THE AGENCY OF MUSEUMS IN REDEFINING THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
DECEMBER 11 – 12, 2021
BEIJING INSIDE-OUT ART MUSEUM, BEIJING, CHIN
For our fourth annual symposium, Museum 2050 seeks to underscore institutional practices and imaginaries that break out of the paradigms established by museums globally. Such archetypes tend to consolidate a static sense of art history rather than generating new horizons for critically rethinking historical canons and actively participating in the rendering of contemporary art in the present. The conference will explore the complex relationship between art institutions and the formation of art history, and lessons we can take from the past into a new era. We hope that these examples of institution building, historization and persistence from China and around the world can serve as a roadmap for navigating the subjectivity and radicality of contemporary art museums in a changing world that increasingly questions the utility of museums. In line with 2020’s hybrid symposium, all participants presenting from outside of China will be asked to participate virtually while we invite all China-based participants to join us in person.
Museum 2050 was initiated in Shanghai in 2017 to consider the cultural and social impacts the exponential museum growth in the region will have by mid-century and how this development will affect audiences and ideas about existing museum frameworks. Additionally, the platform has a distinct focus on being a resource for young people from all over China, many of whom work at and inhabit these institutions, as well as providing a place to converse, share ideas and create a vibrant museum community.
ABOUT BEIJING INSIDE-OUT ART MUSEUM
Beijing Inside-Out Art Museum is located at the west end of Xishan Cultural Creative Avenue in Haidian District, Beijing. The museum was registered as a privately owned art museum at the Beijing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau in 2011. With a strong capacity in research and curation, the museum has been carrying out exploration of contemporary art through practice and theory in recent years. In constantly returning to the artistic and intellectual practices in the second half of the 20th century in China, the museum recognizes and articulates the historical process of Chinese contemporary art, as well as uncovers the clues of the ideologies, the rhetoric and logic, and the artistic concepts that still exert influence today, thereby making continuous efforts for the discipline of the history of Chinese contemporary art. The museum focuses on supporting non-commercial art practice and thinking and emphasizes active curatorial experiments. It introduces cutting-edge curatorial ideas and promotes the understanding and development of curatorial work in the field of Chinese contemporary art.
Each year, Museum 2050 works with a different hosting institution in China to realize a multi-day symposium which not only includes an academic conference and career development workshops, but also a day of outings to other cultural and creatives spaces in the museum’s landscape. The academic conference is always free and open to the public (as well as being available via livestream). Institutions interested in participating are welcome to reach out regarding inclusion in professional training workshops and corresponding outings.
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