Call for Proposals for ICOM Journal on Gender & Museum

Submit your proposal on Museums and Gender by 13th September 2019 and participate in the issue of Museum International being prepared by ICOM Belgique Wallonie-Bruxelles. 

This issue of Museum International aims to generate serious reflection on gender issues in museums, how they are intertwined, and the role of museums in a world prioritising gender equality. Issues of gender impact every layer of museum practice, from governance to visitation. This issue focuses on gender representation within museum management, operations and trusteeship, as well as in collections, exhibitions, education and public programmes.

As the social construction and politics of gender vary between societies, issues of gender and sexuality within institutions are as broad as they are specific. Questions around whose objects and stories are being preserved and promoted, and from what perspective, are as much of a concern to history, culture and living museums as to science and natural history museums. A reflexive examination of the role cultural and heritage institutions play in understanding gender as well as how they manage their own gendered construction is overdue. Can museums lead the way in terms of institutional change on issues of gender equality?

Museums are envisaged as guardians of the past, educators/entertainers of the present, arbiters of the future. From the lack of female artists, to carefully stored away imagery of powerful goddesses and intersex beings, some museums have maintained an imperial model of cultural values embedded in the origins of most early collecting and display. Others are challenging this system of stereotypes and phobias to better represent a more inclusive history. Addressing this inherent gender bias in museums requires great effort on the part of the museum sector as a whole.

Suggested, but not limited, topics: Museum management and operations, Gender equality/biases (pay gap; workplace safety), Sexuality and discrimination, Representation, both historic and contemporary, Gender and imperialism, Policy and ethics, Sexism and misogyny, Education, Visitation, Monitoring and evaluation, Collections and archives, Public programming.

Provocative thoughts and solutions are most welcome.

Know how to apply!

The issue will be published, in collaboration with Taylor&Francis/Routledge, in June 2020.

 

Call for Papers – Textile & Place

Exploring memory, social and political issues through textiles

From 23 to 24 April 2020, the Conference Textile and Place will take place in Manchester School of Art, Manchester Metropolitan University with the aim of exploring politics through textiles. The debates will be built on the findings of the first conference also organised at MMU.

Mapping memories and places, the stories of trade and history transmission, migrations and cultural exchanges are some of the topics that will be raised during this exchange. The connections between communities, movements and alternative narratives through textile issues to be examined.

“We use the word politics as a broad term to indicate how textiles is implicated in particular places and is part of the relationships between groups or organisations and used to confront issues of power.  Textiles can fix us to a place and also be part of the process of making change.”

Invited keynote speakers are Dr. Fionna Barber, Jessica Hemmings, Assadour Markarov, and Vic McEwan.

If you wish to submit your paper, take into account some of the topics suggested:
  • Textiles as a medium of protest and activism.
  • Textile sites which represent migration and globalisation.
  • Narratives of community and social interaction encountered through textiles.
  • Responsibility, textiles and the places we live.

Submit your abstract and short bio by Friday, 8th november 2019.

PUBLICATION OPPORTUNITY
The papers presented at the conference will be considered for publication in a special issue of TEXTILE: Cloth and Culture.WHO SHOULD PARTICIPATE?
We welcome papers from, textile artists, artists exploring textiles among other materials, designers, academics, early career researchers, art, fashion and textile historians, curators and archivists, ECRs, PhD candidates.We also welcome short films and audio-visual work that explore textiles and place for our ‘Film as textile site’ space.

UDHR Quilt Project

Some time ago I participated in a craftivist project called UDHR Quilt that aims to promote human rights.

The #UDHRquilt Project is a collaborative craftivism initiative documenting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). It uses craft as a tool and a strategy to celebrate the UHDR and raise awareness to the ways it is challenged—even violated—around the world today.

Central to the project are four large quilted wall hangings, each featuring 30 embroidered blocks representing the 30 Articles of the UDHR. The blocks critically engage with the Articles, celebrating the intrinsic meanings of this landmark document, now in its 70th year, while also drawing attention to local and global human rights issues.

My contribution was to embroider the Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Through my stitching work, I tried to highlight the rights of women and the LGBTIQ + collective.

The block that I embed is part of a quilt in which the rest of articles of the UDHR are included.

In the project we participate more than 130 people, mostly women, from around the world. It was a great honor for me.

Here you can see in detail my block, those of the other people and read more about the project and the Universal Declaration. 

Because never is late to raise your voice for human rights.

Museums as Cultural Hubs: The future of tradition

#ICOM Call for Ideas on on IMD 2019: Museums as Cultural Hubs from Women’s perspectives.

ICOM selects each year for International Museum Day a theme that is at the heart of the concerns of society.

“Museums as Cultural Hubs: The future of tradition”

The role of museums in society is changing. Museums keep reinventing themselves in their quest for becoming more interactive, audience focused, community oriented, flexible, adaptable and mobile. They have become cultural hubs functioning as platforms where creativity combines with knowledge and where visitors can also co-create, share and interact.

While preserving their primary missions – collecting, conservation, communication, research, exhibition – museums have transformed their practices to remain closer to the communities they serve. Today they look for innovative ways to tackle contemporary social issues and conflict. By acting locally, museums can also advocate and mitigate global problems, striving to meet the challenges of today’s society proactively. As institutions at the heart of society, museums have the power to establish dialogue between cultures, to build bridges for a peaceful world and to define a sustainable future.

As museums increasingly grow into their roles as cultural hubs, they are also finding new ways to honour their collections, their histories and their legacies, creating traditions that will have new meaning for future generations and relevance for an increasingly diverse contemporary audience at a global level. This transformation, which will have a profound impact on museum theory and practice, also forces us to rethink the value of museums and to question the ethical boundaries that define the very nature of our work as museum professionals.

At once a focal point for the community and an integral part of a global network, museums offer a platform for translating local communities’ needs and views into a global context.

ICOM is now collecting information to create a college and promote it on IMD 2019: Museums as Cultural Hubs from Women’s perspectives.

If you are interested in participating, please send us your proposal by 7 May 2019 to info@iawm.international with the following information:

1) Title of your activity, or your current exhibition (in English);

2) 1 line of description (max. 15 words);

3) Photo.

Source

Call! – Kogei as Contemporary Craft: Transcending Boundaries

Kogei as Contemporary Craft: Transcending Boundaries

The Kogei World Competition in Kanazawa is an international competition meant to convey to the world what is new in kogei (“craft”). This competition serves to pursue artistic works that demonstrate a rich sense of expressivity, using the techniques and skill cultivated within the world of kogei to bring excellent concepts and ideas to life.

In 2019, the topic is “Kogei as Contemporary Craft: Transcending Boundaries” aimed at exhibiting works made with a broader perspective and incorporating the new understanding of contemporary kogei. Techniques and works accepted in the following disciplines: ceramics, metal, dyeing and weaving, lacquer, dolls, wood, bamboo, glass, leather, cloisonné, paper, among other.

Works preselected by the Jury will be exhibited from Sunday, November 10 to Thursday, November 21, 2019, in the People’s Gallery of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa during the 4th Triennale of Kogei in Kanazawa.

Follow the link to know more about requirements, jury, award and how to apply.

Deadline to apply is 25 April 2019