Pedafooni 3

It’s All
Mediating
Conference
report
International conference on curating
and education in the exhibition context
May 30–31, 2012, Helsinki, Finland
 31st May 2012

Moderator & Opening Words

Kati Kivinen 3. Negotiating Power and

programm Professional Positions

e 2. Negotiating Visibility
Johnny Gailey:
Valérie Lagier
On Both Sides of the Mirror:
the Curator/Educator
Nada Beros:
The Fight for Each Head or
Total-Education
Planning Permission Raquel dos Santos Arada:
Lindsey Fryer Artistic Curator vs
Sarah Mossop: What’s the Point? Is Social Educational Curator:
From Offsite to Onsite: Impact the New “Black”? Thoughts on Cultural
Crossing the Gallery
Mediation Practices in
30th May 2012 Treshold Case Studies Europe, by a European
3. Cultural encounters and 1. Sharing the Power Practitioner with the Aid of
Kaija Kaitavuori professional roles Examples from Brazil
Miranda Stearn & Rachel
Moderator & Introduction Sophie Goltz: Craddock: Jane Sillis:
Projekt Migration Journeys: Stories of the Are Educators Cultural
Kiasma, Pedaali, SKY, CuMMA Annu Wilenius: World Leaders?
Welcome by Organisers Thoughts from “Outside” Henna Paunu:
the Box Working with the Future Adela Zeleznik
Nora Sternfeld Museum/Gallery Education
Being Able to Do Something: Gaby Lees:
Process Studies in Transition From Museum
Educating and Curating in the Reflections on War:
Maija Tanninen-Mattila: A Community Curated in the Streets (MNC) to the
Post-representational Museum Helene Schjerfbeck Museum of Contemporary Art
Exhibition
(Ateneum Finnish National Metelkova (MSUM)
Sally Tallant 2. Integrating Programmes
Gallery)
What Have We Learnt? Deborah Riding: Carmen Mörsch
Maija Koskinen:
Supporting Learning To Contradict Oneself
Maria Lind Pirjetta Brander:
in Galleries Through
Why Mediate Art? Les Fleurs du Mal
Integrated Learning and Announcing the Annual
(Kunsthalle Helsinki)
Curatorial Practice Museum Educational Action of
Case Studies Kati Kivinen: the Year Award
Veronica Sekules:
1. Designing Participation Thank You for the Music Finnish Association for
Blogging a Collaboration
(Kiasma Museum of Museum Education Pedaali
Nana Salin: Contemporary Art) Johan Lundh & Aileen Burns:
EMMA, Futuro Lounge Curating (Post)Conflict
Teresita Scalco: Dinner and Evening
SALT and the New Museum Programme
Scene in Istanbul at Restaurant Uunisaari
It’s All Mediating It’s All Mediating
conference report (Cambridge Scholars
(Pedafooni 3, Pedaali) Publishing)
This Internet publication, It´s All The Internet publication on
Mediating Conference Report, is hand will be followed by an Maria Lind
the third publication in Pedaali academic publication also titled Why Mediate Art?
association’s Pedafooni series. It’s All Mediating later this
The earlier publications have year, edited by Kaija Kaitavuori, Sally Tallant
been in Finnish, Pedafooni 1 Nora Sternfeld, Laura Kokkonen What Have We Learnt?
Nuoret ja kulttuurinen osal- and The Finnish Association for
lisuus (2007) and Pedafooni Museum Education Pedaali. All Valérie Lagier
2A Opastamisen nykypäivää keynotes and further articles On Both Sides of the Mirror:
(2009). Pedafooni 2B was pub- listed below are included in the Curator/Educator
lished in both Finnish and in full in the publication, which
English, Opastamisen historiaa is part of Cambridge Scholars Lindsey Fryer
and History of Guiding (2010). Publishing series. The book will On Mediating and Social
be available for purchase both Impact
The Finnish Association for as e-book and hardcopy.
Museum Education, Pedaali, Adela Zeleznik
was established on the 1st of Kaija Kaitavuori Reflections on the Museum
March 2005. The purpose of It’s All Mediating: Introduction Education in the Time of Crisis
the association is to promote
museum education. The goal Nora Sternfeld Felicity Allen
is also to provide information That Certain Savoir/Pouvoir: Possibilities for Curating
about the overall importance Gallery Education as a Field of Education in the Globalised
of museum and art education. Possibility Museum
Museum education is part of
the museums’ vital tasks of Carmen Mörsch Salla Fornaro & Laura Kokkonen
audience work and art educa- Contradicting Oneself: Gallery Reflections from the Floor:
tion and is intended to pro- Education as Critical Practice It’s All Mediating Conference
mote cultural democracy and within the Educational Turn in Report
accessibility. Curating
www.c-s-p.org
www.pedaali.fi CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS
Pedaali – The Finnish PUBLISHING
Association for Museum
Education
 ten down in the mission state- say that we were quite a ver-

