Curatorial practice in popular music museums: An emerging typology of structuring concepts

Abstract

Museums have been central to the institutionalisation of popular music as heritage; yet, there has been little scholarly focus on the curatorial strategies behind the exhibition of popular music’s past. This article outlines an emerging typological framework of structuring concepts in curatorial practice in popular music museums. The typology brings into conversation concepts previously identified by a number of popular music museum scholars. These concepts are critically assessed and built upon substantively by drawing on the subjective experiences of curators involved in the exhibition of popular music in museums in a range of geographical locations. Eight concepts are discussed: dominant (and hidden) histories, projected visitor numbers, place, art and material culture, narrative, curator subjectivity, nostalgia and sound. We argue that such a framework acts as a useful tool for comparing institutional practices internationally and to more fully understand the ways in which popular music history is presented to museum visitors.

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