Von Andrea Geipel & Abhay Adhikari (Guest)

[English text below]

Wir freuen uns sehr, dass es uns im Rahmen von museum4punkt0 möglich ist, eine dritte Staffel des in 2020 entstandenen Meaning Making Programms anzubieten. Wie schon bei Staffel 1 und 2 werden wir mit Dr. Abhay Adhikari zusammenarbeiten und haben ein Team aus internationalen Expert*innen zusammengestellt. Diesmal beschäftigen wir uns mit der Co-Kuratierung von Online-Ausstellungen. Nach einem Jahr voller Digitalveranstaltungen haben wir uns gefragt, ob und wie es möglich ist mit Besucher*innen online ein Ausstellungskonzept zu entwickeln. Genau das werden wir in zwei voneinander unabhängigen Kursangeboten mit Mitarbeitenden von Museen testen. Aber auch inhaltlich widmen wir uns einem Herzensthema: anhand der Nachhaltigkeitsziele der UN wollen wir der Frage nachgehen, wie wir Themen, wie Umweltschutz und Klimawandel in (Online-) Ausstellungen thematisieren können. Am Ende soll ein Booklet entstehen, in dem wir unsere Erfahrungen in Form von Empfehlungen zusammenfassen und für Museen zur Verfügung stellen. Daneben sollen aber auch tatsächliche Online-Ausstellungen prototypisch entwickelt werden. Wir sind gespannt!

Wie auch im letzten Jahr wird das Programm international angeboten und findet auf Englisch statt.

We invite you to take part in the third season of the Meaning Making programme hosted by Deutsches Museum. This free development programme for german and international cultural professionals is part of the museum4punkt0 project. In this season we will explore co-production and prototyping skills for museums. We believe these skills are imperative for building meaningful relationships with communities. Similar to earlier seasons, we will offer online workshops with international experts. We’ve included some exciting new elements. Keep reading to find out more and how to take part. 

The journey so far:

We launched the first season of Meaning Making at the beginning of the lockdowns in 2020, and were surprised by the tremendous international interest in the programme. Both editions were fully booked within 24 hours. Our goal is to work responsively with cultural professionals to explore new approaches to digital storytelling and experiment with participative formats online and offline. We began season 1 with a series of workshops on digital storytelling. When our participants told us they were keen to put their ideas into action, we included mentoring in season 2. In this third season, we focus on co-production and prototyping. This activity in this season will culminate with a booklet introducing online co-production to museum professionals.

What can you expect in season 3?

We will run two cycles this season. Both cycles follow the same structure - workshops with international experts, input from multidisciplinary practitioners and exchanges with artists. The cycles address different themes and run at different times. You can sign up for one cycle depending on your availability and interests.

You will co-produce one idea with fellow participants and develop a prototype concept for an online exhibition. We will also invite subject-matter experts to give you feedback. Based on the ideas you develop, we will commission a spoken word artist, an electroacoustic musician and an illustrator to create original multimedia content. You are welcome to use these to develop prototype concepts for your museum.

By taking part in this programme you will be contributing to the Co-production booklet to help museums explore how they can co-create exhibitions online with different communities and multidisciplinary experts. This booklet will be published by the museum4punkt0 project later this year. It is possible to receive a certificate from the Deutsches Museum confirming your participation in the programme.

What ideas will we co-produce and prototype in each cycle?

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations

The topic of sustainability is on everyone’s minds. Even though museum professionals are keen to address this theme through online exhibitions, we constantly hear the questions: Where do we start? What do we do? How do we engage the community? What role does digital play? Therefore, we felt that the topic of sustainability is a perfect focus for co-production. Guided by the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and input from multidisciplinary practitioners, we will explore the following topics:

Cycle 1: Ethical Fashion and Supply Chains  

Cycle 2: Marine Migrations and Sound 

We will explore these themes in relation to SDG 13: Climate Action, specifically target 13.3, which is to Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning. This target has two indicators. Indicator 13.3.1 states: The extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment.

Who can participate?

This programme is open to museum and cultural professionals globally. Roles include: curatorial, marketing, communication, education, events and digital. We follow a digitally-enabled rather than digital-first approach. Therefore, as long as you use some digital tools and are curious (and perhaps a little cynical) about digital trends, you can take part in this programme. Please note, you can take part in one cycle. In each cycle we can only accommodate 12 people, so please register your place as soon as possible. 

Why take part in this programme?

Previous Meaning Making participants have consistently told us that the programme helps them to reflect on their professional practice and they learn to take small steps using existing resources. They also enjoy the relaxed, open and honest conversations with their peers across the globe. We hope to offer the same in season 3! 

The structure of each cycle and your commitment:

A cycle includes 4 workshops. All workshops are 2 hours. It is mandatory to attend these sessions. Between each workshop we’ll ask you to put in some independent thought on concepts you develop with other participants, and respond to structured questionnaires to drive the conversation forward. So your total time commitment for this programme is 8-12 hours across 10 weeks.

The dates of the four workshops in each cycle:

All workshops will run on Zoom from 1500-1700 CET (Central European Time)

Register your free place:

Click here to register your free place. You’ll shortly hear from our producer Jenni Müller to confirm your place. Please note, earlier seasons of Meaning Making were fully booked in 24 hours. We encourage you to book a place as soon as possible.