An invitation from Mudam Luxembourg to consider the place, role and future of cultural institutions in the twenty-first century.
This publication collects and preserves the ideas put forward during the symposium "A Model: Reimagining Museums," which took place at Mudam – The Contemporary Art Museum of Luxembourg, in June 2024. The convening explored the mission of museums today and examined how contemporary institutions can continue to serve as sources of culture, preservation, education, and community in the future.
The symposium marked the final chapter of a broader program dedicated to examining the museum as a model. The series was introduced by "A Model," a three-part exhibition curated by Bettina Steinbrügge that reflected on the role of the museum in the twenty-first century, reaffirming the need to consider the institutions a dynamic, living place, sensitive and receptive to contemporary debates. It also considered the possibilities that arise when museum collections are reimagined as active and performative environments. More than thirty artists were involved – some conceiving new commissions, others responding to works in Mudam's collection.
>The Institution and its Intentions is the second book in the Mudam series. This series is an edited collection of interventions, symposiums, and lectures by artists, critics, writers, curators, art historians, and thinkers that have taken place at Mudam – The contemporary art museum of Luxembourg. Each volume is dedicated to a specific artist or theme, following the museum's exhibition program. The series is meant as a collection of working documents that open up a dialogue beyond institutional walls—a gentle nod to books still being the greatest of meeting places. Mudam Series is conceived and edited by Bettina Steinbrügge and Mudam's editorial team.
