The Eden Hore Collection: Exploring scenarios for re-display

Abstract

The Eden Hore Museum of Fashion contains dress and other artefacts, collected by James Eden Hore in the 1970s, and is housed in a private museum on Glenshee Farm (Naseby, New Zealand). Eden Hore bequeathed his collection to his nephew and wife, John and Margaret Steele, on his death in 1997. The aim of this research was to develop exhibition scenarios for the re-display of the Eden Hore Collection in another location.

The New Museology advocates for museums to engage in consultation during the development stages of an exhibition, to benefit both the institution and the public. Participatory Design is a method used by designers to engage end-users in the design process to create solutions which respond directly to their needs. Three key stakeholder groups were identified, and consisted of the current collection owners, a group of experts on the study and display of New Zealand dress, and a group of past and prospective visitors to the Eden Hore Collection. Participatory Design methods, such as interviews and a workshop, enabled exhibition scenario development to be undertaken according to the inclusive principles of the New Museology. Consultation with the current owners indicated that the future location of the Eden Hore Collection was uncertain. Stakeholders identified positive and negative aspects of the current display of the collection. Issues of interpretation, curatorial selection, and alternative display methods were identified. In order to address these issues, alongside the critical uncertainty of the final location of the collection, an exhibition scenario planning toolkit for the Eden Hore Collection was developed. The toolkit takes the form of two decks of cards which enables users to develop exhibition scenarios by determining interpretive themes, collection items which relate to these themes, and consider different display methods.