The British Museum

Final Report

INTERNATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMME 2016

Ana Šverko, Dipl.Eng.Arch., MUD, PhD, graduated in architecture from the Faculty of

Architecture University of Zagreb in 1998, received MUD from UC Berkeley CED in 2002,

and PhD from the University of Zagreb in 2011.

Research associate at the Institute of Art History - Cvito Fisković Centre Split

Supported by the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust

I live in Split, a city that grew out of Diocletian's Palace, built in Later Antiquity, and all my

professional life has unfolded in the presence of this monument. I have thus taken part in the

documentation of archaeological researches in the Palace, and devoted my undergraduate and

graduate theses. Today my professional activity is oriented to two main aspects: one is the

preservation of the Palace as a live and populated monument, and the other is the perception

of the edifice over the course of time.

The Peristyle of Diocletian's Palace. (Photo by Zoran Alajbeg)

My everyday activity covers research into the heritage, with a special focus on research into

Diocletian's Palace and its presentation in works of European, particularly British, travel

writers and artists in the 18th and 19th centuries and its scholarly and theoretical

interpretation.

My responsibilities in the Institute of Art History, Cvito Fiskovic Centre in Split include:

processing and systematising art historic material; publication of research results; the

organisation of scholarly conferences of national and international in scope; collaboration in

museum work; working together with Split University in scholarly work and delivery of the

curriculum; collaboration on the protection and renovation of monuments; creation of an

appropriate information system (humanities research database); popularisation of research in

the area of art and architectural history; collaborations with scholarly and specialised

institutions at home and abroad.

The sphinx on the Peristyle. (Photo by Zoran Alajbeg)

So Diocletian's Palace, a Roman monument filled with Egyptian influences, from the

columns and Egyptian temples to the sphinxes that grace it, is practically a museum, a live

museum. This edifice is a starting point for a number of interests with which I deal in my

work, and which I expected to advance during the ITP: primarily by scholarly research into

the collections, by gaining the knowledge of planning and delivery of exhibitions. One of the

key objectives of the Institute of Art History is the presentation of the results of our research,

for which purpose we are developing collaborative ventures with museums; the process of

mounting exhibitions was especially challenging for me at the British Museum.

My particular interest is in Roman heritage and ancient heritage in general, so the Department

of Greece and Rome at the British Museum is certainly where I expected to expand my

horizons and acquire the finest knowledge of these subjects.

Collections databases; libraries & archives and exhibitions were museum areas that I was

particularly interested in learning about during the ITP, because I wanted to acquire

knowledge about the organisation of museum materials, as well as about the organisation of

exhibitions. I was also excited to learn more about fundraising and marketing, for in Croatian

conditions we are often faced with a shortfall of such skills when it comes to the presentation

and publication of the results of our research.

As a researcher into the history of architecture, I always wonder and endeavour to find out

what my topic might be moving towards – I am interested in the future of the research and

find that the transformation of scholarly investigation into exhibitions is the finest way to

fulfil my objectives.

Scholarly research is a search for truth and beauty in the past that helps us understand and to

live the present better, to plan for a better future.

Sharing the results of research with the academic community is exceptionally valuable and

worthwhile, but to succeed in the right way in presenting research to the wider audience for

cultural matters is a complex matter and a still greater challenge.

Now, after this programme, I can conclude that the ITP experience in the British Museum

was for me a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The experience in the British Museum, in which I had the opportunity to become acquainted

with every phase of this complex process of the transformation of scholarly research into an

exhibition, including conversation and interpretation, legal and economic issues, design and

dialogue with the audience, the educational role of an exhibition and many other phases

afforded me a foundation for being able to devote myself to participating in this splendid

mission.

Room 3 at the British Museum. (Photo by Joanna Fernandes)

I was particularly glad and grateful for the ability to work so closely together with

international experts dedicated to the historical heritage, for I believe that connectedness via

the history of art and culture, via joint exhibitions and projects is a way in which the world

can be intertwined with the finest of all links.

ITP group after one of many workshops. (Photo by Joanna Fernandes)

I feel happy and privileged at the chance of the new and, I believe, fruitful international

collaborations, learning and exchange of experiences that this programme will provide me.

Another great experience was our time spent at the Bristol Museums and Art Gallery where

we enjoyed great hospitality and professional devotion from all colleagues in the Museums,

particulary Sue Giles and Kate Newnham. It was a fantastic experience to have so great an

insight into this group of Museums, with an outstandingly interesting combination of

archaeology, natural history and the fine arts. We saw historic houses with the original

content, and new and exciting, extremely interactive M-shed museum, devoted to the history

of Bristol in many diverse acpects. The whole system of the Bristol Museums, Galleries,

Historic Houses and Archives was extremely interesting, and the programme was very

compatible with programme that we had attended at the British Museum.

ITP participants at The Bristol Museums. (Photo by Joanna Fernandes)

The highlight of my stay was working in the Greek and Roman Department, as well as the

understanding the importance of the interpretation of research and the possibility of

international collaboration, and, above all, the sense of belonging to a family of scholars

dedicated to the cultural heritage and its presentation.

I am very happy that I have had a chance to participate in the fantastic ‘Room 3’ exercise; to

choose a single object and design around it an imaginary museum exhibition. My wish was to

build the feature around a great book on Diocletian’s Palace at Split by Robert Adam, a

famed British architect who first systematically studied Diocletian’s Palace in the mid-18th

century and made it known worldwide. Since the departure of the British Library, there is no

copy of Adams’s great work in the British Museum, but thanks to the enthusiastic support of

Dr Ian Jenkins and courtesy of The Travellers Club in London the book was borrowed for

this occasion, and I was delighted to design a whole story around it with new knowledge and

experience gained during the ITP.

Robert Adam’s book about the Diocletian’s palace at the exhibition. (Photo by Ana Šverko)

This practical application of knowledge was a beautiful opportunity for me. I am particularry

grateful to Ian Jenkins and Celeste Farge from the Greek and Roman Department for their

great help regarding this one-object exhibition project. It was a fantastic experience not only

because it tested my own work, but also because of the beauty of the diverse objects and

stories that my colleagues have brought to this occasion.

The next step in my work is to prepare an exhibition that shows Diocletian’s palace over the

course of time, from Antiquity onwards. My contribution in this project is of my particular

interest, as it would be one of the most valuable outcomes of my long-term study of

Diocletian's Palace. The structure of the exhibition would be founded on the book of Robert

Adam as well.

I believe that Croatia has a series of other monuments apart from Diocletian's Palace that

deserve international presentation, and the ITP experience was of enormous use to me. My

institution (Institute of Art History) aspires towards international collaboration and exchange

of knowledge, and thus the very fact that I studied in such a highly reputed museum was of

the greatest benefit. My wish is to put more emphasis on international collaboration in my

future work, and to help direct our mission to connect specific art histories from all over the

world – and this is something that we can start immediately.

I am in close contact with my ITP colleagues – my friends, because we have a chance to

develop collaborative projects based on the sharing of knowledge and experience. After all,

connection through art history is a very beautiful and powerful infrastructure of mutual

understanding.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Claire Messanger, Emma Croft and Rebecca

Horton for fantastic organization and warm friendship during the ITP; and to the generosity

of Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust that supported my participation.

This experience was so rich and intensive, that I would be happy to write another report about

all the benefits form this programme at least once a year.