(Re)Staging the Art Museum

Contemporary art museums are building. In recent decades art museums and public galleries have extensively renovated, rebuilt and added structures to their premises. New museums have been commissioned and erected by private collectors and companies; existing public museums and art institutions have expanded through the opening of new ‘branches’ and franchises. But what should take place within these new premises? Is it the case that people working in the art field must develop new strategies and new relationships to address today’s prevailing power structures? Has it become more necessary than it was in the past to build informal networks in order to retain a freedom of action that market liberalism cannot offer? Is it more space museums need, or is there a greater need to adapt the institutions to contemporary forms of production and discourse? The anthology (Re)Staging the Art Museum discusses the implications of the increasing focus on the contemporary art museum for the museum itself by investigating the economic, cultural, curatorial and architectural consequences of this global expansion. Structural changes in public administration, as a result of the New Public Management, for example, have led to entirely new forms of ownership – at least on the legal level. The anthology (Re)Staging the Art Museum? question is if the museum has changed its function as a result of new ownership and economic interests. If so, is it the case that those working in the art field must develop new strategies and new relationships to address today’s prevailing power structures? As art historians, architects, curators, artists and directors, all contributors have worked directly with art institutions and museums. The anthology consists of mostly previously unpublished texts, written specially for this book.
Contributors: Maria Lind, Jan Debbaut, Ane Hjort Guttu, Piotr Piotrowski, Zdenka Badovinak, Unnar Örn, Peio Aguirre, Nomeda and Gediminas Urbonas, Martin Braathen, Nikolaus Hirsch, Barbara Steiner.