It’s time
ment of Pedaali (The Finnish satile crowd. I see titles such
Association for Museum Educa- as Museum Educator, Artist,

to look
tion), seemed the most impor- Producer, Co-Director, Curator,
tant and relevant: Communications Officer, Pro-
How do we mediate? Who gramme Director and Managing

b a c k Sa
l o decides on the content pre-
sented in our museums? How
Director just to name a few.
I hope that this publication
j a
Er
do we take care of the audi- will remind you of the two sun-
ences who visit our museums? ny conference days in Helsin-
How does collaboration be- ki and the lovely evening with
tween exhibition planning and sauna on the Uunisaari Island.
education work? How exactly In addition, I hope that reading
This online publication is a are work tasks, responsibili- this will make it easier to wait
collection of thoughts, texts ties and power divided when it for the academic publication of
and tweets from the It’s All comes to education and curat- the conference.
Mediating conference, which ing? Are there lines that can- I hope that everyone in the
was held in Helsinki 30th–31st not be crossed? Some of these conference got lots of food for
May 2012. The theme of the thoughts and even more ended thought and some of it still in-
conference was curating and up in the Call for Case Studies, spires you in your work. Hope-
education in exhibition context. which was announced on 19th fully the contacts you made
How did it all get started? The December 2011. will offer fruitful networking
first emails concerning the con- After more than 600 emails, possibilities in the future.
ference that I can find on my dozens of long meetings (which
computer are from spring 2011. luckily were a lot of fun!), all On behalf of all the organisers,
That was when we, a team of members of the organising
eight colleagues, started to team and 206 participants from Erja Salo
plan the theme and structure 19 countries met in the Muse- The President of Pedaali
of the conference alongside um of Contemporary Art Kias- Educational Curator, Finnish
our day jobs. The idea to have ma in Helsinki. We could not Museum of Photography
such a conference was first wait for Kaija Kaitavuori’s in-
presented by Kaija Kaitavuori troduction to start! When I now
already in February 2010. The look at the list of participants
questions and thoughts writ- and their occupations I must

#2012IAM if you don’t understand your strengths and skills you are putting yourself at a disadvantage! Reflect. @LesleyHepburn
 and un-mediation at the same

Is it all
time. (This was pointed out by
Nora Sternfeld). It also recog-

mediating?ri
nises the need to be ready to
negotiate, not only to deliver
and teach.

uo
“Education” is often used as
the general term to denote the

ai tav In the It’s All Mediating confer- more specialised education-

a K ence, “mediation” was used as al or pedagogical practice in

ai j a concept to denote both cura- museums as well as activities

K torial as well as educational ac- directed at various audience
tivities—work that delivers art groups. English language dom-
to public and brings public to inates international discussion
art, to put it shortly. Mediating, and “education” does not do
however, has a double mean- justice to national differenc-
ing. It signifies both an effort es and traditions. In Germany
of building bridges and acting and e.g. Finland “pedagogy”
as an intermediary as well as is a usual term. Scandinavian
settling a conflict and interven- countries tend to go for “förm-
ing in a dispute. This position edling”. Italy uses “didactics”
could be seen to reflect the (didattica) more frequently
coming together of many, even than other places. In the US
contradictory interests in a mu- “interpretation” is used wide-
seum context: dealing with the ly whereas in the British con-
various expectations of artists, texts it tends to refer just to
visitors, funders, patrons, poli- materials directly connected
ticians and other stakeholders. to exhibits. In France “media-
The German word for media-
tion, Vermittlung, carries a sim-
ilar conflictual dimension: the
prefix Ver- could also be un-
derstood as un- in unlearning;
Vermittlung hence is mediation

