Museum of the Commons
L'Internationale
L’Internationale kick-off meeting, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (Poland), March 2023
Photo: Marta Ejsmont
Photo: Marta Ejsmont
L’Internationale, the confederation of major European museums, art institutions, research centers and think-tanks, has launched a new program: Museum of the Commons.
Over the coming four years, L’Internationale will implement Museum of the Commons (2023–2026), the fourth European cooperative project funded by the EU Creative Europe Programme. During this period, the confederation will comprise 14 institutions—Museo Reina Sofía (Spain), MACBA (Spain), M HKA (Belgium), MSN (Poland), Salt (Turkey), Van Abbemuseum (the Netherlands), MSU (Croatia), Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Germany), HDK-Valand (Sweden), NCAD (Ireland), ZRC SAZU (Slovenia), the Institute of Radical Imagination (Italy), tranzit.ro (Romania), the Visual Culture Research Center (Ukraine)—and three associate partners, IMMA (Ireland), MG+MSUM (Slovenia), and WIELS (Belgium), along with the L’Internationale Association.
Museum of the Commons weaves together three transversal thematic threads corresponding to key challenges contemporary societies are facing. The Climate thread tackles issues of the current planetary climate crisis, the sustainability of institutional, artistic and cultural practices and processes, and the urgency of transforming our politics, societies, cultures, and ways of life ecologically. The Situated Organizations thread queries the role of museums and art organizations as actors in complex social networks and ecosystems to seek new ways of democratizing institutions and to render them more open, inclusive, and useful. The final thread, Past in the Present, focuses on the crucial roles our local and shared histories hold in constituting contemporary identities, politics, societies, and cultures, investigating the persistence and long-lasting impact of historical and current environmental and colonial violence. In doing so, the confederation seeks to mobilize art and culture as strategic tools in processes of healing, reconstruction, and repair of damage that has been inflicted.
These thematic threads will guide the content of L’Internationale activities, from exhibitions to nomadic schools, artist residencies, and community workshops. They explore contemporary models of sustainable cultural production and propose frameworks for new forms of cultural co-creation, contributing to environmental, social, and artistic transformation. The confederation undertakes multiple actions in directly supporting artists, culture workers, and refugees living with the impact of global conflicts, while supporting international solidarity and contributing to the future recovery of the cultural sector and of society at large.
Over the coming four years, L’Internationale will implement Museum of the Commons (2023–2026), the fourth European cooperative project funded by the EU Creative Europe Programme. During this period, the confederation will comprise 14 institutions—Museo Reina Sofía (Spain), MACBA (Spain), M HKA (Belgium), MSN (Poland), Salt (Turkey), Van Abbemuseum (the Netherlands), MSU (Croatia), Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Germany), HDK-Valand (Sweden), NCAD (Ireland), ZRC SAZU (Slovenia), the Institute of Radical Imagination (Italy), tranzit.ro (Romania), the Visual Culture Research Center (Ukraine)—and three associate partners, IMMA (Ireland), MG+MSUM (Slovenia), and WIELS (Belgium), along with the L’Internationale Association.
Museum of the Commons weaves together three transversal thematic threads corresponding to key challenges contemporary societies are facing. The Climate thread tackles issues of the current planetary climate crisis, the sustainability of institutional, artistic and cultural practices and processes, and the urgency of transforming our politics, societies, cultures, and ways of life ecologically. The Situated Organizations thread queries the role of museums and art organizations as actors in complex social networks and ecosystems to seek new ways of democratizing institutions and to render them more open, inclusive, and useful. The final thread, Past in the Present, focuses on the crucial roles our local and shared histories hold in constituting contemporary identities, politics, societies, and cultures, investigating the persistence and long-lasting impact of historical and current environmental and colonial violence. In doing so, the confederation seeks to mobilize art and culture as strategic tools in processes of healing, reconstruction, and repair of damage that has been inflicted.
These thematic threads will guide the content of L’Internationale activities, from exhibitions to nomadic schools, artist residencies, and community workshops. They explore contemporary models of sustainable cultural production and propose frameworks for new forms of cultural co-creation, contributing to environmental, social, and artistic transformation. The confederation undertakes multiple actions in directly supporting artists, culture workers, and refugees living with the impact of global conflicts, while supporting international solidarity and contributing to the future recovery of the cultural sector and of society at large.
