Beyond disciplinary horizons

The museum has never been static. Those responsible for it have always faced the challenge of making its holdings relevant to the particular age and further developing collections in accordance with the changing times. At the moment, we are obviously in a phase of critical reflection concerning the documentation, interpretation and presentation of collections as well as a reorientation in terms of issues and approaches to images. In this context, an observable increase in the cooperation between museum staff and external experts from the fields of science, art, and communication has resulted in new forms of inquiry and research and has led to new constellations and insights. We would like to analyse the methods and practices of four exhibitions and discuss the opportunities as well as the challenges and contradictions of these kinds of projects. We will discuss the following projects: "Movements of Migration", Kunstverein Göttingen (2013), "The Subjective Object – Von der (Wieder-)Aneignung anthropologischer Bilder" (The Subjective Object – Of the (Re)Appropriation of Anthropological Images), GRASSI Museum für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig (2012), "Stadt und Frauen. Eine andere Topographie von Wien" (City and Women. A Different Topography of Vienna), Vienna City Library (2008/09), and "Asyl Stadtmuseum" (Asylum City Museum), Münchner Stadtmuseum (2013/14).