Szilvia Nagy

Museums and art institutes are ever changing, adapting to the needs of society. After the attempts in the last decades to proximate the museum practice to community involvement (new museology, institutional criticism) we see a recent revival of this approach in the form of participatory museums.

This social orientation and commitment of contemporary art institutes is the main focus of my interest: what can be the role and responsibility of art institutes in the times of social and political changes? How does the given political, economical and social background determine these institutes? Can they act as initiatives or agents of changes?

My research looks at the ways if and how inclusive/ participatory models and practices have been transferred and adapted in Eastern Europe, in an economical-political background that is radically different from those countries where these theories and models developed. This adaptation largely depends on the existing social, political and institutional conditions, which enable, instrumentalise or block the implementation of earlier inclusive models.

My hypothesis is that these new, inclusive institutional forms based on the models of “organized networks” are able to liberate themselves from the structures of local economical-political systems by the support of international collaborations. Networks by establishing a more transparent and inclusive practice enable them to focus on local issues through critical discourse. They can also ensure access to the international art scene, funding, and open framework for critical tendencies.

In the theoretical background of my research next to outline of relevant theories (network theory, field theory, understanding of power structures, institutional anthropology) I depart from the comparative evaluation of earlier examples of inclusive practice, the comparison of three rarely linked approaches - the 1970’s new museology, the 1990’s new institutionalism or institutional criticism and the more recent inclusive museum concept - seen as periods of intensified interest in social responsibility.

To evaluate this question my research uses case studies in thematically chosen Western and Eastern European art institutions, which are at a different level of the participatory transformations. The researched institutes can be seen as progressive platforms: they develop a dynamic and open art scene, involving various subcultures with projects, making contemporary art more accessible, and trying to overreach the gap between theory and practice. What is common in the projects is that they focus on participatory practice, as new platforms of involvement; they use the public space to represent their communities.

The Artists-in-Residence programme of tranzit and ERSTE Foundation at quartier21/MuseumsQuartier in Vienna gave me a great opportunity to develop my research further on this topic. During my stay I was working on a case study on WUK, to see the structural background and political-economical networks which are necessary for the implementation of an inclusive practice.
My case study was based on interviews, where all the tranzit and MQ office staff been very helpful and kind to support me with contracts at WUK, and reflect on my questions.

The results of my research were presented in depth at the 7th Conference of the Research Network Sociology of the Arts, in Vienna. Also, I was outlining WUK's profile as a part of a reflective study on post-industrial contemporary art centers in a contemporary art and literature magazine. (Kultúra a gépsoron-– In: Műút. Irodalmi, művészeti és kritikai folyóirat 2012/33)

All in all, my residency program was very successful, and I am very thankful for the help and support at my residency period.