The Relativity of Relevance: How Artists Are Serving as a Catalyst for Organizational Change in Historic House Museums

<p>Historic house museums were established as a museum typology in the 1990s, and since then have been largely defined by a commitment to preserving them as cultural heritage sites. As a result of challenges these sites face engaging new audiences and determining value in an ever-changing world, respective staff are identifying distinct opportunities to redefine their impact while ensuring a sustainable future.</p> <p>One strategy is working with contemporary artists. However, this topic has not been fully considered as a subject of scholarship. Partly due to this insufficient scholarly attention, staff approach projects without a theoretical underpinning and a firm understanding of objectives when working with contemporary artists. Through the analysis of two case studies, Vizcaya Museum & Gardens and the Sir John Soane’s Museum, this thesis interrogates contemporary art commissioning practices at these sites and explores how the process can destabilize preservation mandates. The project takes a qualitative approach incorporating interviews with artists and staff and autoethnography. It unpacks curatorial strategies, situates motivations of both artists and museum staff, disentangles the commissioning processes, and places the phenomenon within a trajectory of organizational change.</p> <p>By examining the concept of relevance and identifying the impact and sustainability of the practice, this research traces the origins of these projects and considers the role they play in bringing about change. Furthermore, while staff are actively engaging artists to challenge and expand the value and impact of these sites, the process by which that is achieved is defined by tension and negotiation. If contemporary art projects exist in a liminal space keeping them from fully integrating into sites, their impact will be transient. Museum staff must look again at objectives and recalibrate strategies to ensure that the impact of projects has a lasting effect and ushers in organizational change.</p>