When the Budget is Tight Whose Heritage Counts Most? An Ethnological Study of Museums in the Cultural Economy

This project investigates the question of how economic realities, coupled with the cultural contexts in which museums operate, affect the manner in which collections and exhibitions are organized, managed, and developed as museums work to make themselves relevant in society. It do so over a period of three years, working with ethnographic methods of participant observation and qualitative interviews to study eight museums endeavoring to meet the challenges of today’s cultural economy. This project contributes theoretically to the fields of cultural economy and critical heritage studies.