Migration in Museums: Narratives of Diversity in Europe

A Call for Conference Participation

Open to museum professionals, exhibition curators, researchers from 
the humanities and social sciences, representatives from immigrant 
communities and artists.

organized by

Network Migration in Europe e. V.,

ICOM Europe (International Council of Museums)

Centre de Documentation sur les Migrations Humaines, Dudelange (Luxemburg)

in cooperation with the following six Berlin-based museums

- Deutsche Kinemathek - Museum für Film und Fernsehen/Museum of Film 
and Television
- Jüdisches Museum Berlin/Jewish Museum Berlin
- Jugendmuseum Schöneberg/Youth Museum Schöneberg
- Kreuzberg Museum
- Museum Neukölln
- Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin (Märkisches Museum)/City Museum Berlin

Date: October 23-25, 2008
Location: Berlin (in participating museums)

The project is supported within the framework of the Berlin 
Hauptstadtkulturfonds


Topic

Questions of immigration and integration have become key issues in 
contemporary European intellectual and political debates. In the wake 
of European societies' ongoing social and economic incorporation of 
millions of immigrants and refugees, questions pertaining to the 
cultural representation of these processes are increasingly emerging. 
Debates about the interconnectedness of immigration, history and 
memory, as well as on commemorative practices in diverse societies 
are gaining momentum. As a consequence, cultural institutions are 
challenged by rethinking and the possibility of reconceptualizing 
their work. This is particularly true for (historical) museums and 
their narratives. Museums in Europe currently encounter a threefold 
challenge. First, they face a new social structure of visitors: more 
and more people of immigrant origin have become an important target 
group as European societies diversify. Second, the predominant, and 
often prevailing, national frameworks and the national historical 
narratives used in historical exhibition have been questioned by 
immigration and the challenge it poses to national master narratives. 
Third, the history of immigration itself becomes a rising field for 
historical reflection, research and commemoration, thus diversifying 
the landscape of historical studies, historical exhibitions and 
museums.


Scope and Goals of the Conference

The conference will bring together museum professionals, exhibition 
curators, researchers from the humanities and social sciences, 
(cultural) representatives from immigrant communities and artists. 
The format will transcend the traditional format of an (academic) 
conference. Next to a common opening and a public concluding session, 
participants will intensively work in six different workshops. Each 
workshop comprises 10 to 12 participants and will last for 1.5 days. 
The goal of the workshops is to initiate a European process of 
reflection and discussion on migration in museums in order to 
generate new ideas, new concepts, new narratives and new 
perspectives. We do not expect lengthy papers from participants, but 
rather short and sharp contributions for intensive discussions 
enabling new interpretations, which will confront established 
patterns of thought and practice and will enrich our imagination in 
the field. The minutes of the workshops will be the basis for a 
publication to be launched in 2009.


Framework of the Conference

The conference will be the concluding event for a research and 
interview project with immigrant artists (film makers and writers) in 
ten European cities (Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, Istanbul, London, 
Luxemburg, Madrid, Oslo, Paris, Warsaw). The interviews will focus on 
the reflections of these intellectuals on history and historical 
narratives, be it their own life histories as immigrants, be it their 
reflection upon the history of their countries of origin/destination, 
be it European history, be it immigration history. These interviews 
will result in a webpage and a documentary. Moreover, the film 
footage is planned to work as intellectual stimulus for the 
conference and workshops, and it will be shown in the participating 
six museums from October 23 to 25. The interviewed artists will be 
invited to Berlin as participants in the conference and workshops.


Application

Applications for participation are welcome through the deadline of 
May 30, 2008. Your application should include a mini essay/sketch of 
ideas (a max. of 600 words), a short biographical note (not more than 
two pages) and a list of (selected) publications, curated exhibitions 
or other relevant work in the field of immigration and/or museums. 
The essay should reflect upon and discuss the following question

"How to represent and/or exhibit diversity in Europe?"

The text can be a classical mini-essay or a sketch of ideas for a 
cultural project in a museum or an exhibition. It can also touch upon 
wider questions and travel beyond the museum's walls. Versions of 
these essays (though not in an elaborated academic form) will serve 
as input statements for the workshops in order to trigger discussions.

Applications will be considered on a competitive basis. In addition 
to 40 invited speakers, 25 to 30 places are open to respondents to 
this Call for Participation. Limited financial support for the 
participants is available to subsidize travel and accommodation 
expenses. It can be granted upon request.

For further information, please visit the website:

http://www.network-migration.org/workshop2008

or contact us via E-mail ([log in to unmask]). Applications 
should be sent to the given email address by May 30, 2008. The 
selection committee will choose and notify the participants by the 
end of June 2008.