The Way Forward: Museum Education in India — Part I

The German Chancellor Fellowship awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in 2018 afforded me the opportunity to study diverse approaches to education in German museums. (Read more about my project here). In this two-part series, I will share some of my observations and learnings from my yearlong research stay in Germany as a Humboldt Fellow.

Before I dive in, I would like to begin with a disclaimer. First, museums in India, with respect to their funding structure, policy, history and reception, are different from museums in Germany. Many of us tend to look at these differences as a ‘lack’ or as obstacles to progress. This is not to absolve museums in India of their shortcomings and failures. But holding them to Eurocentric standards and replicating museum practices that work well in Germany here, would be doing museums in India a great disservice. Second, the museum landscape in India itself is extremely diverse. A single course of action or a cookie cutter solution for the hundreds of museums in India would, hence, be an oversimplification.

Therefore, I will focus on larger trends, new approaches and inspiring ideas in museum education in Germany that might have relevance for large numbers of museums in India. Even so, one must exercise caution in transferring solutions across cultures and geographies.

Integrated Approach

One of my biggest insights, 29 semi-structured interviews and 55 museum visits later, is that for museums to function…