二十一世紀初美術館治理與公共責任之初探

Abstract

At the present time, research into the governance of art museums is still somewhat undervalued and few contributions have been made to the subject. However, governance plays a key role in attracting public trust and accountability for art museums. In recent years, the development of art museums has been closely related to issues of governance, including the ownership of artworks, repatriation of artifacts, changing modes of art museum governance, (mis)communication between museum directors and their boards, a movement from elitism to democracy, expanding museum audiences and a new emphasis on social inclusion. This research aims to explore modes of art museum governance and how art museums maintain their accountability to society.

The author begins by looking at the definition and historical development of art museums with emphasis on relevant cases of governance and the significance of governance. Secondly, he explores the historical development of governance and theories of governance from corporate to non-profit organizations, distilling three paramount aspects of governance for art museums: who owns them, who controls them, and who benefits from them. The paper then proceeds by analyzing each of these levels in both theory and practice, specifically confronting the vested interests of ownership, control mechanism employed by museum directors and government officials, and expanding circle of those who derive benefit from museums. These three aspects are in fact intertwined in the practice of art museum governance. For his conclusion, the author argues that good governance is a museums' best tool in living up to its public responsibilities.

Good governance of art museums will not only increase public confidence, it will engage visitors in all aspects of the museum, including donations of cash or works to the collection, participation on the board of directors, volunteerism, and attracting minority groups. Ideally, the ultimate goal is to create an art museum owned, managed and shared by the people.