The role of museums in supporting an increasingly embattled democracy is more vital than it has been for a generation – they must provide a civic arena for contentious debate, writes Tristram Hunt.
Public museums “are the true teachers of a free people”. So said Gottfried Semper—architect, democrat and social reformer—when making the case for London’s South Kensington Museum (later the Victoria and Albert Museum) in the mid-19th century. Semper thought that the rising tide of democracy in the 1800s meant that public collections had a pivotal duty to educate “our future masters”.
Today, the role of museums... Keep reading on The Art Newspaper
Public museums “are the true teachers of a free people”. So said Gottfried Semper—architect, democrat and social reformer—when making the case for London’s South Kensington Museum (later the Victoria and Albert Museum) in the mid-19th century. Semper thought that the rising tide of democracy in the 1800s meant that public collections had a pivotal duty to educate “our future masters”.
Today, the role of museums... Keep reading on The Art Newspaper