Creating Common Ground: Transforming the Exhibition Landscape of the National English Literary Museum

Abstract

This article discusses the recent transformation of the way in which the National English Literary Museum (NELM) uses its exhibition space, in the context of the development of the museum's new permanent exhibition, This is what I'm made of: Landscape in South African Literature. The article starts with a discussion of the reasons why there was a need for redevelopment of the exhibition space, specifically in terms of the difficulties of exhibiting intangible heritage and the museum's social context. The discussion moves on to consider the motivation for the choice of the theme of landscape in South African literature, outlining the ways in which this choice enabled and broadened the museum's visitor engagement strategy. The second half of the article discusses the activities undertaken in the refurbishment and development process, and particularly describes two community engagement initiatives through which the museum involved the Grahamstown community in the development of the exhibition.