#2012IAM Is intregration of curating and educ within arts orgs an opportunity? Or rationalisation by another name? @JohnnyGailey
tion” is used but also “cultur-
al service”, “service culturel”,
comprises activities dealt with
under “education” in other
countries. In Finland, we have
recently changed towards us- ed learning. But then, the Ger-
ing “audience work” instead of man “Bildung” already has this
“pedagogy” to better describe dimension of self-education.
the wide range of approach- And in many places and lan-
es that goes under the title. guages, calling museum visi-
In the UK, “audience develop- tors “learners” just would not
ment” is used too, but it easily be used. And what about “par-
has a quantitative connotation ticipation”, we have not talked
of attracting more audiences— about participation yet...
“outreach” is understood more Using the British “gallery ed-
as reaching for new audiences. ucation” instead of “muse-
At least in Finnish, there is no um education” may be con-
direct translation for outreach. fusing too: in many places
Furthermore, many British mu- gallery would refer to com-
seums have recently changed mercial galleries only. “Art mu-
the names of their depart- seum” would be safer. Most of
ments into “learning” instead the speakers and participants
of “education”; this is intend- in the conference came from
ed to direct the focus from for- art contexts. However, a lot of
mal, delivery-type education what is covered under media-
to informal and learner-direct- tion here applies to other types
of museums as well. So, “mu-
seum education” perhaps. But
how do we include all kinds of
non-collecting exhibition spac-
es, art halls, and biennials?
Fortunately curating is just
curating. Well, hang on, in the
French-speaking world curators
are called “conservateurs”. Oh,
here we go again!
 Lindsey Fryer
The values and principles that
guide my work are about the
human ability and need to cre-
ate art and ideas and share
that with others; the pub-
lic right of access to and in-
volvement in knowledge ex-
change and sharing, ideas, Carmen Mörsch
cultural heritage and the work I do research on different fields
of all artists/performers/writ- of art and cultural education, in
ers etc. It’s also about creat- and outside schools. My work
ing the conditions where eve- is embedded in the framework
ryone is able to make a choice of a big institution, an universi-
Adela Zeleznik to participate in, to contribute ty of the arts. I try to conceive
Sincerity, truthfulness, curiosity to, to enjoy, be challenged by, my work as a critical practice:
and patience. critique ideas and make art in collaborative wherever possi-
Can you Sally Tallant
any form. Knowledge exchange
and transfer, research and re-
ble, interruptive, reparative
and constructive wherever nec-

identify
My work is guided by a num- flection, experience, dialogue essary. I try to negotiate con-
ber of questions that establish and debate according to need tradictions and ambiguities not
both how I operate and also underpins everything that con- as problems but as a base and

values how I understand the impact

and value of the work. What
cerns me. The relationships
between the artist, the pub-
starting point for my work. I
see myself less as a single au-
is the social and political val- thor/actor but connected with
that ue of art? How can artists and
curators ask questions that re-
lic (this includes those who
may not have had the choices and dependent from different
communities of thought and
above) and the gallery are at
guide frame what is possible? What is
necessary?
the core of my concerns. practice. All my work is a re-
sult of shared thoughts and
actions. In the future, I would
your Valérie Lagier
The sense of public service and
like to learn to better identi-
fy when to do nothing is the

work? the idea that Heritage and Art

are everyone’s property.
most productive way of doing
something.

