The Role of Today's Museum takes a critical, interdisciplinary approach to studying museums and museum policy. As a result, the book will be of interest to academics and students engaged in the study of museums, cultural policy, social policy, cultural sociology, public policy and cultural and political economy. Highlighting the gaps that exist between policy ideals and museum practices, the book also provides valuable insights to policy-makers and practitioners.

Dr David Wright discusses culture during lock down

It was great to see the partnerships with Brazil harvesting fruit and being recognised by the Funding Agency of the State of Sao Paulo and the British Council this week. Two projects were mentioned involving Joanne Garde-Hansen of the Centre for Cultural Policy Studies, firstly the British Council Researcher Links Workshop Beyond the Digital with Prof Gilson Schwartz (USP) and secondly, the career development of Dr Danilo Rothberg (UNESP) who is now a co-researcher with Joanne on the Narratives of Water Project, (a FAPESP-SPRINT-Warwick project). We will be launching the blog for this soon.

Both projects have explored the creative currencies flowing from and between 'memory projects' in the UK and Brazil, and in particular the communication and media strategies employed in the representation, perception and governance of water in Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte and the United Kingdom. In the context of adaptation to increased occurrences to flooding, drought, water security and scarcity, the time is right for more transnational communication on this issue. After all, water circulates globally, and media are also flowing in new directions. Some of this research appears in the newly published Social Memory Technology: Theory, Practice, Action (Routledge), a co-authored book between Joanne and Karen Worcman (Director of the Museu da Pessoa, Sao Paulo). Karen Worcman joined Gilson Schwartz as a visiting researcher in 2014, and the Museu da Pessoa continues to be one of the most important digital museums in Brazil. For more on the UK-Brazil collaborative initiatives see the British Council's Report (in Portuguese) and the news item (in English).