Dolls at the Palace Museum, adorned with robes inspired by the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), are on sale to visitors. Museums are seeking to develop revenue streams by selling products inspired by artwork on display. (China Daily)

Curators discuss how to translate offerings into a revenue stream

Museums should no longer be thought of as reinforced concrete buildings housing inanimate objects in glass cases, but should instead focus on interacting with visitors and raising revenue, a seminar heard.

The seminar, "Museums and Cultural and Creative Development Communication", was held at Beijing's Palace Museum on Nov 5.

Co-hosted by the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Chinese Museum Society, the seminar explored issues around the "cultural and creative industry chain" for museums, with international specialists.

The challenge facing museums is how to translate their offerings into a revenue stream, either through ticket sales or souvenirs.

Xiang Yong, deputy director of Peking University's Institute for Cultural Industries, believes a museum artifact has three core values: worship, demonstration and interaction.

"For example, there is only one Mona Lisa in the world. Its rarity creates the 'worship effect' on the audience. They want to interact with the masterpiece and take souvenirs home rather than just seeing it," Xiao explained.

"So the key is really about how to transfer the three values into economic value," he said.

Xiang identified Yilan county in northeast Taiwan as a successful example.

Yilan once suffered from pollution and economic problems related to traffic congestion. Since the 1980s, however, the county has brought polluting factories under control while developing new-concept eco-museums that include among their exhibits depicting nature, farms, villages and architecture.

The county covers 2,137 square kilometers and has some 50 museums, incorporating purpose-built traffic routes designed to provide a particular cultural experience.

"The whole of Yilan has become a giant museum," Xiang said.

On the subject of souvenirs, Wang Yong-ming, a professor from Lunghwa University of Science and Technology in Gueishan, Taiwan, said creativity is the key to success.

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