The Museum As…

What is the role of a museum today? What kinds of experiences have publics come to expect from museums? Can a museum exist without a building?
The symposium brings together museum directors, architects, artists, and curators to discuss challenges and opportunities shaping the future museum. These include architecture, publics, virtual spaces, funding streams, security, and acts of violence.
This symposium takes place at a critical turning point in Beirut’s art ecology, where a boom in institution building by private interests is transforming the future of arts, and challenging the sustainability of independent and artist-run institutions.
Through diverse presentations and panel discussions, the day’s proceedings will raise urgent questions about the role of a visual art museum in a contested city such as Beirut, and will reflect on what a new, innovative institution may look like.

Speakers include Jacques Aboukhaled, George Arbid, Jesús Carrillo, Antoine Chaaya, François Cheval, Lina Kiryakos Chidiac, Suzanne Cotter, Corinne Diserens, Salwa Mikdadi, Marie Muracciole, Davide Quadrio, Bisi Silva, Suha Shoman, and Akram Zaatari.