Do “museu aberto” ao “museu disperso”: desafios ao poder

Abstract

The current socio-economic situation triggers a strong debate on the role and action of the art institutions in society. This article examines a new concept of museum – the “dispersed museum” – proposed by Charles Esche (born 1962), which forms the basis of the Van Abbemuseum (Eindhoven, Holland) programme. Using Esche’s theoretical reflections on the museum in the 21st century as a starting point, and through a comparative analysis of a selection of projects, exhibitions and events from different historical periods (60s, 2000s and 2010s), this study seeks to clarify the influence of the idea of “open museum” in the construction of this new alternative museum concept. The “open museum” was developed throughout the 60s as an alternative to the “museum-sanctuary”, while the “dispersed museum” emerged as a reaction against the museum as a place of leisure and consumption that satisfies certain political and economic interests. To that end, I have collected and analysed press articles, first-hand accounts from the exhibition curators, interviews, iconographic material, and exhibition catalogues. This article reveals that, although Charles Esche did not mention it in his essays and interviews, he recovers the essence of the original idea of the “open museum” and reworks it in order to expand it and give it new life. Finally, bearing in mind the fate of the “open museum”, I have questioned the future of the “dispersed museum” as conceived by the English curator.

Keywords

• open museum
• dispersed museum
• institutional critique
• new institutionalism
• Charles Esche
• Van Abbemuseum