Film: Where’s the line in the sand?

Pamela Erskine-Loftus
Director – The Media Majlis
at Northwestern University in Qatar

Leona Bowman
Registrar – The Media Majlis
at Northwestern University in Qatar

Creating new museums in the Arabian Peninsula (henceforth the Peninsula), as with anywhere in the world, involves risk. In the Peninsula, notions of what museums are, their purposes and contributions to society, are very traditional and highly digital museums are not currently represented. The Media Majlis at Northwestern University in Qatar is a non-accessioning institution investigating and discussing local and regional media, journalism and communication.

Due to its thematic remit the content curated will be largely, though not solely, digital in nature and challenging to Peninsula audiences. On multiple levels it is potentially risky in terms of both its’ mission and its’ content—though in this risk also lies great opportunity and invention.

This presentation will use The Media Majlis as a lens through which to explore risk in museum-creation in the Peninsula and how to embrace this duality of risk.