A discourse analysis regarding the future of Swedish museums

The aim of this study is to illustrate and analyze the future visions of museums and what the future visitor of museums will be. This will be done through a discourse analysis supplemented with interviews with persons involved in the museum field. The questions at issue are how the future of museums is discussed, expressed, and described in the future visions of the for this study chosen museum actors. Furthermore this study will look into what role the visitor of museums is going to take in the future of museums. It will also study how museums should conduct themselves to the visitor of future museums. And finally, what do future museums seek to achieve in the future? Museums of today are reaching out towards their visitors and hence the museums have gone from being storage for cultural heritage to become active learning environments for the people. Museums seek to achieve a sustainable future in the social-, environmental-, and economical area. Diversity should also be developed within the activities of the museums, both when it comes to qualifications and to work for development in society as a whole. Knowledge of the Swedish society and its history are likely to play a great role in the future of museums seeing that museums can be looked upon as an institution of knowledge. In this respect the cooperation with universities and colleges are of great importance since it gives an increased credibility for the visitor both when it comes to knowledge and research, as well as democracy and diversity. In this time of change lies also the change in the role of the visitor. The future visitor of museums will no longer play the passive part of the listener and recipient of information. The future visitor will play a more active role in the process and product of the museums. This change is in part a result of the digital technology that today is a great part of people’s lives. Museums develop the individual visitor’s motivation and involvement in the community as a bridge between the past, the present and a future.