The text below is from my proposal which was sent to the MERL staff in early 2026.
MERL Closing Poster
Jan 2026
Is time running out for the MERL? it would seem not. At the moment, at least. So why produce a poster saying the MERL ‘is’ closing down?
For a museum to exist requires a social need for historicity. What could cause that situation to change?
Which narratives create our history? Which alternative narratives try to influence and or erase one history over another? Globally we have many political view points each with their own emphasis on eschewing one historical version over another. Are those influences really so far away that the UK wouldn’t be forced/want to rebrand it’s own history? Would the MERL’s current version of history be relevant in that situation? I think these are important subjects to be aware of and be critical of, should an alternative narrative gain prominence in our ‘post-truth’ era. Even if that isn’t the case at the moment, it is a thought to explore. What could cause the situation of the MERLs closure in the future?
The closing down poster would include a URL/QR code pointing to an online explanation of the posters artistic purpose (textually similar to the paragraph above) The webpage would also have questions of the sort:
- Why would the MERL close?
- Who could make that decision?
- What could be the events/situations leading up to that decision?
- What would be lost? Culturally, historically, educationally?
- How many people would be directly affected?
- How many people would be indirectly affected?
- Could the MERL’s closure be indicative of some wider movement of removing public history?
- Could it be indicative of changing cultural habits?
- What other questions could arise around the MERL’s closure?
MERL Response
The above proposal was rejected on the grounds that it would sow confusion amongst the public and send out the wrong message.
The MERL staff, kindly forwarded the email correspondence discussing their decision process around the poster's rejection:
Note I have not changed the order of MERL email exchanges. Hence the oldest email is at the bottom and the newest at the top of the following exchange.