#2012IAM Act not just for our survival but also because it’s the right thing to do. @RachelCraddock
 Adela Zeleznik
To be true, museums and gal-
leries are priviledged spaces Lindsey Fryer
that in theory serve to eve- Currently museums and gal-
ryone but in practice only to leries present the values and
those who have interest to choices of people in power—
come in (see Pierre Bourdieu’s those who act on behalf of art-
study The Love of Art). I per- ists and public in a continua-

Ideally, sonally would like them to be

places for encounter and dia-
tion of a 19th century model of
patronage in bringing art to the
logue, instead of monologue, masses. Through a combina-
What but this depends a lot on the
active participation of the pub-
tion of public and increasing-
ly private funds and with the

kind of lic. And I think we are still far

away from this, at least in
political connotations this has
meant that museums and gal-
Slovenia. leries are still the repositories
spaces of the concerns and choices of
a particular economic/politi-
Sally Tallant
are Galleries and museums exist
in an ecology so we need a di-
cal power base. Depending on
which Government is in power,
the focus of public policy and
museums verse range of institutions that
have distinctive roles in or-
practice can shift, but funda-
mentally the model remains.
der to ensure that we have a
and
We are much more account-
healthy culture. Audiences are able than we have ever been
also diverse so there’s no sin- in terms of funding and with

galleries? gle answer to this question. It

is critical to have collections
and to present them in rele-
the Freedom of Information Act
we are to some extent becom-
ing more publicly accountable
vant ways. It is as important for what we collect and show
to have productive and discur- on behalf of the nation BUT
sive spaces. These spaces are of course “the nation” has no
at the heart of culture and cul- say in the matter. Some peo-
tural production and they are
for anyone.

#2012IAM the museum as an empty space waiting .. for people to fill it. @LucySteggals
ple defer this responsibility to Valérie Lagier
the museum/gallery willingly Museum and galleries are plac-
and are comfortable with this— es where art is displayed for
trusting the “experts” to make the pleasure and enjoyment
choices. However, if pushed at all levels; more transparen- of everyone, places to create a
many would want to a greater cy about the museum/gallery dialogue between people with
transparency in the processes, and how it works; more pub- different skills and knowledge.
a greater say in what is valua- lic interaction with the deci-
ble to them—particularly where sion makers; more curatorial Carmen Mörsch
public funding is concerned. projects that involve the pub- Museums and galleries should
The task I feel is to be as trans- lic and other professionals in be spaces where collectively
parent as we can be, to include meaningful ways; more pub- produced representations meet
the public in the dialogue/de- lic involvement in interpreta- debates, antagonisms and ac-
bate about values and what is tion/dialogue about the work tions. What would not happen
important to them, create an on show; more public partici- anymore in them is that any-
understanding of the complex- pation in the life of the gallery; body pretends they were “for
ities of the task and for mu- a greater understanding that everyone”—because they can
seums and galleries to under- everyone is welcome; a greater never be. The claim has become
stand more about the public, understanding and use of the a means to obfuscate and sta-
what they want and need and gallery as resource for learning bilize power relations instead
how we create the conditions but also for ideas generation of working against them. Who
for the public. I would like to and sharing across arts and would they serve: For the next
see more interaction/dialogue non arts sectors; the use of the 250 years, they would primari-
between the public and artists gallery spaces in unexpected ly serve anybody they have not
and new ways; revealing and been serving for the last 250
telling the stories about art years. Time for giving turns.
and artists in new and unex-
pected ways—creating alterna-
tive readings of art histories;
be more radical in how a na-
tional gallery could operate! I
could go on...

#2012IAM I don’t want to read another pressrelease saying “this is one of the most influential artists of our time” Maria Lind on marketing @AliciaBruce
 archives, with the canon and
challenges it, rethinks it in or-
der to discuss it publicly.
I think it is a curatorial and
an educational function that
has to do with this public role.
For me, this is an intellectual
function, as Antonio Gramsci
thought about public intellec-
tual. This is for me the role of jects as consumers and not
the curator and the educator. I subjects as actors. It brings the
think these should not be plac- audience into position of an-
es that are petrified, authori- swering questions that they
sized, fixed—places that rep- never posed. So why would we
resent something like nations, think it is democratic to put a
or tendencies, or families—but cross on a question that no-
places where these things can body posed.
Nora Sternfeld
be negotiated and discussed, I see the audience absolute-
Interviewed at IAM
and places where something ly capable of using these spac-
conference
unexpected can occur. es. So how can institutions and
For me, museums and exhi- museums become spaces that
bitions are public places. And It’s also interesting to ask
what kind of audience we people would want to use? They
I have a radical democratic un- are spaces that are owned by
derstanding of public. I think want, or we live with, and what
kind of audience we produce. I the people as they are public
they should be spaces of ne- institutions. My idea is not that
gotiation of what can be seen, want to rethink the idea of the
audience in a democratic way. there is something fixed and I
said and done, spaces in which want to bring it nearer to the
this can be discussed, and also I think there is certain pseudo-
participation when it comes to people who are not very intel-
spaces in which we are able to ligent—no! I think it’s very im-
deal with conflict about these evaluation. Evaluation can be
really dangerous because it’s portant to think and to believe
kinds of things. I understand that the only owner of a public
my practice as a curator and not a real vote. It creates sub-
institution is the public. How
an educator as a practice, that could this place host the pub-
challenges what can be seen, lic that the public would want
done and said in a way that to use it?
works with history, with the
 Valérie Lagier
I would like to have helped
some people to discover the

