大象传媒

Neil MacGregor presents a new series for 大象传媒 Radio Four celebrating the role and ambition of museums the length and breadth of the country, and in the process he'll be finding answers to the question 鈥榃hat are Museums For in 2022鈥�.

In a week visiting the National Museums of the United Kingdom, Neil faces the challenge of finding a representative for England. In the event he plumps for the oldest of them all, the Ashmolean in Oxford. But rather than the Alfred Jewel, an item that seems to represent something essential in the English psyche, the museum have opted for a far older object from Northern Syria. Acquired by Oxford's own T.E.Lawrence, this small model clay wagon, possibly a child's toy, provides an opportunity to demonstrate how the museum can provide for a huge breadth of local people from all over the world.

Museums have always been telescopes trained on the past to help locate a sense of place in the present. Neil believes that role is an active one, responding to changes in the people museums serve and the shifting social and cultural landscape they inhabit. After spending much of his life at the centre of our national Museum life in London, Neil is taking to the road to discover more about the extraordinary work being done in Museums outside the capital, from Stornoway to Stowmarket, and Belfast to Birmingham.

In each episode he visits a single museum, inviting them to choose an object from their collections which they feel best illustrates their civic role, and the way they relate and want to relate to their local audience. Very rarely have they chosen a crown jewel from their often priceless collections. More often it's an object with a particular local resonance, or which helps tackle episodes from the past which are being viewed very differently by citizens in the 21st century.

He鈥檒l be visiting the great national museums of Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, as well as major city institutions in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and elsewhere. And in spite of the challenges of the last two years, everywhere he meets passionate teams who are dedicated to providing a unique experience for both local audiences and visitors from further afield.

Neil writes: 鈥淲hat鈥檚 going on in our museums is at once challenging and exciting and it can only really be understood by visiting as many as possible and finding out how they have approached what is a vital role in providing a sense of local, regional and national identity.鈥