Xiuhua Mountain Museum

XIUHUA Mountain Museum,a building nestled amongthe hills,is the first private museum of the Tujiaethnicity.Its name is an amalgamation of the names ofthe couple who run it,Gong Daoxiu and her husband ChenChuhua.According to Chen,the reason that he put his wife’s     

Suzhou Silk Museum

Located near the Beisita, a scenic spot dating to the Song Dynasty, the Suzhou Silk Museum is an ideal place for both sightseeing and shopping.     

Revisiting Cao Xueqin Museum

A Dream of Red Mansions is known by all Chinese. Its author Cao Xueqin spent his later years writing the novel at the foot of Fragrant Hills, in a western suburb of Beijing. In 1984, Cao Xueqin Museum was built there, at the site of the Man nationality residential area during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 ), adding a cultural scenic spot. I first visited the Cao Xueqin Museum in the spring soon after it opened. At that time, few people knew     

Caveat Venditor? Museum Merchandising, Nonprofit Commercialization, and the Case of the Metropolitan Museum in New York

This paper reviews some of the underpinnings of the current commercialization debate in the nonprofit sector, based on an analysis of Metropolitan Museum of Art data from 1960 to 2002. The case suggests at least two avenues for additional research: First, while analysts tend to see the origins of the commercialization phenomenon in the fiscal setbacks of the 1980s, the economic crisis of the 1970s and the resulting erosion of endowment funds may also have been an as of yet unexplored driving force behind the commercialization trend. Second, current conceptual frameworks of the phenomenon adequately explain the motivations behind the observable rise of the museum's commercial activities. However, the changing rationales as well as economic fortunes of commercial activities in this case highlight the need for a better understanding of the long-term effects and consequences of commercial activity by nonprofit organizations, particularly in light of the current push for increased entrepreneurialism.

Long History and Splendid Culture——The Exhibition of Beijing Historical Relics in the Capital Museum

In the eastern part of Beijing, there is a quiet and ancient lane known as Guozijian Street, which was the location of the school of highest learning during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties (1271-1911). The Capital Museum is located inside the Temple of Confucius on this street. To help people     

Inside the Museum: Nothing is going to change? Adaptation of the Jewish Pre-Burial House in Gliwice

This article discusses the architectural conversion of the historical Gliwice Pre-Burial House into the Museum of Upper Silesian Jews. It describes the former function of the building in the context of the specific history of Upper Silesian Jews, the Haskalah movement, and funeral rites in Judaism. The main part of the paper is devoted to the presentation of the architectural design and the functional division of the planned museum as proposed by the architectural collective that the author is part of. Special attention is given to a discussion of the conceptual framework of the design which tries to reveal the continuity of unformatted architectural memory. The features of proposed design, such as the central installation of The Cloud, merge commemorative aspects with new functions related to hosting public events and historical display. In this way, the design negotiates between remembrance of the Jewish community and the needs of the new inhabitants and users of the space. Thus, the paper contributes to the larger discussion about the adaptation of former Jewish facilities for new public functions.