Georgian Museum of Fine Arts & Art House Host Renowned 'Be Museumer' Training
The Hospitality in Museums training run at Tbilisi’s Georgian Museum of Fine Arts and Art House - The Place to Meet from September 19-21 had a focus on the needs of a museum visitor with high expectations. The training was especially developed for museum professionals responsible for public services: PR and marketing specialists, public services managers, event managers; as well as guides, receptionists, and more.
Training analyzed the typical customer journey to see what can be done to fulfill the visitor’s needs (in content, in a social way and in visitor flow). Participants also learned how small gestures from museum staff can make a big difference in the Net Promoter Score - the way people think about a museum.
The training also introduced the framework for analyzing museum public spaces from a commercial standpoint, with each topic supported by a selection of real museum cases.
The training was led by Marjolein de Boer, Director of Dutch Academy of Cultural Management, the Netherlands and facilitated by Lilia Iosilevich, coordinator, Dutch Academy of Cultural Management, the Netherlands.
GEORGIA TODAY sat down with Marjolein de Boer to find out more about the project and the Georgian Museum of Fine Arts.
Tell us your impressions of Georgia so far, and of delivering the training here at the Museum of Fine Arts.
We have a wonderful group, comprising mostly young people 25-30 years old, who work very hard, come to the training with concrete questions and who strive to learn. We try to share our knowledge and launched very interactive and open discussions. Sometimes, I do train older people aged 50-60 and there is a huge difference between these two age groups and their interests.
The Museum of Fine Arts and its extension Art House – The Place to Meet is hosting this training. What can you tell us about the venue?
As we are talking, the group of trainees is conducting a study on the customer journey at this museum. From what we’ve seen so far, we are impressed. The building itself is definitely very beautiful and eye-catching with its interior, as well as the exterior. Everything looks so good, so well taken care of, modern and spacious, with a lot of space for interaction.
How much did you enjoy the exhibition and the works of Georgian artists?
The exhibition is undoubtedly impressive in its diversity and number of works. We in Holland would be envious of a collection that is so diverse and multicultural. Having so many female painters is especially exciting.
Even though it would certainly be difficult to assess the potential of the country through one venue, could you tell us your views on Georgia’s potential for developing a museum culture on the example of the Museum of Fine Arts?
From what I have seen so far, it is hard to speak about this issue. Yet, we have met many Georgian people who are motivated, energetic and enthusiastic about learning and discovering novelties.
About the project BE MUSEUMER
The project is initiated and led by Georgian Museum Association and is being run in partnership with NEMO-Network of European Museum organizations (Germany) and Academy of Cultural Management (the Netherlands). Project was launched in February 2019 and will last through 2021.
Funded by the EU’s Creative Europe Program, the project aims to support the development of the museum field in the South Caucasus region:
1. To establish a three-year International Training Program (ITP) to elevate the professionalism of museumers in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan;
2. To establish an International Center of Museum Studies based at the Tbilisi State Academy of Art;
3. To conduct research of the museum spaces in the South Caucasus region in the context of facts/figures/problems/challenges/perspectives and recommendations. The study will be published and be available online.
The BE Museumer International Training program is designed and focused on long-term education to strengthen participants’ leadership and management skills in order to respond to the 21st century museum challenges. Learning modules cover trainings/seminars, public lectures, webinars, peer-to-peer mentorship, forums/symposiums, study tours, research visits, developing and publishing manuals/toolkits, and small-grant projects programs.
The international training program is focused on the topic of key issues in the museum field (museum mission, vision, values, museum education, social and economic value, digital influence, museum marketing, fundraising, business-culture development, museum services and hospitality, audience development etc.). The program modules are delivered by European leading museum experts.
Each component of the ITP is organized in different museums in Georgia, which aims to position those museums and work on the particular museums as case studies during the training series.
BE Museumer ITP has already conducted two series in two different museums, one on museum education (at the Georgian National Museum) and another on Museum marketing issues (at the State Silk Museum). This weekend’s training will focus on hospitality trends and the customer journey in museums and will be held in the Georgian Museum of Fine Arts.
The Georgian Museum of Fine Arts is a partner of the project during the hospitality training and the museum will become a venue and with its various spaces serve as case study for the above-mentioned training. Training experts and 20 participants from different museums of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia will discuss the museum’s experience in the visitor journey and analyze its value as a public space from a commercial standpoint.
For more information, please contact Lana Karaia, project manager, at bemuseumer@gmail.com
+995593478164
By Ketevan Kvaratskheliya