Culture
Esmoa in Los Angeles — a Museum Breaking the Mould of Definition
This museum’s work supports diversity of thought through art, including a re-thinking of the definition of what a museum is.
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA
Rethinking Cultural Institutions & Museums in Cities
The world is facing unprecedented social and environmental challenges that will require city administrations, policymakers, academia, artists and citizens to open up to one another and find new ways of collaborating. By moving their traditional boundaries beyond the static viewing of culture, they help address the societal challenges of our time. In this series with the non-profit organization 1014 in New York, we explore how some cultural institutions in cities, on both sides of the Atlantic, are acting as useful places for solutions.
Justice
The Horniman Museum in London Is a Welcome Truth of Our World—to Change It
At this Museum nature and heritage are not explained to make us comfortable. Its honesty evokes active citizenship as people reckon with the exigencies of social justice and climate.
LONDON, UK
Climate
How the New York Public Library Lays the Seeds to Cultivate the City
Located in Mid-Manhattan, the New York Public Library has taken over a century-old practice of seed saving and distribution. Could seed libraries one day prevent a food crisis in our cities?
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Cohesion
Neutrality Shows Its Limits in Berlin: The Museum Berlin-Karlshorst
The director of the Museum Berlin-Karlshorst, formerly known as the Russian-German Museum, on its difficult task — and how neutrality no longer provides a refuge for Russian culture in Berlin.
BERLIN, GERMANY
Cohesion
Guarding the Art: Baltimore Museum Gives a Voice to Its Community
A revolutionary show, curated by security staff, spotlights the commitment of the museum to be more representative of the community it serves.
BALTIMORE, MD, USA
Climate
In Berlin and Paris, Two Museums Ask People to Collect Stories of a Changing Environment
An experimental collection of objects and stories of ordinary people, hosted by two natural history museums, takes on our changing planet. Could storytelling spark action?
BERLIN, GERMANY
Public Space
Museum Folkwang Curates the City to Find Common Ground for Its Future
Could a museum change a city? This museum of contemporary art invites urban dwellers to rediscover their city together, break barriers and reconnect outside the institution.
ESSEN, GERMANY
Culture
Museum Prescriptions for a Healthy City –– Is Art That Good?
How Brussels prescribes its own cultural gifts, urban privileges we may often take for granted or may not be able to afford, for a healthy community, a healthy city.
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
Culture
Pacifism Is a Privilege. What the War in Ukraine Can Teach Us About Cultural Institutions
A Ukrainian curator, art historian and critic on how the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw changes its strategies to the current evils. And how the question of neutrality restrains others.
WARSAW, POLAND
Culture
‘There Is No Culture Without Future’: Reina Sofía Museum’s Distinct Vision
A unique collaboration between the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid and its neighbourhood of Lavapiés questions the role of museums in relation to their physical environment.
MADRID, SPAIN
Culture
More Than a Place to Read: Memphis Library’s Innovative Transformation
The Cossitt Library in Memphis might be almost 130 years old; yet, it is one of the most innovative in the US. Its latest renovation will unite the city in ways beyond a dedication to the written word.
MEMPHIS, TN, USA
Culture
Two Ex-Lovers Curate a Museum to Mend Urban Dwellers’ Broken Hearts
“Let us share a secret: even if you feel like grabbing an axe and breaking stuff - you will eventually get over it.” It’s time to walk through the Museum of Broken Relationships, to overcome emotional collapse.
ZAGREB, CROATIA
Justice
Center for Public Secrets: Not Leaving History to Historians Alone
How a grassroots idea becomes a cultural institution and a community weaving a tapestry of untold and neglected histories the city prefers to keep private.
TULSA, OK, USA
Justice
A Museum’s Stance on the Nazi Legacy of Its Grounds
The Museum of Egyptian Art was built where a monumental building for the Nazi Party was supposed to stand in Munich. In this city, dealing with the past in public spaces is controversial but the museum hewed to its principle.
MUNICH, GERMANY
Justice
Science, Art and Museums! Connecting Youth in Custody With Academics
How award-winning women in science and art have created a restorative platform for youth in custody through access to museums.
SALT LAKE CITY, UT, USA
Cohesion
Artist Lee Mingwei Creates Moments of Change in Cities
Lee Mingwei has transgressed the walls of museums. His participatory art provokes human connectedness among strangers. These moments of change are evidence of how museums could embrace new approaches to advance social value.
NEW YORK, NY, USA