THE CoMUSEUM
MORE THAN A CONFERENCE
DECEMBER 1 – 3, 2021
As the global community attempts to tackle the challenges of social inequality, the climate emergency, and health and safety, museums and cultural organizations are thinking about their new position in the world. The CoMuseum 2021 will explore the repositioning of museums and cultural institutions through a human-centered approach, and with new tools, skills and leadership models. Some of the topics that the CoMuseum 2021 will address include sustainability and digital strategies; the future of content regarding collections, curating and storytelling; the social impact of cultural organizations; and the museum’s role in the climate crisis.
PROGRAM
DECEMBER 1
14:00 – 20.30 (Eastern European Time)
14:00
Welcome by Dr. George Manginis, Academic Director, Benaki Museum
Opening Remarks
Lina G. Mendoni, Minister of Culture and Sports, Hellenic Republic
Geoffrey R. Pyatt, U.S. Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic
Matthew Lodge, British Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic
Anastasia Andritsou, Director, British Council in Greece
Teti Hadjinicolaou, President, ICOM Greece
SESSION 1 | THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF MUSEUMS: COMMUNITIES, HUMAN RIGHTS, SOCIAL JUSTICE, ACTIVISM
14:30 – 14:55
Keynote
Museums and Social Movements: Working beyond comfort zones
Katy Bunning and Richard Sandell, Research Centre for Museums and Galleries, University of Leicester (UK)
Q&A
14:55 – 15:20
Keynote
Measuring the Social Impact of Museums
Dr. Michelle Mileham, Project Manager for the Social Impact of Museums, Utah Division of Arts and Museums, and
Emily Johnson, Field Services Manager, Office of Museum Services, Utah Division of Arts & Museums (U.S.A.)
Q&A
15:20 – 16:00
Panel Discussion:
Museums Activism and Grassroots Culture
with
Dr. Bernadette Lynch, Writer, Researcher, Lecturer, Solidarity Action Network (UK)
Ioanna Nissiriou, Managing Director, Founder, We Need Books (GR)
Dr. Lida Tsene, Founder, Athens Comic Library (GR)
Valentina Sokratous, Museum Coordinator, Ethnological Museum Thrace (GR)
Moderator
Chrysa Zarkali, Communication and Public Relations Manager, Museologist Metropolitan Organisation of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki – MOMus (GR)
Q&A
16:00 – 16:20
Fireside Chat:
Museums, Communities and Social Identity
with
Thouli Misirloglou, Acting Director, MOMus-Experimental Center for the Arts (GR)
Simon O’Connor, Director of the Museum of Literature Ireland (IE)
SESSION 2 | THE MUSEUM AND CLIMATE CHANGE
16:25 – 16:45
Keynote
On having a sense of purpose: museums and the environment
Lucia Pietroiusti, Founder, General Ecology Project, Serpentine Galleries (UK)
Q&A
16:45 – 17:25
Panel Discussion:
Joining Forces: Environmental organisations and museums & cultural organisations
with
Alexis Galinos, Executive Director BoD, Organization Earth, Vice President, Athens-Epidaurus Festival (GR)
Dr. Nickolas Zouros, Director, Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest (GR)
Nikos Chatzigeorgiou, Managing Partner, C2h Environmental Engineering, Partner, Pleiades IoT Cluster in Green Museum (GR)
Moderator
Dr. Angeliki Kosmopoulou, Executive Director, A.C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation (GR)
Q&A
17:25 – 17:45
Keynote
Inspiring Action: Art, Nature, and Climate Change
Jane Winchell, The Sarah Fraser Robbins Director, The Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center, Curator of Natural History, Peabody Essex Museum (U.S.A.)
Q&A
SESSION 3 | SUSTAINABILITY: BUSINESS STRATEGY, DIGITAL EVERYTHING, ACCESS TO NEW FUNDING
17:45 – 18:05
Keynote
Toward a Sustainable Revenue Model for Museums
Will Cary, Chief of Business Strategy and Analytics, The Barnes Foundation (U.S.A.)
Q&A
18:05 – 18:25
Fireside Chat:
Museum Networks and Sustainability
with
Prodromos Monastiridis, Head of the Marketing and Fundraising Department at Thessaloniki Concert Hall (GR)
Dragos Neamu, Founder of the National Network of Romanian Museums (RO)
18:25 – 18:45
Keynote
Exploring the possibilities of Intelligent Environments in Museums
Catherine Devine, Microsoft Worldwide Education, Business Strategy Leader – Libraries & Museums (U.S.A)
Q&A
SESSION 4 | THE FUTURE OF CONTENT: COLLECTIONS, CURATING, STORYTELLING AND INTERPRETATION
18:50 – 19:10
Keynote
Curating Discomfort
Zandra Yeaman, Curator of Discomfort, The Hunterian, University of Glasgow (UK)
Q&A
19:10 – 19:25
Intervention
Respecting Objects and Knowledge – Some Insights on how Museums in Germany deal with the Future of Content
Patricia Rahemipour, Director, Institute for Museum Research, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz (DE)
19:25 – 19:45
Keynote
The Role of the Contemporary Art Museum in a Rapidly Changing World: How to Remain Relevant
Katerina Gregos, Artistic Director, National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST), Athens (GR)
Q&A
19:45 – 20:25
Panel Discussion:
Curating content or the content of curating?
with
Christodoulos Panayiotou, Artist (CY)
Asad Raza, Artist (U.S.A.)
Vanessa Theodoropoulou, Professor ESAD – TALM Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Angers (FR)
Eva Vaslamatzi, Ηistorian of Art, Ιndependent Curator and Writer (GR)
Moderator
Polina Kosmadaki, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Head of the Department of Paintings, Benaki Museum (GR)
Q&A
20:25 – 20:40
Keynote
Thoughts for the future: The role of wellness in the future of museums
Adam Rozan, Director of Programs and Audience Development at Smithsonian National Museum of American History (U.S.A.)
CLOSING SESSION
20:40 - 20:45
Sophia Handaka, CoMuseum Host, Curator of World Cultures, Benaki Museum (GR)
