School of Geography

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Museums in the time of COVID-19: visitor participation and experience at Immigration Museum and Sovereign Hill

Ljubetic, Zara ( 2021)

Immigration Museum, Melbourne and Sovereign Hill, Ballarat are two iconic sites of Victoria, the cultural capital of Australia. Tied together by their histories of immigration, I aim to decipher the socio-cultural impacts of these sites during the precarious time of COVID-19. Through the perspective of eight interview participants and their shared multimedia, I analyse the visitor experience during 2021. The research findings are organised around the central themes of representation, time, and culture: representation meaning static versus progressive representations of the world at these sites; time meaning the COVID-19 reflections on these sites; and culture meaning how these sites foster connection and creativity during a crisis. I argue that these museums are fundamental to our sense of state identity, provide an escape from reality, and transport us to both confronting and optimistic times. In providing an insight into these sites during the time of COVID-19, this research contributes to the emerging scholarship of place-making, identity, social media and community during a time of disconnect at museums globally.