Handcrafts: where after museum?: Economuseums: Challenging the (open air) museums or “new reality” in cultural heritage protection

• Main Author: Krstović Nikola
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institute of Ethnography, SASA, Belgrade 2012-01-01
• Series: Glasnik Etnografskog Instituta SANU
• Subjects: craft; open air museum-scansen; education; presentation; economuseum
• Online Access: http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-0861/2012/0350-08611201079K.pdf

The presentation and interpretation of handcrafts and trades are some of the most complex and challenging tasks in the open air museums operations. At the same time, considering the hypertextual characteristics of crafts, the integrative protection and holistic approach in representation are profound. Historical, social, cultural and economic backgrounds of handcrafts, not just its tools and products, even know-how, provoke traditional postulates of museums. Actually they provoke museum`s structure and politics almost to the point of complete re-defining. This change is a consequence of accepting contemporary museological thoughts embodied in new types of museums - economuseums. The main goal of this paper is perceiving the possibilities of interaction and permeate between living craft heritage and space/simulacra/ mission of scansens, finally real life itself and open air museums.