The second Reinwardt Academy Master of Museology Symposium took place on 10th November 2016 at the Reinwardt Academy in Amsterdam. The event preceded the festival celebrating 40 years on 11 November, also in the Academy. The symposium provided a platform for participants to share experiences, challenges and best practice around the theme of Communities, Crises, Commerce: When can museologists make a difference in the world? Keynotespeaker was Prof. Dr. Sharon Macdonald (Humboldt University, Berlin) on Criticality and Creative Engagement – the Future for Museum Studies reflecting on some of the various and changing ways in which museologists have conceived their capacities to make differences in the world.

Museums and heritage institutions are under pressure to make savings, are often adopting corporate management models, and are negotiating a path between being sociable spaces and being socially engaged. How does this impact museums and heritage studies in different contexts?

With Deborah Stolk, Marlous Willemsen and Taco Dibbits
Next in the programme Deborah Stolk (Prince Claus Fund) explored Communities:The Need for Alternative Narratives. What are your experiences as a museologist working with communities in the current climate? How relevant should this be to an institution’s mission and vision?
Marlous Willemsen (Imagine IC) focused on Crises: Emotion-networking: Divergent Feelings and Shared Heritage. The concept of emotion-networking is being developed by Imagine IC and Reinwardt Academy as a practical method towards heritage-making in super-diverse contexts. Since 2016, Marlous has also been affiliated with the Reinwardt Academy Research Group of Cultural Heritage where she focuses on working with religious feelings and feelings on religion.
Finally, Taco Dibbits (director Rijksmuseum Amsterdam) talked on Commerce and the Rijksmuseum: The Importance of Friends, Sponsors and Funding Careers in museums and heritage in an era of financial constraint.

More information.