How pleasure of art,

it’s the fist time
especially if
they enter a
museum.
would Carmen Mörsch

you Together with others, I would

like to contribute to a legacy
of critical thought within my
like to Adela Zeleznik
I don’t want to influence any-
one, especially within the mu-
working field.

influence seum context, but I would like

to leave traces...
Sally Tallant
I would like to feel sure that I
have acted with care and cre-
society Lindsey Fryer
The next step for me is to influ-
ated spaces for art to resonate
in the world.

and/or ence how the arts are funda-

mentally (and positively) em-
bedded in public policy—across
the art the arts, education and non-
arts sectors such as health.

field in Published research is increas-

ingly important and we are
doing that with a number of
your University and sector partner-
ships through our new Tate

career? Liverpool Research Centre. The

work of the Research Centre
will inform everything we do
at Tate Liverpool and we are
just at the start of this so it’s
exciting.

#2012IAM I can make my own mistakes! says Valérie Lagier. Let’s take responsibility on the things we do! And not be afraid of failing! @KaisaKettunen
 it to sustainable directions we The author Elli Liippo

Art s a
need to reassess its structures was announced
and make preventive interven- the winner of the

l e av e tions where they are needed.

Since work affects us in many
Museum Educational
action of the Year

t r a c e ways, its improvement also de-

mands considering multi-dis-
ciplinary points of view. Coor-
Award by Pedaali in
the IAM conference.
The purpose of the
dinated by Aboa Vetus & Ars
o
award is to bring
pp

