Community Spaces

Drawing on social science research from many disciplines and on case studies from around the world, Elizabeth Crooke looks closely at how museums and communities relate to one another. Her main examples come from Northern Ireland, South Africa, Australia and North America, where museums and local groups face difficult and layered challenges.

A central concern is the museum's work with diverse communities. Crooke shows how collections can help people discover their own pasts and also come to understand the histories of others.

The book argues that the idea of community deserves far more careful scrutiny, as does the importance museums hold for different groups. Its case for this is that the connection between museums and communities has rarely mattered more than it does today.