ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to explore whether museums have been able to reimagining their venues as spaces where the critical issues of time and explores the museums can facilitate and stimulate action from communities and play a role in changing attitudes. It describes a series of interviews with 14 museum workers selected to represent a range of institutions across the UK. For many people working in museums, activism starts with collections. Contemporary collecting that reflects some of the pressing issues in society, such as the refugee crisis, can enable museum staff to reach out to community groups to facilitate wider conversations and debate. David Fleming, the Director of National Museums Liverpool and president of the Museums Association , writes in the introduction to Museums Change Lives that, as society faces issues such as poverty, inequality, intolerance and discrimination, museums can help people understand, debate, and challenge the concerns.
