The post-pandemic museum in the Philippine context

Abstract

In response to the global crisis brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, the Philippine government declared a countrywide State of Calamity, apart from imposing quarantines of different stringency across regions. As workplaces have been mandated to implement alternative arrangements, these major changes in turn have caused disruptions in, and called for adjustments to, business operations, with museums being among the affected. As museums are venues that store physical collections that call for physical presence and even the tactile involvement of audiences and visitors, their operations will have to be inevitably transformed post-pandemic, as are their visitors, whose mental health are likely to have been affected by the pandemic and resulting quarantine. Using the lens of crisis management, this paper analyzed the museums’ response to the changes brought about by the spread of disease and the resulting imposition of quarantine. Through a review of the responses of several Manila-based museums to the crisis, the paper assessed the readiness of the museums in creating appropriate and effective measures to manage decreased foot traffic and economic impact, among others. The paper asserts that various tactics were used as reactions, instead of proactive steps, to mitigate the effects of the pandemic to museums. The analyses are juxtaposed with degrowth initiatives, which may potentially address the economic issues arising from the pandemic. These initiatives may be of help in resolving the issue of collections management and curatorship, with a focus on the quality, rather than the quantity, of the museum’s collection and profits. Through postmodern and new museology theory, shifts from physical to virtual and other alternative modes of art experience are discussed as possible and effective solutions to this crisis. Overall, the paper aims to propose a revised model of operation that may be useful to museology in particular, and mental and planetary health in general.