INTERVIEW / NEIL MACGREGOR
“We decide for ourselves who we think we are – and museums are central to that”
Accompanies Neil MacGregor’s 20-part BBC Radio 4 series The Museums That Make Us
Matt Elton What ideas about museums did you aim to probe with this new series?
Neil MacGregor We wanted to explore the civic role of Britain’s museums by looking at 20 institutions across the whole of the UK outside London. How are they rethinking their purpose in the community? How are they using their objects to engage with visitors in new ways? It seems to me that museums everywhere are looking again at their history, their collections and their visitors, and thinking about them afresh.
We asked the staff of each museum to pick a single object – but, rather than choosing their greatest treasure, we wanted them to discuss an object that sums up the way in which the museum addresses a particular question or community.
We also talked to members of the public about what each object means to them, and the ways in which the museum is helping the community to reshape its future. What emerges is a fascinating overview of the kinds of questions that different regions and cities want to address, and the objects museums are using to offer answers.
At the time that we’re speaking, you’re about halfway through making the series. Which places or objects you’ve encountered so far best illustrate these themes?
Yes, we have been
