Museum of Ethnography — Attraction in Stockholm

This is two reviews from two of my students:

Review 1 by an anonymous student: The museum of ethnography was a sight to behold. There were so many things to see and learn about in the first part, called the Magazine. But it was also sad because all the things were taken and then exhibited by the people who stole them. Fortunately, the museum is going to return all the stolen goods to the victims.

And in another area, there is an exhibition called Yokai. Yokai are mythological spirit demons that assist people if they are paid or hurt people if they are provoked. If you are a fan of yokais then you are going to love this. There you can explore and enjoy the area where you learn more about Japanese history on yokais and present legacy of these demonic beasts in manga, games and anime.

For me the museum was worth the price, and it was fun. I love the stories about yokai. Of course, the first part called the Magazine was good, but the ghost stories were more interesting since I know about yokais history and I'm fan. I think it was worth it, so if you are a fan and want to know more about yokai, go to the museum and enjoy the show and learn more about what you love.

Review 2 by Rasmus: The day at Etnografiska on Djurgården was really interesting and fun. The most interesting thing was the Yokai exhibit. The treasure room was really interesting as well. When I saw the Benin-room I got sad at first but then I became happy because they told us that they will send back the stuff to the original country.

Three things that was interesting in the Yokai exhibit was the so called ’’The 1000 demons parade’’ movie, the moving electronic spider was really cool and the ghost stories part was kind of scary but cool at the same time.

The reason I got sad when we were in the Benin exhibit was because we were told that Europeans were stealing things instead of asking for them and that is not ok to do. But like I said before I got happy when they told us that the things will be sent back.

I think the admission price was a bit high but it was worth it even if you go alone.

I rate this visit on the...

Ethnography is a tough space right now, politically risky as it can be "othering" of remote cultures and groups. One should be careful when putting together an exhibition. And certainly, they were careful when putting together the content. Another exhibition on the Days of the Dead as though that's the primary culture of Mexico, after 2500 years of numerous kingdoms, phases, of a rich and diverse modern culture, etc. But still, Days of the Dead are visually spectacular and easy to enjoy. I do my own Days of the Dead parties from time to time.

Safe.

And I quite enjoyed the very brief, safe Mexico exhibition.

For the rest of the collection, nothing anywhere in the building about the universality of humanity, just lots of othering of foreigners, oddities of the non-white, non-normative cultures. Some nice Louis Poulsen hanging lamps to remind us that there is a safe, generic white Scandinavia just outside the doors.

Not safe is the menu in the kitchen. The themed Mexican foods are... not Mexican. They are the kind of "Mexican food" one can find in the ethnic aisles of ICA. I was there with four Mexicans and two Mexican permanent residents around the table, we were left wondering about the ethnography of Downey, California where Taco Bell comes from. Or Texas. But not Mexico. I assume not ethnography of Downey is forthcoming, one has to wonder why?

Our recommendation? Have someone who has visited Mexico handle the recipes in the cafe. Or just remove these dishes from the menu if you've never been to Mexico. It just reinforced the ignorance of this museum of...

I was looking forward to visiting this museum. I really like museums and visit them all the time but this was one of the worst museums I have been to. I was looking forward to Viva Mexico exhibition and it was pretty terrible. If you have ever visited Mexico and fell in love with it you will be disappointed and if you have never visited it, after this exhibition you will not have a wish for it at all. It's unbelievable to me how an exhibition portraying Mexico can be boring but here it is, in this museum. And then you go to the upper floor and visit other installations, just as dull as the Mexican one. Why is there a Swedish folk song playing in the area where Native Americans are portrayed? I felt this was kind of derogatory and gave me a bad feeling. And the room representing Africa looking like a children's playroom? There were a bunch of questions marks above my head, confusion, annoyance and overall bad taste in my mouth in the end. 4.3 is a pretty bad review but I came here to read the comments to see other people's experiences. I see that a lot of reviewers had a free pass which just means that it's pretty easy to give a decent or good review with a combination like that. I payed for a daily ticket which is about 13 EUR and I would call this robbery. I know that there is a yearly pass for multiple museums but for a person staying for a few days wanting to visit just his museum it's just...