NARRATIVES – LONG STORY SHORT

Annual Conference of ICOM MPR The International Committee for Museum Marketing & Public Relations of ICOM announces its annual conference in 2020 in Kassel and Berlin.

21-23 September 2020 in Kassel
24-26 September 2020 in Berlin

Introduction

In the Digital Age, when people are overwhelmed by data and information, museums are returning to the ancient art of storytelling to engage and inspire their audiences. Museums, which fundamentally preserve and interpret our history and environment, are uniquely suited to utilize narrative communication—or the process of storytelling—to offer transformative experiences through a variety of means, including live interpretation, multimedia on digital platforms, and scenographic design of narrative spaces.
On the Background of the Conference

The title, Narratives: Long Story Short, may be explained as a sequence of key terms:

... stands for a meaningful narrative that influences the way we perceive our environment and our history.

... stands for the act of storytelling through a variety of means for a range of purposes across museum departments and operations.

Long /Short… stands for the condensed and descriptive representations of complex and historical contexts in a museum. Ultimately, an exhibition may be created with the means of scenography as a walk-through of argumentation, or a systematic process of reasoning.

While museums have long claimed sovereignty in the interpretation of exhibited contexts, today they also embrace a reciprocal dialogue with their visitors and communities using a vast array of tools, techniques, and methodologies.
21-23 September 2020 in Kassel

This conference, Narratives: Long Story Short, responds to these exciting developments that place new demands on museum communications. The themes of the conference will spark a dynamic exchange between participants:

ARCHAEOLOGY OF NARRATIVES AND STORIES
In this section the focus is on theoretical and methodical contributions to the topic of narratives and storytelling.
Keynote speaker: Dr. Klaus Siebenhaar – Freie Universität Berlin

NARRATIVES AND SOCIAL MEDIA
This section deals explicitly with examples from the field of social media at the interface between content, conveyance, communication, and audience engagement.
Keynote speaker: Christian Gries – Regional Office for Non-State Museums in Bavaria

NARRATIVES AND EDUCATION / COMMUNITY EXPERIENCES
This section deals with work at the intersection between museum education and communication; it also deals with participatory concepts.
Keynote speaker: Diana Meyen – Head of Marketing and Cultural Education, Ozeaneum – German Oceanographic Museum, Stralsund

NARRATIVES AND CURATING
In this section we address the interface between classical curatorial work and communication with a focus on the conveyance of contexts.
Keynote speaker: Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung – founder of SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin and co-curator of documenta 14

NARRATIVES AND SPACE
In this section we explore the field of communication in space (scenography) using the concepts of narratives and storytelling.
Keynote speaker: Sven Klomp – artistic director scenography, IMPULS DESIGN Hamburg

NARRATIVES AND PLACE
Documenta is an exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. It was founded by Arnold Bode in 1955. Every documenta is limited to 100 days of exhibition, which is why it is often referred to as the “museum of 100 days”.
Keynote speaker: Sabine Schormann – General Director of documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH. N.N. a representative of the Indonesian artist group Ruangrupa – (curator team of documenta 15) (inquired)