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The Guardians of Contemporary Collecting and Collections - COMCOL Call For Papers 2017
The Guardians of Contemporary Collecting and Collections - COMCOL Call For Papers 2017
This year COMCOL jointly organises its annual conference with DOSS (Contemporary
Collecting Sweden, previous Samdok), Norsam (Nordic network for contemporary
collecting and research at museums), and ICOM Sweden.
Ten years after the Connecting Collections conference in Stockholm, which was the starting
point for COMCOL, we will return to Sweden. From 59 December we will be hosted at the
Vsterbottens museum in Ume.
During the conference we would like to connect to the legacy of Samdok, focusing on
collecting the present; connecting the present with historical collections and collections with
communities. We would like to look closer at good practices in museums concerning
collecting and collections, practices that are possible to develop further. We would also like
to investigate the difficult narratives. As our diverse societies today put different demands on
our collections, collecting strategies and presentations, it has become impossible to speak
about cultural heritage without asking the questions: Which heritage? Whose? So how can
(contested) collections be revisited? How can we create democratic collections? Which new
approaches to museum ethics can be used, and how can contemporary practices and
collecting address or add to the discussion around difficult heritage?
We invite papers from researchers, museum professionals and students that address the
collection development, including, but not limited to, the following topics:
The democratic collections: collecting and safeguarding of histories and objects from
an inclusive perspective
As guardians of collecting, collections and collective memories, museums have a role and
responsibility to collect from an inclusive perspective, focusing not only on the majority
society, but also on minorities from a wide perspective. Age, educational level, ethnical
background, gender, gender identity, disabilities, religion, sexual orientation and social class
are examples that form us as human beings. In what way do museums collect and preserve
histories and objects from minorities and our diverse society? How do museums work in an
inclusive way with contemporary collecting and collections? And how is the diversity visible
in the collections and in museums digital catalogues? Theory, practice and ethics.
Conference publication:
A conference publication is planned. Please inform if you are not willing to be a part of the
publication!
A full paper for the publication should be sent to:
[email protected] by September 1st 2017.