Motueka District Museum’s exhibition Treasure Hunters – a look at local collections and treasures featured unique, unusual, and historical treasures from private collectors in the community. When the request was advertised in local papers The Guardian and the Motueka Golden Bay News, the museum received more than 21 responses to display private collections. This exhibition reaffirmed to the community that this museum is their museum and strengthened the positive relationship that the museum has already cultivated with their community.
The exhibition brought the community to the heart of the museum and showed how excited the community was to be involved in the museum. The private collectors began to understand and appreciate the hard work that goes behind putting up exhibitions, as they were given a chance to help with the display of their collections.
The collectors were engaged in the process as the ones with the knowledge and stories pertaining to their own collection. The role of museum staff therefore changed from experts to facilitators who ensured the integrity of the information being collated.
A clear process that listed all collection items, with photographs attached, and signed contracts ensured that both parties were clear about exactly what items were being loaned to the museum and about their mutual obligations.
‘This exhibition created an ideal opportunity for the museum and its community to work together. It is only when a museum tells unique stories of its community, stories that can’t be told anywhere else in the world, that it brings the museum alive and makes it a far more interesting place to visit for both locals and international tourists,’ says Pauline Westall, Manager of Motueka District Museum.