Reinterpretation of Kingston Museum's Muybridge Collection for contemporary public engagement

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Kingston Museum holds one of the four pre-eminent archival collections of Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904), a Kingston-born photographer who pioneered studies of movement and motion-picture projection. The Collection has a distinctive local connection since it was donated by Muybridge himself in 1904. However, considering the international influence and legacy of Muybridge's works throughout modern culture, Muybridge and his work have a relatively low local public profile and recognition, and the Collection has not been fully utilised and connected with contemporary local audiences. A need for the reinterpretation of the Collection, using creative and engaging methods, has been identified. The Muybridge Collection will be reinterpreted by exploring and re-presenting it through innovative and creative contemporary arts, along with other Muybridge-focused public programmes at Kingston Museum from 2017.My research will investigate the implications and impact of the reinterpretation of Kingston Museum's Muybridge Collection, through contemporary arts, for local public engagement. Alongside literature research into history and theories of the reinterpretation of historic collections, other UK museums with defined historic collections will be examined for the contemporary reinterpretation of their collections. Further research on other major Muybridge collections and the modern adaptation of those collections for contemporary audiences will also be undertaken.Through this research, I hope to delineate the roles of contemporary arts for the reinterpretation of Kingston Museum's Muybridge Collection and their implications for current local audiences. I would also hope to extend the outcomes of the research to other local museums in the UK, by providing a practical case study for the reinterpretation of a defined historic collection.