The Transmedia Museum

Birds of a Feather
Jenny Kidd, CARDIFF UNIVERSITY, Wales

There has been a growing interest in understanding what 'transmedia' might mean in the museums context. Transmedia storytelling broadly relates to the extension of narratives across multiple platforms, with many different entry points and possibilities for engagement/contribution - is this a useful way of understanding the stories museums construct?
This session will explore the concept, encouraging participants to find a common language for talking about the implications of embracing such an approach. Of course it is only fitting that we have our own adventures with narrative en route...

Bibliography:
This paper will give a fully referenced introduction to the notion of transmedia using in particular the writings of Henry Jenkins 2006, 2010, 2011 (but also Pratten 2011, Rose 2011, Dena 2009, Giovagnoli 2011) demonstrating how 'radical intertextuality' is fast becoming the norm in a museum encounter. I have begun to build on these ideas in my recent book 'Museums in the New Mediascape' (Ashgate 2014)
The original empirical research and analysis is based on 20 museums in the UK:
The National Football Museum, Manchester, England
People's History Museum, Manchester, England
National Waterfront Museum, Swansea, Wales
National Army Museum, London, England
National Gallery, London, England
Tate Britain, London, England
Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester, England
Big Pit, Blaenavon, Wales
British Library, London, England
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, England
M-Shed, Bristol, England
The Cardiff Story, Cardiff, Wales
New Walk Museum, Leicester, England
SS Great Britain, Bristol, England
Titanic Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Imperial War Museum - Churchill War Rooms, London, England
The Hepworth, Wakefield, England
Magna Science Centre, Rotherham, England
Historic Royal Palaces, The Tower of London, England
Wellcome Collection, London, England