As radical, as mother, as salad, as shelter: What should art institutions do now?

by Paper Monument (Publisher), Dushko Petrovich and Roger White (Editor)

In light of recent political shifts across the globe, have you sensed a change in the position of the art institution vis-à-vis political activism? Can an art institution go from being an object of critique to a site for organizing? How? Should the art institution play this kind of role? What other roles can or should it play? What other institutions, curators, or publics do you look to in formulating your own institution’s position? Recent controversies over curatorial choices have foregrounded the different ways in which institutions envision their audience(s). In your experience, is this process changing? How should it proceed? How can an institution address the dichotomy between art as cultural entertainment and art as political inquiry? What is the role of the curator in mediating this? How does this compare to the artist’s role? How can art institutions be better?

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

110 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Rebecca McNamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thirty contributors each respond to seven questions from the book's editors—either as direct Q&A or as essays—providing diverse and often divergent perspectives about the state of art institutions now (or, in 2018, at the time of publication) and their hopes for such institutions in the future. Because the responses were so varied and at times unknowingly in direct opposition to one another, some sort of editors' conclusion creating bridges or cohesion would have been useful. That said, I recommend this book to all museum professionals—it is a good way to not only better understand our colleagues' standings on important issues of art institutions and politics, but also gives an impetus to more clearly formulate our own. As radical, as mother, as salad, as shelter is definitely one for the easy-to-reach shelf of books on museological theory and practice.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel strange that this book has no reviews on Goodreads yet, as it is such a timely and wonderful assemblage of views on the art establishment. I would recommend this as an excellent counterpoint to Matti Bunzl's "In Search of a Lost Avant-Garde", a book that I enjoyed but I felt defends complacency in the arts within the museum while also hinting at alternatives. This book serves almost as an opposite, interviewing dozens of curators on how museums might improve their practices in the Trump era, offers opinions ranging in scope and intensity, and genuinely made me rethink not only the political moment in which it was written and the intensity of that time (just over two years ago), but also what art institutions are capable of achieving.

[Evie · Rating 4 out of 5]

quick and thoughtful read if you're interested in thinking harder about how/if museums can become a site for revolution!

[ry moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

neoliberal