The Spring Conversations Series
MUŻE.X — Shaping Museum Futures Pre-Conference Webinar Events
Delighted to announce the spring conversation series of three webinars featuring top international speakers Francois Matarasso, Linda Norris and Danielle Kuijten. These conversations are free to register and shall be happening between April and June as part of the buildup to the international conference MUŻE.X — Shaping Museum Futures. An international call for papers has just been published. Check it out, here!
This second series of webinars shall take the form of conversations with the conference convenors Carmel Borg and Sandro Debono, informed by each speaker’s contributions to and thoughts about museum futures
Each conversation will explore different facets of museum practice at the intersection of critique and possibility. While the need for critical reflection continues, in terms of the necessary rethinking for museums, be it in scope, purpose, ambition or ethos, the emphasis of the Spring Series will be on concrete exploration and experimentation.
Here they are …
Conversations with Francois Matarasso
On Thursday 22 April at 6.30pm. CET
François Matarasso is a freelance community artist, writer and researcher. He has worked in about 40 countries and held honorary professorships in the UK and Australia. His latest book “A Restless Art — How participation won and why it matters” is decribed by Arts Professional as being ‘everything you ever wanted to know about participatory art, but were too afraid to ask’ and combines a nuanced, careful study of participatory art with a detectable passion, born of Matarasso’s lifelong experience.
Francois Matarasso shall be in conversation about the participatory in museums and how this need has been brought to a head by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conversations with Linda Norris
On Thursday May 27 at 6.30 p.m CET
Linda Norris is Senior Specialist, Methodology and Practice at the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC). As the co-author of Creativity in Museum Practice, Linda is an international thought leader in facilitating conversation and action surrounding the ways creativity can transform museums, shape more compelling narratives and create deeper, more inclusive community connections. She has also written for publications such as Museum, Exhibitionist and History News. and facilitated workshops for museum colleagues throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Ukraine, Romania, Albania and the Baltics.
Linda Norris shall be in conversation about the ICSC and the ways and means how creativity can inform museum practice.
Conversations with Danielle Kuijten
On Friday 11 June 18.30 p.m. CET
Danielle Kuijten is acting director and co-curator at Imagine IC, a pioneer in the field of contemporary heritage practices. At Imagine IC she also heads the co-collection lab researching a variety of collecting/collection questions including such topics as shared authority and democratizing heritage practices. As a freelancer she is active in the heritage field under the name Heritage Concepting. Her main focus is on participatory collecting methods, contemporary collecting, action curating and reflective practice. Danielle has been an active member of COMCOL ICOM’s international committee for collecting, and since 2019 in the role of chair.
Danielle Kuijten shall be in conversation about collections development practices and her work at image IC.
MUŻE.X — Shaping Museum Futures is an Arts, Open Communities and adult Education Department (University of Malta) project in collaboration with, Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta Cultural Agency and other stakeholders.
