Programme

After a five-year absence, MuseumNext returns to London. We’re excited to bring our community back together for what promises to be a very special event.

Join artist Aram Han Sifuentes as she shares profound insights and strategies derived from her extensive collaborations with museums worldwide to promote socially engaged art. Through reflective anecdotes and practical approaches, Aram will delve into her strategies for sustaining long-term community engagement beyond temporary exhibitions, ensuring lasting impact and empowerment. This keynote offers a compelling exploration of the crucial role museums can play in fostering community-driven artistic initiatives and advancing social change agendas.

More active and engaged visitors constitute a new kind of public that receives information but reflects, questions narratives and is interested in producing new understandings. This is an added value, but we also recognise the challenge. How do we respond to expectations? How can we help keep the content up to date? Who feels represented in our collections? How do we involve museum visitors as museum producers? Our answer is to recognise our visitors as Museum game-changers and dynamically curate the exhibition with them.

FOMU’s ambitions to become a significant player in the cultural field regarding diversity, multiperspectivity, and inclusion have solidified our new policy plan. However, FOMU has already spent years establishing itself as an open, inclusive fixture for a broad and diverse audience. In recent years, systems have been put in place to ensure that the museum becomes an open, welcoming place for diverse audiences. Our continuous search for structural change in their operations is prominent, both internally by introducing innovative initiatives and externally by collaborating with partners who uphold these renewed, inclusive operations.

Four years ago, the Migration Museum opened in the heart of Lewisham shopping centre. In a repurposed clothes shop sandwiched between trainer shops and TK Maxx, we have learned more than anticipated about the benefits of taking culture to where the people already are. From developing a much younger, more ethnically diverse audience than museum benchmarks to the significant impact on our co-curation strategies and our capacity to engage local communities, we’d love to share how this experience is informing our unique ‘ecosystem’ approach as our museum advances towards a critical future milestone: a permanent home.

Enjoy lunch in the Royal Geographical Society gardens and network with your fellow delegates.

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Also during Lunch:

For the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Collective Paper Aesthetics designed and developed a series of making activities, inspired by shapes created by native bees in their hives and the shapes of pollen when observed under a microscope. The series of activities are made of Large and Medium cardboard building blocks, A4 pop-out cards and a downloadable DIY version which you can do at home anytime you like.

Collective Paper Aesthetics designs and develops audience engagement materials and STEAM education resources in a form of pop-up architecture and furnishing. The studio offers a unique experience merging mathematical expertise, hands-on engineering, and universal design as Placemaking. The award-winning educational resources are made-to-order by a family-owned packaging company in North Brabant, the Netherlands from FSC-certified cardboard.

Leaders from the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Smartify will share their partnership in reimagining the visitor experience to better engage the new types of visitors now coming to SAAM. Achieving this required a new set of skills and functionality beyond the traditional audio guide. This partnership enabled the fusion of traditional storytelling with cutting edge AI technology.

This case study unpacks how the High Museum of Art transformed its audience through innovative programming and made itself the place to be on Friday nights in Atlanta. Our success involves shaking up the traditional model and creating a museum where people see themselves and are more interested in coming regularly. People feel like the High is a place for them (and are surprised to see people who look like them in our programs). Our audience has changed so that our visitors now match the demographics of our city. Learn more about it at our session!

In 2022, the Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art in Ghent (S.M.A.K.) asked more than 400 young people to curate an exhibition on the museum’s first floor. What followed was a rollercoaster for the museum and its staff. Colleagues who would otherwise not be in contact with visitors were now working together with outspoken youngsters. The result was an exhibition that challenged the visitors and the museum staff to look differently. The museum experience was redefined through innovative elements such as labyrinths, lifeguard chairs, and interactive activities. Be inspired by our exploration of bridging accessibility and artistic depth, fostering inclusivity, and building connections with diverse communities.

Grab a coffee and network with colleagues from around the globe.

The project simultaneously preserves the past and interrogates it. “We said, ‘Okay if we could reimagine this experience, now that we are a 21st-century museum, how could we do so in a way that’s more inclusive of what’s happening in Newark, New Jersey?’” (The city population is now nearly 60 percent Black.) That meant challenging preconceptions of period rooms as static time capsules, positioning them instead as catalysts for urgent conversations about race, class, and gender.

Uncover the transformative potential of performance art and activation in museums! This talk will delve into the dynamic work of the Pacific Diasporic artists Rosanna Raymond, Pati Solomona Tyrell, and the FAFASWAG collective. Explore how their performances challenge established narratives within colonial cultural institutions, focusing on decolonial museum practice. Drawing from my experiences as a public programmer at Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum—one of the few museums globally engaging in performance art activations—I’ll examine the potential of indigenous concepts like teu-le-va, Va, Va-body, and activation to offer alternative ways of knowing within the museum space. Be part of this essential conversation, illuminating some challenging pathways for change.

Presented by Mike Murawski, consultant, change leader, and author of Museums as Agents of Change: A Guide to Becoming a Changemaker.

In a rapidly shifting world, museums face a crucial moment of redefinition and radical change. By embracing bold, human-centered ideas, we can re-envision museums as vibrant hubs of creativity, empathy, and societal transformation. What if we imagined museums to be more open, interconnected, and responsive to the creative possibilities within our communities? What would that future look like? As marine biologist and policy expert Ayana Elizabeth Johnson powerfully asks, “What if we get this right?” By weaving together radical optimism and futurist thinking with actionable strategies, this keynote explores the transformative journey ahead of us to inspire change and address the complex challenges we face in our current moment and beyond. Grounded in the power of envisioning radical futures, this journey motivates us to take action now towards building a better future for museums and society.

