How much do you trust museums to tell the truth? This was the big question driving my research as a 2023/24 Fellow at the University of the Arts London AKO Storytelling Institute which culminated with the inception of the Museum of Truth & Lies (MOTL).
Having spent my whole life working in the world of museums, I embarked on a quest to discover how much museums reveal or conceal the truth.
My challenge was to come up with a theme and creative format focused on tackling mis and disinformation. My creative enquiry was centred on exploring to what extent museums lapse into telling half-truths and some of the existing research I explored. You can read more about this here.
Making a podcast series
I did not start my fellowship intending to make a podcast series. After months of experimenting with various iterations and tussling between prototypes, I finally landed on the right format to achieve my goals. First, I needed to elucidate my theory of change which was tricky given I was tackling a wicked problem. Fortunately, our pool of mentors signposted us to a wealth of resources including the Sheila McKechnie Foundation’s Changemaker’s Toolkit which proved invaluable. In the spirit of storytelling for social change, I used this framework to develop a problem tree that helped me to identify specific target areas.
First, I needed to pinpoint a concrete problem to solve. I hypothesised museums inadvertently lapse into telling ‘half-truths’ whether by omission or obfuscation. A root cause is ‘Orientalism’ as explained by the writer Edward Said. I decided to zoom in on addressing orientalist paradigms of pedagogy and curation centred on othering that can distort truth-telling. I took a multi-pronged approach in defining my target audience to encompass students, educators, and lay museum visitors.
By visualising the root causes of surface-level problems I found a clearer focus. As the mist began to clear, I gained a deeper understanding of the status quo which helped me to visualise the wider context and potency of my storytelling intervention.
Problem Tree for the Museum of Truth & Lies by Yasmin Khan.
Armed with this root-and-branch solution for change-making in museums it became obvious where to channel my energy. It affirmed what format my creative output needed to be: a podcast series to inspire the next generation of curators and truth-tellers.
Using an audio-led format also meant I could play to my strengths. As an accredited coach, I love collecting oral histories and enjoy posing questions to people from all walks of life. Honing this participatory approach meant I didn’t have to have all the answers to proceed with my next steps. I could pool solutions.
I sought to ask activist artists and cultural leaders what they think museums are doing well and what they could do better when it comes to truth-telling. The precious insights I discovered through this conversational journey were highly sharable and useful too. But how to ensure impact? What would be the legacy? My strategy was that after listeners engage with the podcast series, I would signpost audiences to an online toolkit called the Muse-Zine, an artist-illustrated DIY magazine centred on ‘edutainment’ – blending entertainment with education – to embed as a lively and evergreen resource in curriculums.
Download the Muse-Zine: A Playbook for truth-telling in museums
Listen to the Museum of Truth and Lies podcast series.
Read the original article in full here Curbing misinformation in museums through storytelling – Museums + Heritage (museumsandheritage.com)