For this special issue of Wrong Wrong we publish a selection of the papers presented at the international conference «The Museum Reader: what practices should 21st century Museums pursue, how and why?», organized by the Art History Institute of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa and the National Museum of Contemporary Art - Museu do Chiado (MNAC-MC).
The objective of this conference, which took place at the MNAC - Museu do Chiado in Lisbon, on 9 and 10 March 2017 was to propose thematic lines and noteworthy points to stimulate thought, reflection and debate of new realities, practices and working conditions identified in museums in the 21st century.
Over the course of two days, the participants sought to analyse and systematise new methods and paradigms, trends and different practices and ways of imagining the role of art institutions in the context of the present-day art scene. The event presented Ferran Barenblit (Director, Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona - MACBA, Spain) and Pieternel Vermoortel (FormContent, KASK / Ghent, Goldsmiths, University of London) as keynotes, and a program of 16 communications selected by an Open Call process.
On the last day, a round table discussion was held with the participation of artists, and dedicated to the subject of «Disaster Capitalism: Practices and Theories of Resistance and Reinvention», which was framed by Hugo Canoilas's exhibition «Under the Volcano», at the MNAC; while during the event, Susana Mouzinho programmed a selection of cinematographic works relevant to the reflection on the museum's imagery, featuring films by Anna Artaker, Christoph Meier, Harun Farocki, Lasse Lau, Manthia Diawara and Marcelo Felix.
Organizing committee: Sandra Vieira Jürgens [IHA, FCSH, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, FCT-Portugal Postdoctoral Research Fellow] & Emília Tavares [Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea – Museu do Chiado]