We’ll follow the second day of conference with an informal drinks reception at the Royal Geographical Society. Giving delegates the opportunity to reflect on the conference so far and network with colleagues from around the world.

Dr Frederic Bertley explores the vital role museums play in fostering discussions on significant public health, scientific, and social issues, such as climate change, GMOs, and artificial intelligence. Highlighting the importance of trusted science sources and safe spaces for dialogue, the session demonstrates how community-based partnerships and an animated video series, “Dr. B. in 3,” initiate free, community-curated meet-ups. These gatherings, featuring expert-led discussions and Q&A forums, take place in accessible community locations, emphasizing museums’ pivotal role in education and societal engagement on critical topics.

Queer people make excellent storytellers, so why not create opportunities for them to thrive while they are school-aged? Find out how ACMI developed a lived-experience-led storytelling and filmmaking workshop for LGBTQIA+ teens, which has inspired a way of working with marginalised young people with diverse experiences and backgrounds.

Queer stories in museums are rare, but that’s not because there’s no queer history. As attitudes, language and scholarship about queerness change rapidly, museum professionals don’t always feel confident interpreting queerness in their exhibits. Enter Queer Possibility, a queer-positive approach to interpretation that encourages not only embracing telling queer stories in museums but positing its potential and erring on the side of queerness.

London has a new most popular visitor attraction. Not the British Museum, the National Gallery or the Tate Modern. Outernet Global, a free site for digital art, content, advertising and more on Tottenham Court Road in its first 12 months, has become more popular than all the UK’s museums and galleries. It’s not alone. Since 2018, hundreds of similar venues have opened worldwide, bringing digital art and creativity to mass audiences.

This talk will break down the rise of a new kind of cultural institution, the Immersive Institution, which may be the digital age’s competitor to galleries and museums. Immersive institutions are reinventing art, architecture, and the funding that supports them – and are a radical new element of contemporary culture.

Chris Michaels, founder of Digital Advisory, is the former digital director of the National Gallery who first described the Immersive Institution on the cover of February 2024’s The Art Newspaper. Six months on, where is the Immersive Institution now – and what impacts will it have on the museum of the future?”

When your competition includes streaming content, sports, and fast-paced social media, how do you motivate people to engage in a cultural experience? How do you ignite their curiosity and passion? How do you forge an emotional connection? Designing novel and social experiences within cultural environments is crucial for the success of museums and other institutions.

In this talk, Art Processors will explore the key motivators that draw audiences to museums and how we leverage our profound understanding of these drivers to collaborate with our clients in creating enriching experiences that visitors are eager to revisit.

Sponsored Presentation : Art Processors

Hear about the do’s and don’ts of designing an escape game in a building where everything is worth a fortune (Rijksmuseum). From crafting a story based on the collection to secretly educating young players about art history, we share our lessons learned on the influence of timing, wording, and things to watch out for (looking at you, the piano that got taken away for restoration while we made a puzzle around your broken keys!), the use of actors and how to cater to both kids, adolescents and adults. Oh, and did we tell you we got 10.000 extra visitors to the museum in 3 months?

When did a museum last ask you how you’d like to feel? After the pandemic, visitors returned to museums with different expectations. Recent research shows that they now seek beautiful, thought-provoking, and emotionally powerful experiences. In response, the Getty Museum created Mood Journeys, an audience-centered experience for its GettyGuide® app. Mood Journeys doesn’t overtly teach about Getty’s art, architecture, and gardens but invites audiences to experience them on their terms by exploring moods or feelings, with some mindfulness practice built in. Through this unique, iterative offering, Getty aims to attract new audiences and reconnect with return visitors.

The Science Museum has evolved its approach to accessible programming, influenced by recent audience research. Despite a decade of success, the institution prioritizes adapting to new best practices and supporting its broader mission. Its commitment to inclusivity is embodied in initiatives like the Early Birds and Night Owls events. The museum strives to make itself welcoming for all by blending regular experiences with tailored adjustments and activities. This approach extends to daily operations through practices developed for these events, such as the Community Access Programme, enhancing accessibility for diverse visitors, including neurodivergent individuals. The museum also fosters partnerships with local communities and academic institutions to enrich its programming and expand its audience. Its efforts to make exhibitions more accessible are ongoing, and the institution aims to share its learnings and techniques, particularly in challenging times, to benefit the wider museum sector.

Discover the Peabody Essex Museum’s Emerging Arts Leaders program—an innovative take on high school internships in museums. Learn about the program’s evolution since its inception and its profound impact on local youth, immersing them in an environment that promotes practical skills, personal growth, and a transformative journey into the museum world. Gain invaluable insights into navigating challenges and successes. Explore the paid program’s emphasis on career exploration, critical thinking, socioemotional learning, and shared artistic experiences. Uncover the intricacies of effective museum collaboration, remain responsive to feedback, and leave empowered with actionable strategies. This isn’t just a program; it’s an invitation to revolutionize how we approach museum internships.

Louvre Abu Dhabi Education department has been stepping back to let future creative leaders take over the museum. The Take Over the Museum initiatives provide a platform for the community to tell their stories from their perspective, using the museum collection as a catalyst for interpretation. Over the last two years, the programme has diversified, producing a thriving ecosystem of community participation. Through our training programmes and coaching, teachers and students are empowered to create, produce and engage the public with their digital interventions, performances or creative encounters. Shifting the power paradigm in museum education has proven to build sustainable community engagement and shape future leaders.

Closing remarks before delegates head for trains, planes or the nearest bar.