Developing Awareness Concepts for the Museum? Discussion with Zentralwäschereii
Stretching thresholds, holding streams is a project initiated by artist Jeanne van Heeswijk and developed with Sophie Mak-Schram and collaborators. A growing constellation of invested people from the surroundings of the Museum are being invited to think in and with the museum's thresholds. Together – as makers, artists, activists, neighbours, and associations – they are working on a project that takes its starting point inside the museum and flows in and out of it, over a period of several months. Therefore, a central aspect of the project is the notion of a «stream».
Join us for a conversation with people active at Zentralwäscherei about what an Awareness Concept is, how they use it, and how it could be used at the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst.
Awareness refers to the state of being conscious or knowledgeable about something. This involves recognizing, perceiving, and understanding information, situations, or surroundings. When the cultural space Zentralwäscherei opened its doors three years ago, the team wrote an Awareness Concept. To this day, this concept is being used, reworked, discussed and reflected upon on a regular and structured basis. The concept is part of structural support systems that work towards mutual respect and acknowledgment of individuals’ physical and mental boundaries. Comparable to the Anglo-American concept of safeguarding protocols and codes of conduct, awareness concepts work to support and enhance the diverse wellbeing needs of users or visitors.
What elements of Zentralwäscherei’s Awareness Concept and its processes might be relevant for the context of a museum? At any museum, artworks and artists engage in an exchange with visitors and each other. This exchange of information and experiences involves different kinds of power, risk, safety and care. During this event, two people active at Zentralwäscherei will share the processes and learnings from their Awareness Concept work, and invite you to join them in discussing what kinds of Awareness Concepts a contemporary art museum needs.