Museums for Sustainability: an Exploration of Hungarian Approaches (original) (raw)

Museums are inherently in the business of serving future generations: they collect, safeguard, and pass on the evidence of our natural environments and cultural practices for posterity. But the legacy of humanity includes things, such as plastic, inequality, and exploitative economic systems, that have negative effects on people and planet, and will make it even more difficult, if not impossible, for future generations to live their lives in peace, health, and relative prosperity. Museum collections can be resources to inform our decisions today, based on the lessons of the past, in order to make better choices for the future. As public institutions they also have a duty to lead the way in imagining a more sustainable path for humanity. They also contribute to the local economy and can play a role in the sustainable development on their urban context. Museums across the globe are rising to meet this challenge of the twenty-first century. This research looks at the ways in which museums are doing so in Hungary. Through interviews and questionnaire responses, the understanding of what sustainability means to professionals across the sector is analyzed, examining the ways in which museums are consciously or unknowingly acting for sustainability, as well as the challenges that hinder further sustainability-oriented developments. The findings of the research help understand how the Hungarian museum sector can overcome some of these binding challenges by understanding that the pillars of sustainability (economic, environmental, social,) are interconnected and apply to both audience-facing museum activities as well as internal operations and management. They also show how bringing sustainability into the museum can catalyze positive change that can support the long-term sustainability of the institution as well. Thesis Supervisor(s): Dóra Mérai External Reader(s): Caitlin Southwick (Ki Culture)