Ecomuseum Features

An ecomuseum is an organic social entity arising from a community agreement for the development of the community and local areas.

The term ecomuseum was first brought to notice in 1971 at the IX Conference for the International Council of Museums (ICOM) in Grenoble and Paris, by the French Environment Minister, Poujalde, for the museums that were being developed in the National Park in France during the sixties and seventies

The arrival of the first community ecomuseum in 1973, the Urban Community of Creusot - Montceau-les-Mines, separated the ecomuseum from environmentalism and the Scandinavian Open Air Museums, and moved it towards a self-managed community initiative.

Although the ecomuseum is a French phenomenon, its philosophy and methodology has influenced other countries (Canada, Portugal, Brazil, etc.). These countries have used the idea of ecomuseum for the democratic development of economically deprived areas and communities with social problems or those which have particular socio-cultural needs. At the same time, the concern for the recovery of community identity through heritage awareness and its use for its own development wasn’t exclusively francophone; American neighbourhood museums and Mexican community museums would also help to change the concept of the museum, which is, essentially, to be useful according to the needs of the community

In the mid-seventies we found ourselves in a situation where circumstances called for a transformation of the traditional museum. Ecomuseum, Neighbourhood Museum, Community Museum, or the Integral Museum in the Round Table of Santiago de Chile (recently approved by ICOM-UNESCO, 1972). A rich panorama, with a similar philosophy, but difficult to differentiate from other types of museum; In addition, more traditional museology gradually started to aim its social functions towards different audiences (e.g. tourists) by improving its programmes, activities and media communication.

However, numerous authors (Duclos, 1991, Boylan, 1992; Hamrin and Haulander, 1995; Davis, 1999; Corsane, 2006; Mayrand, 2010, etc.) have theorized on the indicators (features) of an ecomuseum. Based on them, The following is a list of the minimum requirements of an ecomuseum.

1. A community. It is the essential part of the Ecomuseum. It is the subject as well as the object of the ecomuseum.
2. Recognition of a fragmented territory not strictly limited by administrative boundaries.
3. An Integral Heritage (Natural and Cultural: tangible and intangible). Heritage is a territorial area in which a community has historically exercised its relationship with the environment. A museologist’s work is to detect the marking of its territory and the essential elements that make up the cultural identity of its population.
4. Social action as an altruistic act. The ecomuseum is an initiative of the community. A community that is aware of and committed to social transformation for its future development.
5. Development. The ecomuseum is a formula for social, cultural and economic development of a given environment. The ecomuseum should aim to be an analysis of a particular community’s structure, issues and alternatives. The needs and future evolution of its people and the surrounding area
6. The ecomuseum does not seek, therefore, an institutional technical efficiency but the development of the Community critical awareness. The ecomuseum is a privileged instrument of community development, which does not refer in the first instance to knowledge and enhancement of heritage; it is intended to constitute a mere auxiliary of an educational, informative or cultural progress system and democratizing access to culture. The ecomuseum is a way of releasing (pedagogy of liberation) the initiative and the community actions with common objectives.

This last point has meant that ecomuseums live out of a utopia which, far from being impossible, aims to keep a community alive. This has meant that, for many authors, even its creator Hugues de Varine-Bohan, that the word ecomuseum is not that relevant. The important fact is the integral and sustainable development of the community through awareness and critical reflection of its past and present.

The ecomuseum is a process. The entire population should be involved in it. The community should be involved in every action, from inventory, pretextual-actions (exhibitions, etc.), to research, management and funding must have community representation and decisions should be made democratically. This is how self-management and social transformation will be achieved.

Óscar Navajas Corral

PhD. History and Museology

Translation by Louisa Adcock and María Gómez Bedoya

This paper was published in Spanish in: Navajas Corral, O. (2013): Características de los Ecomuseos; en VV. AA (2013): Parque Criollo y Museo Gauchesco Ricardo Güiraldes, Plan de exhibición, Buenos Aires: Exhibir · Comunicación y Conservación del Patrimonio. p: 33.