AUSSTELLUNGEN KONTROVERS: New Online Portal to Assist Museum Practitioners

How can museums convey controversial content in an appropriate way? Exhibition curators can now find answers to this question in the new online portal AUSSTELLUNGEN KONTROVERS (English Exhibitions Controversial). The website bundles research findings and practical examples of how controversial scientific topics can be communicated in museums and exhibitions and thus provides guidance for museum practitioners. "Museums are in a state of transformation, as they are increasingly taking an active role in current societal debates," explains Prof. Dr Stephan Schwan, head of the lab Realistic Depictions. The web portal is the outcome of a joint DFG (German Research Foundation) knowledge transfer project between the IWM, the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the Institute for Museum Research of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (IfM) and the Deutsches Museum.

In addition to focus texts on topics such as "Controversies and Participation", "Museums against Filter Bubbles" or "Attention, Provocation and Shock", AUSSTELLUNGEN KONTROVERS also contains a detailed index and bibliography. In the "Practical Examples" section, exhibition designers share tried and tested concepts and illustrate how the featured scientific theories can be put into practice. For this purpose, practitioners from the Deutsches Museum have prepared a set of case studies: The touring exhibition "energie.wenden", for example, showcases some of the ways in which visitors themselves can become active and experience participation. The permanent exhibition "Agriculture and Nutrition", on the other hand, demonstrates how emotionally charged topics such as "slaughter" can be presented in an appropriate way.

In order to ensure its scientific excellence, the portal was evaluated in two stages by the IWM, the TUM and the IfM in close cooperation with museum practitioners. The website will continue to be developed in the future by allowing practitioners to share their own practical examples and experiences via the contact form.

Click here to go to the website (German only).