This year’s FOCUS: MUSEUM takes place from April 22 to 24 and is dedicated to important issues in the field of museums. Today’s museums are facing many challenges, but there are also opportunities. Experts from museums and agencies, curation, design and collections will be discussing these issues for three days at the FOCUS: MUSEUM trade fair. The focus will also be on current trends and developments in the museum and exhibition sector. This year’s conference will focus on the relevance of museums in the 21st century from a communicative, participative and inclusive perspective. Museums should be a place where the motto “Culture for all”, coined by cultural politician Hilmar Hoffmann in 1979, applies.
In July last year, the new ICOM museum definition was published in German. In it, the important points of visitor-centricity, accessibility and participation were added. Museums are now faced with the task of continuing to focus on these points. In times when fragmented communication spaces are emerging in social networks, among other things, and more and more crises are driving the formation of divides in society, this is a very difficult task – for society as a whole. People are communicating less, they are losing their trust in democracy, but also in science and truth.
Can museums help to counteract this? What could be suitable methods and services offered by museums? Do museums want to and should they participate in this social process and prevent society from being torn apart? What role do museums play in this area of tension and what position do they take? The question of relevance is also discussed by the experts. They come from different fields and have different (museum) perspectives. They all dare to look beyond the boundaries of museum work. New communication approaches will be analyzed using practical examples and possible ways to reach a wider audience will also be discussed.
The FOCUS: MUSUEM trade fair takes place annually and is aimed at a specialist audience from the museum, exhibition and cultural sector. It offers an interdisciplinary forum and also represents a communication and training format. The venue is the 700-year-old Paulikloster in Brandenburg an der Havel, which has been home to the Archaeological State Museum since 2008.
Information on the program can be found here.