Tate Modern Extenstion Project Site View
An architectural concept view of the new building at Tate Modern from the south
Towards Tomorrow’s Museum, led by writer and cultural theorist Tom Vandeputte, examines current questions and new models for the art museum. In times of change, how does an art institution construct a concept of its future trajectory? This eleven-week course considers the major questions that arise when rethinking the role of a museum, its programme, collection, and the position of its activities in a shifting cultural landscape.
Organised around a series of unique presentations by Tate staff on emergent programmes and practices, the course introduces a set of key themes in the discussion on the future of the museum. Engagement with modes of experiment, critique and participation, the impact of publics, architecture, business and policy are all addressed in order to consider the development of museums and the transformation of Tate Modern in particular.
The global social and cultural dynamics of the early twenty-first century provide a shifting and complex context for this course. Consideration of the museum as producer in this context, and its relationships with diverse publics and politics provides a focus and a point of departure for tomorrow’s museum. Tate’s own prospects for the future are explored in discussion and engagement with key members of staff, from departments including Curatorial, Learning, Development and Research.
No prior knowledge of art history or museum studies is necessary.
- Further information and course outline [PDF, 39 Kb]
Tom Vandeputte
Tom Vandeputte is a writer and editor based in London and Amsterdam. He is a visiting lecturer in visual cultures at the Free University Amsterdam and teaches a theory programme at the Sandberg Institute. Vandeputte holds an MRes with distinction from the London Consortium and is currently completing his PhD at the Centre for Cultural Studies, GoldsmithsCollege. He is a co-editor of Contestations (Bedford Press, 2013), a book publication examining artist-run experiments in education.
