Paper short abstract:

This paper will examine the global institution of the museum through the local: in terms of history, production and consumption. Focusing on the Lahore Museum, an attempt is made to elucidate the workings of a non-western museum culture and visitors - a large majority of whom are local tourists.

Paper long abstract:

One cultural institution that is frequently visited and consumed as part of local and global tourism is that of the museum and likewise for the museum one sector of visitors is equally important - that of the tourist. In response to this demand many societies invest in the creation of museums and cultural centres where they can convey their own identity and history through the display of material artefacts and at the same time create an archive of their history for future generations of visitors and their own society. This investment in the museum as an icon of culture that can be appropriated cross culturally makes it an interesting cultural arena in which to assess the process of curating this space and also consuming it within the framework of tourism.

In a side step from the norm I want to attend to a museum culture outside that of the west where the world famous museums thrive on their global fame that attracts large numbers of tourists through their doors. Here I am concerned with the Lahore Museum; with little being known about its displays or those who visit. My analysis will examine the collections, display strategies and the discourses that are generated around the material objects exploring what they are used to express - is it a sense of nationalism, regional identity, ideas of art, history or something else? This will then be offset against the understanding of the museum visitors at the Lahore Museum who largely are local tourists and have the desire to see something of the curious and wondrous. The disdain that the museum staff have for such visitors and their wish for foreign tourists adds to highlighting a different mode of museum consumption within the sphere of tourism and the touristic gaze. Many questions arise in the discrepancy between what the museum is interested in doing and what it actually achieves for its visitors who essentially are tourists on a simple day out in the city of Lahore. The dialogue that takes place, or its lack, is what I am hoping to elucidate to reveal a new dimension to the museum that is considered a must see place for most tourists.

E-paper: this Paper will not be presented, but read in advance and discussed

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