Past IJET - IJET-25 in Tokyo
Sessions
Writing and Translating for Museums and Artists
There are over 600 art museums in Japan, and countless galleries, but only a fraction provide English-language materials about their collections or exhibitions. Of those that do, it’s usually only part of the material that gets translated, and the quality of the English can be so poor that little information is actually conveyed.
This lack of English in Japanese museums is frustrating for visitors who pay full admission yet don’t have the language skills to enjoy what’s on offer, and hampers museums’ ability to share their collections and communicate with the rest of the world. Many Japanese museums would like to have a higher international profile, and interact more with their colleagues in other countries, but they soon bump up against the language barrier.
Alice will look at what museums are doing now as well as what they could do better. She’ll outline the wide range of translation services that museums need, while drawing from her own experience for hints on how to get these jobs. She’ll talk about the challenges of working with curators and within museum budgets, and suggest some creative options for getting into the field and making your own niche.
