The museum beyond the nation?

In today’s global, postcolonial and cosmopolitan context right-wing groups, religious extremists and extreme political parties are appropriating heritage and criticizing museum displays. Indigenous people, local groups and organizations are claiming rights to the past. The nation-state is at the same time deeply questioned. This session wants to explore the role of the museum in the future through references to the present and the past. The deliberately general and vague questions are based on the theme of the conference: places, people and stories. In a global, postcolonial and cosmopolitan context, contrary to a colonial and nation-based context, museums have to rethink their stories, the place as such and the people to whom they aim: What stories are told and why? Who is the audience? How is the museum as a physical space structured? These questions are related to questions such as: What stories were told in the past? Who was the audience? How was the museum as a physical space structured? Lastly: Is there a future for the museum as we know it?

Contact: Johan Hegardt johan.hegardt_AT_bredband.net