An Anthology on the Museum of Contemporary Art

An academic issue

Museums of contemporary art—as they have been defined, activated, and understood over the past thirty years—are in need of a reassessment to re-think the traditional notion of the “museum.” With its traditional core tasks of collection and conservation, this historic category stands in contrast to the term “contemporary.” This volume takes a variety of complementary perspectives on today’s museology as it reflects upon the paradoxes underlying the very concept of the museum of contemporary art. Composed of three chapters—“Now,” “Tomorrow,” and “Flux”—and gathering together original essays, extensive conversations, as well as canonical texts, this anthology addresses questions regarding the roles and tasks of the contemporary art museum. It discusses its double character as a site of both production and conservation, and emphasizes its relation to different public spheres. It also explores ways of dealing with the standards, norms, and regulations that emerge from the practices of collecting, organizing, and educating.

Published with the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich, in collaboration with the Institute of Art History, University of Bern, and the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig.

The publication is edited by Beatrice von Bismarck, Heike Munder, and Peter J. Schneemann, with contributions from art historians and cultural experts, including Claire Bishop, Büro trafo.K, Martha Buskirk, Beatriz Colomina, Bettina Funcke, Christian Kravagna, Oliver Marchart, Donald Preziosi, Sophia Prinz, Beat Wyss, and Artur Zmijewski. The conversations feature different protagonists from the art field, including Sepake Angiama, Karla Black, Zachary Bowman, Bruna Casagrande, Yilmaz Dziewior, Kate Fowle, Andrea Fraser, Raphael Gygax, Francesca von Habsburg, Philipp Kaiser, Heike Munder, Alena Nawrotzki, Lars Nittve, Nadia Schneider Willen, Bernadett Settele, Wolfgang Ullrich, and Judith Welter.