MCN 2020 VIRTUAL

The Digital Future of Museums: Conversations and Provocations' (March 2020, Routledge) explores the role of digital technology in contemporary museum practice within Europe, the U.S., Australasia and Asia through interviews with 24 museum practitioners, thinkers, and experts in related fields from a diverse range of backgrounds and geographies.

In this session, the book’s authors will synthesize their learnings from the interviews, and offer provocations and reflections about effective practice that will help prepare today’s museums for tomorrow. Topics covered in the book include post-digital/post-normal museum making; trust, truth, data, privacy and personalisation; digital collections and source communities; digital platforms and practices; institutional change and leadership; interactivity and immersion and many more. This session will focus on the necessity of deep dialogues, community ownership, local relevance and social impact for museum digital practice now and into the future. It is less about sustainability in the sense of “sustaining orgs as they are” and much more focused on how to sustain and be successful while undergoing the necessary changes that are demanded of us. It’s a progressive and challenging project, fit for these complex times.

Beyond this synthesis, this session will include a facilitated discussion with two additional experts to track the changes since the book was developed, including the impact of COVID-19, the museum labor movement and the push to anti-racism in shaping museum digital practice going forward*.

* Given the evolving context, the two participants will be named closer to the conference date to ensure relevance. We will be intersectional in our choice of experts.