Museum Operation Workshop

CEBU, Philippines - The recent "Running a Museum Workshop" at the Museo Sugbo went its course without encountering any snags, with more than 60 participants learning more about the dynamics involved in the successful operations of a museum.

Held from February 6 to 8, the three-day workshop was spearheaded by the Visayas Association of Museums & Galleries Inc. (VAMGI), the National Museum and the Province of Cebu, with resource speakers and facilitators Ana Labrador PhD, Roberto Balarbar, Raquel dela Cruz-Flores, Marcelo Cercado and Erika Robis imparting valuable information to its participants.

Held in conjunction with this year's National Arts Month celebration, the workshop covered the importance of making collections accessible through properly catalogued and organized exhibitions, as well as tackled the issues and marks involved in the presentation of objects of significance and the creation of an organized collection-archiving system.

There were also lectures and discussions delving into curatorial concepts and the rudiments involved in the exhibition process, and presentations that touched on the trends and practices of private and public collections, focusing on ethnographic and archeological collections.

The workshop's three-day itinerary also covered the importance of disaster preparedness and risk management for museums and galleries, helping its participants to develop relevant and effective emergency drills for disaster preparedness.

With museum workers, gallerists, art collectors and local government representatives from different parts of the Visayas and Mindanao attending, the workshop proved to be a valuable learning experience for its participants. (FREEMAN)