What are museums for? - Revisiting “Museums in a Troubled World”

Focusing on the present situation in the Nordic museum scene, entailing economic pressures and restructuring, this article introduces the thoughts and ideas of Canadian museum expert and author, Robert R. Janes, to put things in perspective. After revisiting the 2009 book “Museums in a Troubled World”, authored by Janes, a discussion between the authors is presented which focuses on the complexities of collaboration between museums and business. Finally a “hands on” section is included, in which different types of possible collaborations are examined. In this section, the topic of value creation is also addressed, as it is pointed out which measures might be necessary to rebuild a position of relevancy in society for the Nordic museums.