As museums worldwide shuttered in 2020 because of the coronavirus, New York-based cultural strategist András Szántó conducted a series of interviews with an international group of museum leaders. In a moment when economic, political, and cultural shifts are signaling the start of a new era, the directors speak candidly about the historical limitations and untapped potential of art museums. Each of the twenty-eight conversations in this book explores a particular topic of relevance to art institutions today and tomorrow. What emerges from the series of in-depth conversations is a composite portrait of a generation of museum leaders working to make institutions more open, democratic, inclusive, experimental and experiential, technologically savvy, culturally polyphonic, attuned to the needs of their visitors and communities, and concerned with addressing the defining issues of the societies around them. The dialogues offer glimpses of how museums around the globe are undergoing an accelerated phase of reappraisal and reinvention.

As museums worldwide shuttered in 2020 because of the coronavirus, New York-based cultural strategist András Szántó conducted a series of interviews with an international group of museum leaders. In a moment when economic, political, and cultural shifts are signaling the start of a new era, the directors speak candidly about the historical limitations and untapped potential of art museums. Each of the twenty-eight conversations in this book explores a particular topic of relevance to art institutions today and tomorrow. What emerges from the series of in-depth conversations is a composite portrait of a generation of museum leaders working to make institutions more open, democratic, inclusive, experimental and experiential, technologically savvy, culturally polyphonic, attuned to the needs of their visitors and communities, and concerned with addressing the defining issues of the societies around them. The dialogues offer glimpses of how museums around the globe are undergoing an accelerated phase of reappraisal and reinvention.CONVERSATION PARTNERS:Marion Ackermann, Cecilia Alemani, Anton Belov, Meriem Berrada, Daniel Birnbaum, Thomas P. Campbell, Tania Coen-Uzzielli, Rhana Devenport, María Mercedes González, Max Hollein, Sandra Jackson-Dumont, Mami Kataoka, Brian Kennedy, Koyo Kouoh, Sonia Lawson, Adam Levine, Victoria Noorthoorn, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Anne Pasternak, Adriano Pedrosa, Suhanya Raffel, Axel Rüger, Katrina Sedgwick, Franklin Sirmans, Eugene Tan, Philip Tinari, Marc-Olivier Wahler, Marie-Cécile Zinsou

CoverContentsIntroduction: Ambition & Anxiety: Reimagining the Art MuseumSUHANYA RAFFEL LocationVICTORIA NOORTHOORN Museums for EverybodyFRANKLIN SIRMANS EquityMARIE-CÉCILE ZINSOU Museums from ScratchANNE PASTERNAK CommunityADRIANO PEDROSA De-WesternizationTANIA COEN-UZZIELLI Think Global, Act LocalEUGENE TAN Rethinking Art Museums in AsiaKOYO KOUOH Museums in AfricaMARÍA MERCEDES GONZÁLEZ Latin American MuseumsPHILIP TINARI Learning from ChinaRHANA DEVENPORT Indigenous VoicesTHOMAS P. CAMPBELL Museums & Public TrustMERIEM BERRADA Lowering BarriersANTON BELOV Museum as CampusMARION ACKERMANN Museums & Political PowerHANS ULRICH OBRIST Ecology & Slow ProgrammingSONIA LAWSON Art & BiodiversityMAX HOLLEIN ContemporaneityCECILIA ALEMANI The Public RealmBRIAN KENNEDY Visual LiteracySANDRA JACKSON-DUMONT Education & InclusionDANIEL BIRNBAUM Museums & TechnologyKATRINA SEDGWICK Immersive ExperiencesAXEL RÜGER Museum as BusinessADAM LEVINE Quality in the Twenty-first CenturyMAMI KATAOKA Museums for a Better FutureMARC-OLIVIER WAHLER The Post-MuseumAcknowledgements