With its research project “museum global”, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen is responding to the impact and challenges of globalisation processes. Taking its own collection as point of departure, a critical analysis will be started that questions the canon of western art historiography along with the methods of presenting and mediating art.

“Who does the museum belong to?” This at first glance simple question asked by a schoolboy from a “welcoming class” will be asked anew at the symposium against the backdrop of our changing societies. With the aim of studying and disclosing the existing structures in museums and responding to the growing diversity and heterogeneity in the ways of life exhibited in society, the symposium will think about new forms of mediating art and showing/illustrating cultural expressions and artefacts.

Who has a voice in the museum, and who should get one? The aim of the symposium is to find out who up till now has been represented in the museum and what possibilities can be set up for expanding the involvement of the general public. The attitudes of the institution and its protagonists play a decisive role in the encounter between museum and audience. What forms of personal and media-based mediation are particularly suited to widening people’s gaze, changing our perspectives, and communicating between one another as equals?

The symposium will take place from 18 through 20 January 2017 at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Grabbeplatz 5, 40213 Düsseldorf (in German and English, with simultaneous translation). It is directed to international museum experts, art and cultural mediators, and pedagogues.

The symposium will include several themed panels and a “Market of Ideas” on the following topics:

1. Museums and Mission Statements
How do museums define their mission with respect to the public? How have museums changed in this regard, and what new concepts have arisen? How can the collaboration between academic research, education, and mediation in the museum be made successful?

2. Representation and Participation
Who is represented in the museum and in what form? What concepts are there for the issue of representation in regard to the involvement of existing and potential circles of visitors? Which concepts point the way through their impact on programme design and the structures of the institution?

3. Transparency
How can visibility and transparency be given to institutional structures, the various roles of the museum’s protagonists, staff members, and visitors, and also to the models of representation in mediation programmes?

4. Diversity
What methods are there for mirroring and involving the interests and orientations of an ever-diversifying society? Which diverse contexts shape the perspectives of the mediators, and which shape those of the visitors?

In connection with the symposium, the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen is putting out an open call for the panels and the “Market of Ideas”:

Panel Contribution
The wish is for scholarly contributions that are geared to practice, that address the topics given above, and that are reflected on in light of the listed issues. Panel contributions are to be kept to 20 minutes. Speakers will receive a fee and their travel expenses will be reimbursed.

The submitted proposals should include the following:
– Title of the talk in German and English, name of the speaker, telephone number and e- mail address
– Abstract of the contribution (1,500 characters incl. blank spaces, in German or English)
– Description of the relevance of the contribution to the topics of the symposium (1,000 characters incl. blank spaces)
– Short tabular CV

Contribution to “Market of Ideas” (Best Practice)

The contributions to the “Market of Ideas” serve to give a brief presentation and reflection on the project, and relate to the topic fields listed above. They are limited to 7 minutes, and can also be shown during the symposium in the form of a video presentation. Submissions should include the following details:

– Title of the contribution in German and English, name of the speaker, telephone number and e-mail-address
– Brief description of the project (1,500 characters incl. blank spaces, in German or English)

– Brief description of the relevance of the contribution to the topics of the symposium (1,000 characters incl. blank spaces)
– Short tabular CV

Please submit your proposal by 25 September 2016 at latest as a PDF to symposium2017@kunstsammlung.de

You can signal your interest in conference attendance at

http://goo.gl/forms/vueECssv58ifjUBj1

The research project “museum global” is funded by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes

Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany
18 – 20 January 2017
Keynote / Get together: Wednesday, 18 January 2017, 7 p.m.
Commences: Thursday, 19 January 2017, 9 a.m.
Ends: Friday, 20 January 2017

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www.kunstsammlung.de