capacity was no longer sufficient. After increasing the financial support from the State of Hesse, the Hessian Museum Association was able to create two more positions for museum advice in North and South Hesse.

The museum advisers support those seeking advice in all areas of daily museum work, for example with

the construction, documentation and maintenance of the collections
concept creation for permanent and special exhibitions
the establishment and design of exhibitions and museums
for measures of preservation in the area of (preventive) conservation and restoration
the development of concepts for educational and mediation work
improving visitor orientation
the financing planning
the placement of skilled workers
and the offer of funding programs for core tasks of museum work.

The museum advice is committed to the "standards for museums" in its daily work.

Regular events

The association organizes and holds museum seminars every year, which serve for training and further education as well as communication between colleagues from different institutions. A specialist conference is aimed at the specialist audience within and outside Hesse with a changing thematic focus. The Hessian Museum Association is responsible for the nationwide coordination of the International Museum Day.

The Association Day takes place annually at different locations in Hessen. After the general meeting, current specialist topics are the focus. In addition to the association members, representatives of the political parties represented in the Hessian state parliament , the state government and the municipal umbrella organizations take part in the association day.

Others

Information is provided in the "Mitteilungen", which appears twice a year, in the association's journal (since 1986), and in the lectures of the specialist conferences that are published at irregular intervals in the museum association texts. The national Internet portal "Museums in Hessen" lists over 350 Hessian museums and museum facilities as well as their special exhibitions.

literature

Harry Thomas: 1928–1988. 60 years of the Hessian Museum Association. A chronicle. Ed .: Hessischer Museumsverband, Kassel 1988.
Messages. Journal of the Hessian Museum Association. Kassel, ISSN 0932-0741 .
Museums in Hessen. A guide to 370 museums in Hessen. Kassel 2008, ISBN 978-3-934377-50-9 .
Kornelia Wagner (edit.): System for the inventory of cultural-historical holdings in museums. 5th edition, Kassel 2009.
Inventory using the "Hessian system" A guide for practice. Kassel 2012 (= MUV No. 14).
Public museum advice in Germany. Brochure of the German Museum Association. Berlin 2010.
Handbook of museum advice. Actors-competencies-services. Ed .: Compania Media. Bielefeld: Transcript-Verlag, Bielefeld 2000, ISBN 978-3-933127-41-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ German Museum Association. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on December 3, 2016 ; accessed on November 28, 2016 .
^ Hessian Museum Association. Retrieved November 28, 2016 .
^ Hessian Ministry for Science and Art. Retrieved November 28, 2016 .
↑ Harry Thomas: 1928–1988. 60 years of the Hessian Museum Association. A chronicle. Ed .: Hessischer Museumsverband e. V. Kassel 1988.
^ Standards for museums. Brochure of the German Museum Association and ICOM Germany. Berlin 2006.
↑ Communications. Journal of the Hessian Museum Association . ISSN 0932-0741 .
^ Museums-in-Hessen. Retrieved November 28, 2016 .

[1] German Museum Association. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on December 3, 2016 ; accessed on November 28, 2016 .

[2] Hessian Museum Association. Retrieved November 28, 2016 .

[3] Hessian Ministry for Science and Art. Retrieved November 28, 2016 .

[4] Harry Thomas: 1928–1988. 60 years of the Hessian Museum Association. A chronicle. Ed .: Hessischer Museumsverband e. V. Kassel 1988.

[5] Standards for museums. Brochure of the German Museum Association and ICOM Germany. Berlin 2006.

[6] Communications. Journal of the Hessian Museum Association . ISSN 0932-0741 .

[7] Museums-in-Hessen. Retrieved November 28, 2016 .