Stuttgart/Berlin, 26 August 2020 – Due to the special situation, this year the 2nd Martin Roth Symposium starts in digital space: Following the official opening by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, international experts from the fields of culture, science, art and politics will discuss the current situation of museums, current challenges and visions for the future online during the re:publica theme week from September 7 to 11. The Martin Roth Symposium 2020 will be concluded on September 11 with an analogue-digital programme live at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.
Digital programme from 7 to 10 September 2020
The following topics will be discussed during the four-day, all-digital programme from 7 to 10 September, from 17.00 – 19.30 hrs on campus.republica.com:
Day 1: Museums and Futures
- Museums as living places of a democratic, global and open society, of representation and participation of all social groups
- With contributions from Andrew McClellan (USA), Kavita Singh (India), Philip Tinari (China) and Zelfira Tregulova (Russia), among others
Day 2: Museums and Power
- The function of public and private museums in society and their role as a venue for the negotiation of sovereign interpretations
- With contributions from Hartmut Dorgerloh (Germany), Elvira Espejo (Bolivia), Julia Grosse & Yvette Mutumba (Germany) and Rooksana Omar (South Africa), among others
Day 3: Museums and Entertainment
- Accessibility, interaction, enjoyment, new tools and trends in the age of digitalisation
- With contributions from Pi Li (Hong Kong), Robin Reardon (USA), Tim Reeve (United Kingdom) and Marie Cecile Zinsou (Benin), among others
Day 4: Museums and Architecture
- Historical and future forms of museum space in which audience and artifacts, stories and readings can meet and interact
- With contributions from David Adjaye (United Kingdom), David Chipperfield (United Kingdom), Bice Curiger (Switzerland) and Louisa Hutton (Germany), among others
In addition, Q&As with the participating speakers take place in digital discussion rooms, the 'Deep Dives'.
Direct link to the livestream during the event:
http://campus.re-publica.com/mars2
Advance information at www.ifa.de/mars
Programme at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin on 11 September 2020
The theme week ends on September 11 with a workshop day on which the digital programme is extended by a Corona-compliant analogue format:
The last panel will take place at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin in presence of an invited audience. An expert workshop will complete the symposium. Discussions will be brought together and synergies will be created between the participants and the actors of the programme.
Day 5: Museums and Failure
- The importance of failure for self-reflection and as a stimulus for innovation for museums; taking responsibility, sharing experiences and opportunities to learn from mistakes
- With contributions from Inés de Castro (Germany), Małgorzata Ludwisiak (Poland), Michael Moriarty (Ireland) and Lucy Darwin (United Kingdom)
- Deepening workshops on the main topics of the previous days
- Participation in the analogue day is by invitation only and subject to prior online registration
The Martin Roth Symposium
In honour of Martin Roth (1955-2017), one of Germany’s most innovative museum directors and cultural policy makers as well as the former president of ifa, experts from the cultural, academic, artistic, and political sectors gather biennially at the Martin Roth Symposium. Inspired by Roth’s own progressive convictions, they come together to develop new ideas and visions for the future. The first symposium entitled 'What Can Culture Do?' took place in Berlin in 2018.
The concept for this year’s Martin Roth Symposium was developed in collaboration with an international committee and re:publica. Committee members are Prof. Dr. Marion Ackermann, Nico Daswani, Prof. Dr. Kurt Forster, Dr. Andreas Görgen, Ronald Grätz, Benita von Maltzahn, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Ulrich Raulff, Dr. Harriet Roth, Prof. Dr. Bill Sherman, Dr. Ellen Strittmatter, Prof. Dr. Johannes Vogel and Prof. Dr. Mariët Westermann.
This year’s symposium is hosted by ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen) in cooperation with re:publica and with Museum für Naturkunde Berlin; funded by the Federal Foreign Office.
More information is available at www.ifa.de/mars.
Press Contacts
Politycki & Partner, Literature and Press Agency
Birgit Politycki, Tel: +49 (0)40-430-9315-12, bp(at)politycki-partner.de
ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen)
Miriam Kahrmann, Tel: +49 (0)151-2645-5509, presse(at)ifa.de
re:publica
Rebecca Krum, Tel: +49 (0)171-576-1076, rebecca.krum(at)re-publica.com
About ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen)
ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen) is Germany’s oldest intermediary organisation for international cultural relations. Since 1917 it has been promoting a peaceful and enriching coexistence between people and cultures worldwide. ifa supports artistic and cultural exchange in exhibition, dialogue, and conference programmes, and it acts as a centre of excellence for international cultural and educational policy. It is part of a global network and relies on sustainable, long-term partnerships.
It is supported by the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, the state of Baden-Württemberg and its capital Stuttgart. www.ifa.de
About re:publica
re:publica Berlin is Europe’s largest internet and digital society conference. At re:publica participants come together to discuss current issues and represent a cross-section of (digital) society, which include professionals from economics, politics, business, as well as bloggers, activists and artists. At the end of 2018, re:publica celebrated its Africa debut in Ghana’s capital, Accra with more than 2,000 participants. 2018-2019 republica GmbH was a strategic partner of “Deutschlandjahr USA”, for which it organised the Sequencer Tour with five events in the United States. On 7 May 2020, re:publica took place for the first time as #rpREMOTE in a free one-day online conference at the online platform re-publica.tv. www.re-publica.com