For decades, museums and galleries have been widely adopted by nearly every nation to preserve and exhibit their respective cultural values and histories. There is also debate as to whether or not museums should focus primarily on displaying items from their own culture or from around the world. Personally, I believe that conventional museums should highlight the cultural characteristics and artworks of the country, although the presence of separate museums containing objects from other nations does not undermine the sense of national pride.
Educating people about the history and culture of a country is one of the key reasons we maintain museums in the first place. They collect major cultural relics, artifacts, works of art, and other art forms to reflect our past and to assist historians in their research. Rather than exhibiting internationally recognised artworks or sculptures, these museums, which largely represent our culture, should feature items of which we as a nation may be proud. For instance, many European national museums are devoted only to preserving artifacts and artworks from that country, and therefore draw a huge visitor base from all over the world.
In spite of this, the concept of the museum in the modern era has altered substantially. We now have aviation museums, war memorials, automobile museums, computer museums, archaeology museums, etc. International collections are required to make this type of museum attractive and functional. In Australia, for instance, there is a museum dedicated to automobiles from over 20 countries, and the exhibits there are ideal for the purpose intended. Museums with foreign collections frequently attract tourists and serve as a fantastic method to promote tourism.
In conclusion, it is the responsibility of national and traditional museums to foster national history, although we also require museums with worldwide collections to make them more functional and renowned. The emergence of one category does not undermine the relevance of any other.
