Traditionally art museums have functioned as a sanctuary, a place for meditation whilst also offering education. They have also been a cultural resource contributing to the economic engine that has strengthened local businesses through cultural tourism. In recent years, this model of museums as a shrine to history has been rethought particularly with an interest to dramatically increase audiences of every kind, whilst also recognizing the role technology plays in everyday lives. It is said that museums have gone from, “being about something to being for somebody”. Such a shift in perspective has raised many questions about what was and could be a museum in the 21stcentury. This panel will explore the various ways museums respond to pressures and challenges of the coming decade.

MODERATOR: Tumelo Mosaka (Curator, New York)

PANELLISTS

Adriana Rispoili  (Independent Curator, Italy)

Koyo Kouoh (Dir. Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town)

Sonia Lawson (Dir. Palais de Lomé, Lomé)

Nana Oforiatta-Ayim (Founder and director of ANO Institute of Contemporary Arts, Accra)

(text courtesy of Investec Cape Town Art Fair) Instagram