The program of talks, The Museum Is Not What It Used To Be, invites arts professionals to share their thoughts on how to create a museum model that answers to the pressures of our extreme present, but at the same time establishes a meaningful and enduring agenda.

The first speaker, Vasif Kortun, founding Director of Research and Programs, SALT, Istanbul and Ankara, will explore institutional time frames, non-capitalist museum conditions, zombie institutions and survivalist expansions with his talk, Questions on Institutions.

“The average lifespan of a private company is less than a century, something like 75 years, but public time is supposed or expected to be more or less infinite. The museum is a three centuries old operation making it older than most countries, economic or political systems. It has however veered away from its legacy to align with others, namely the theme park and the industrial fair.”  Vasif Kortun

Future speakers will include Kate Fowle, Chief Curator for the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow and Director-at-Large at Independent Curators International in New York as well as Alistair Hudson, Director of Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art.

Watch the video: