In response to the ever-pressing need for discussion and debate about museum futures, the Department of Arts, Open Communities and Adult Education at the University of Malta will be presenting six pre-conference webinar events leading to an international conference on the subject. The webinars will be modera­ted by Carmel Borg and Sandro De­bono from the Department of Arts, Open Communities and Adult Education.

The conference, originally planned for November 2020, had to be shifted to October 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These six webinars being held between next month and December will be contributing to the much-needed discussion about the future of museums and serve the purpose of a prelude to the conference proper, which has been rescheduled to 2021.

The list of speakers includes well-known international names in the museum world, most of whom are known for their leadership as change-makers at leading international institutions and global movements. Others are known for their vision as innovative thinkers. These are:

Alistair Hudson, director of the Whitworth and Manchester Art Gallery and co-director of the Asociación de Arte Útil, an expansive international project and online archive that forms part of the Uses of Art programmes with the L’internationale confederation. Hudson is best known for his vision based on the concept of the Useful Museum.

Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell, head of public programmes with Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery. In the wake of COVID-19, she leads an internal task force towards reopening strategies.

Diane Drubay, a long-standing member of the museum and innovation effervescence, a specialist in museum strategy but also an event curator, community builder, writer and artist. She is the founder of We Are Museums, the international platform of museum innovators and change-makers.

Nina Simon, the Spacemaker and CEO of OF/BY/FOR ALL, a global non-profit that creates digi­tal tools to help civic and cultural organisations become more inclusive, relevant and sustainable. Nina is best known for her seminal publications, The Participatory Museum (2010) and The Art of Relevance (2016).

Seb Chan, chief experience officer at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (Melbourne). Prior to this, he led the digital renewal and transformation of the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York (2011-2015).

Kristin Alford, the director of Australia’s leading the future-focused museum MOD. Her eclectic background includes engineering, human resources, marketing and science communications.

Towards the end of the webinars, Mike Murawski, change leader and committed advocate for more equitable and community-centred museums, will pre­sent his reflections on the presentation and discussion. 

The MUŻE.X – Shaping Museum Futures conference project is being organised in collaboration with Valletta Cultural Agency, Conventions Malta and Spazju Kreattiv with the support of Invisiblestudio, TEO − the touring exhibitions organisations and SoluzioniMuseali.

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