Author(s): Ceren KARADENÄ°Z
Museums have been in the process of modernisation since the beginning of the 21th century. Museums adopt the concept of new museology for increasing the number of active followers from all segments of the society with social activities, training programmes and mass communicationbased presentations during modernisation process. This type of museology is interpreted as postmodern museology and with postmodernity museum becomes an institution where everyone disscusses about different topics and shares variety of subjects through free and innovative exhibitions. Collecting, conservating, training and exhibiting are the usual functions of the contemporary museums. By the way more innovative functions substituted education. One of them is serving for the development of community. Designing breathtaking exihibitions and educational activities are not the only missions for the museums of today, they should also make emphasis on unity and solidarity of people, focus on cultural diversity, serve for the wealth and mental health, fight the fear of death and aging, discuss about love and sexuality and support the sustainability of environment. Contemporary museums are dynamic centers of a new age’s variation and social changes with the motto of “to be for a person not for an object”. In this context, contemporary museums diversify the social functions as seeking the methods of being accessible to everyone and to emphasize the development in social participation and various forms of cultural diversity. The number and variety of museums have been increased for ten years in Turkey. Museums in Turkey increase the use of technology, develop national and international projects and do visitor researches along with the process of adaptation to the European Union. In this study the opinions of Turkish museum experts on the social functions of contemporary museums are identified accordingly with these developments. The opinions of museums experts about the indicators of contemporary museum through social functions are shared in the scope of this study. Consequently the views of museum experts about cultural diversity and accessibility are revealed in details.
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