PANEL DISCUSSION: RE-VISION

A panel discussion focussed on a critical review of the roles and responsibilities of national museums as institutions of memory, identity and knowledge – one of the events of the public program of the exhibition The Latvian Collection organised by the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art in collaboration with the Latvian National Museum of Art and Malmö Art Museum.

Exhibition The Latvian Collection raises a number of issues that are important not only
when looking back at the historical period before and shortly after the Second World War,
but also today – the complex relationship between the autonomy of art and cultural policy,
the role of cultural institutions and artists in the constitution and representation of national
identity, as well as the interlacing of museum collection-building and other cultural
practices of national importance and the politics of state.

As socially important cultural institutions, national museums play a central role in these
matters. In response to cultural, political, social, as well as economic change, a large
number of art and other museums around the world have increasingly consistently turned
to self-reflection in recent years. This has involved reviewing their role and responsibility in
storing, creating and interpreting values ​​and knowledge, as well as looking for new
sustainable strategies in communicating with the audience.

Throughout their existence, museums have embodied and shaped their visitors’ ideas
about what is valuable, important and true. Today’s cultural and educational institutions
can no longer avoid the need to adapt to rapidly changing societies and knowledge
formation processes. National museums, often rooted in the ideals of the first half of the 20th century, are encouraged to reassess their traditional hegemony and reflect a broad diversity of perspectives and realities.

Among the significant socio-political developments of recent years – wars, ideological
radicalization, civil activism movements etc. – the position of museums within crises and
social tensions has been questioned. The museum’s responsibility and potential to
stimulate civic interest and dialogue on socially important issues is increasingly
emphasized. It is not easy to hold a moral and political position while remaining in a certain
liberal-democratic discourse, all while trying to give space to other perspectives as well –
not only for museums. Balancing between a traditional, historical mission, professional
autonomy and the shifting demands of society is undeniably a complex and responsible
task.

The discussion will focus on the current strategies and practices behind creation and
communication of representative collections and exhibitions in a broader context of interrelationships between culture and politics. Focusing especially on the contemporary contextualization of historical values. Language – English.

Participants: director of the Pauls Stradiņš Medicine History Museum, one of the curators
of the exhibition Life after Death. Remembrance Practices and the Museum Kaspars
Vanags, art historian and curator, working at the Art Museum of Estonia as the Head of
the Painting Collection Liisa Kaljula (EST), Dr. Giedrius Gulbinas – Head of Expositions
and Exhibitions Department at the National Gallery of Art in Vilnius (LT) and art scholar,
exhibition curator at the Latvian National Museum of Art Agnese Lūcija Zviedre.

Moderator: art curator and critic, director of the LCCA Solvita Krese

Curator of the public program: Elina Kempele