Museums in Eastern Europe Under Pressure?

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2 September 2021

Are modern and contemporary art subject to xenophobia by populist politicians? The webinar will focus on the recent developments in the cultural landscape in Eastern Europe with a special focus on Poland – the host of the upcoming CIMAM 2021 Annual Conference. It will serve as an introduction to the local context and some of the key issues that will be further elaborated upon in November 2021. The Webinar will include current and former directors of museums who will show the changing types of political and economic pressures imposed on the institutions in the region. The landscape will be completed by Mikołaj Iwański, a scholar and social activist engaged in the struggle for the wellbeing of the artists in Poland.

  • Zdenka Badovinac, curator and writer, former director Moderna galerija, Ljubljana.
  • Barnabás Bencsik, former director of Ludwig Museum, Budapest. Currently Glassyard Gallery, Budapest.
  • Mikołaj Iwański, vice Rector of the Academy of Art in Szczecin, Szczecin.
  • Jaroslaw Suchan, director, Muzeum Sztuki in Lódz, Lódz.

The panel will be moderated by Malgorzata Ludwisiak, Ph.D Independent Art Critic and Curator, Warsaw and member of the CIMAM Board 2020–22.

This webinar and the CIMAM 2021 Annual Conference have been thought and organized by members of the Board of CIMAM and both hosting museums:

From the CIMAM Board:

  • Malgorzata Ludwisiak (Chair), Independent Art Critic, Curator, Ph.D, Warsaw.
  • Saskia Bos Independent Curator and Critic, Amsterdam.
  • Victoria Noorthoorn, Director, Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires.
  • Agustín Pérez-Rubio, Independent Curator, Madrid.
  • Eugene Tan, Director, National Gallery Singapore and The Singapore Art Museum, Singapore.

From the hosting museums in Lodz and Gdansk:

  • Daniel Muzyczuk, Head of Modern Art Department, Muzeum Sztuki, Lodz.
  • Jaroslaw Suchan, Director, Muzeum Sztuki in Lodz, Lodz.
  • Aneta Szylak, Curator, NOMUS New Art Museum/ Branch of the National Museum, Gdansk.