Nova, the Art Leaves a Trace

forth exemplary and
project reacted to this situation
Lii

remarkable audience
from the viewpoint of a his-
work activities and
li

torical and contemporary art

El

to pay attention
museum. In the centre of the
project, which was realized in to the people that
cooperation with Turku Munici- contribute to the
pal Social Services and Health museum educational
Care Department and The Finn- work in Finland.
People say that work is good ish Work Environment Fund,
for you. At least in the health was the idea that work is not
care section this argument is a place for burnouts. 22 Turku sumed that deficiencies of the
afflicted constantly. The fact municipality’s home care em- working life could be fixed by
that the need of care services ployees took part in the year- the museum. Instead, the con-
is growing and the resources long process. In 2012 they vis- tents provided by the muse-
decreasing at the same time, ited the museum at least once um encouraged looking at the
does not only threaten the a month. Regular visits dur- everyday life and its challeng-
quality of the care but also ing working hours gave the es from alternative viewpoints.
the well-being of the carer. work community the chance Contemporary art stimulates
As the population ages, the to spend time together with no empathy and inspiration,
problems will accumulate. rush and to get to know con- which tend to get lost in the
Working life is at a cross- temporary art. It was not as- routines and hurry. Experienc-
roads. In order to conduct ing art can be very invigorating
especially for healthcare staff.
Museums and well-being seum work in many ways. Mu-
There is no ready-made for- seums and other memory or-
mula for well-being. Instead it ganisations preserve and pass
is achieved by living, as a by- on cultural heritage and art,
product of relationships, work both in material and imma-
and activities. When it comes to terial forms. Their collections
healthcare, during the last few are not static storages but ev-
years there has been a transi- drama and photography have er-changing processes that re- stand the meaning of it and all
tion from sickness-centred def- been applied to support indi- semble human memory. In that surrounds us.
initions towards viewing health vidual and communal develop- the level of a community, mu- Even though there are simi-
as a dynamic state, which the ment. Partly because these tri- seums do what memory does larities between museum work
individual produces in relation- als have been short projects, in an individual level. By col- and work that promotes well-
ship with the environment. knowledge of the effects of the lecting, organising and shar- being we still need persistent
Good health equals work-life action is scattered across the ing knowledge museums take action to establish methods
balance and the ability to func- field. This makes it more chal- part in producing communal for well-being work. We have
tion. It is achieved when a per- lenging to evaluate and devel- self-realization. Museum is not to stop and ask what can mu-
son feels that his or her per- op culture-based well-being a health service and it cannot seums offer and what can we
sonal resources are in balance work. fix faults within the healthcare expect from them. How much
with everyday challenges. This In the recent years also mu- system. However, as a keeper should the know-how of a mu-
way of thinking has encour- seums have asked what consti- and mediator of cultural her- seum professional include?
aged looking for new forms of tutes a good life when it comes itage it is an expert when it Self-reflection is demanding but
support, for example from the to for example social equality comes to everyday phenome- necessary if museums want to
art world. Several healthcare and accessibility. Art Leaves a na in the human life. Hence it build interactive relationships
projects have provided prac- Trace aimed to continue and supports our ways of living in with their visitors and to an-
tical information of art-based deepen the discussion of what this world, our efforts to under- swer to the changes in the so-
action where areas such as is the relationship between ciety that have become evident
museum work and promot- in the working life.
ing well-being. What are the
methods that museums can Elli Liippo
use to apply their know-how? Art instructor
Questions about well-being are Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova
linked to the principles of mu- Turku, Finland

#2012IAM “where is social impact - sitting on the floor with visitors or working with partners as a strategic political operator?” @MirandaStearn
 i
k e n g stitution, working very often
as the only curator, there are Authenticity of Art

o r
W h th
no possibilities or resources
to separate the curatorial and
The art works shown in these
exhibitions are not firstly and

wit ure u
pedagogical sides from one an- explicitly created for children.
other. In Rauma Art Museum Instead, the curatorial work,

f u t u n
we have developed a concept
of exhibitions consisting of
the choice of works, is done
with the target group in mind.
Pa (mainly) Finnish contemporary There can be some modifica-

n a art that is targeted for special tion or adjustment of works to

n audiences. The target groups make them fit the venue, sit-

He are children and young peo-

ple visiting museum with their
uation or space. However, the
main idea is not to make differ-
school classes and kindergar- ent art for children but simply
For me personally, the most ten groups. to show art to children. That is
important thing in the It’s All In our case, this is the best why these exhibitions do not
Mediating conference was the possible audience. The target often include totally new art
idea of common and shared group inspires and challeng- productions.
purpose of all curatorial work es the curator. As visitors of a
done around exhibitions contemporary art museum the We Share the World
Curators are one important children are open minded, cu- Very often themes in these ex-
link between art, audience and rious and capable of interac- hibitions have been connect-
artists. But only one—there tive working and creative dis- ed to ordinary everyday life—
are also other kinds of media- cussion. When you manage to it makes the exhibition easy
tors. The skills, work and ener- create a relationship between to relate to. Also art that deals
gy of all these mediators serve this particular audience and with larger environmental, eth-
equally both sides. I had the the museum, you can hope ical and global issues with dif-
possibility to talk in one of the that the relationship will last ferent kinds of meanings and
conferences case study ses- very long, almost one hun- viewpoints is included. Works
sions about the exhibition con- dred years at its best! By look- should be discussed in many
cepts and practises in Rauma ing into children’s eyes you can levels and linked with infor-
Art Museum. see the future. mation that is interesting to
Rauma is a seaside town of In my personal curatorial all age groups. Through art it
approximately 38 000 inhabit- work within this exhibition con- is possible to talk about opin-
ants in south-western Finland. cept there are certain themes ions and viewpoints and there
In a small town and a local in- and ideas that I try to follow: is never only one right answer.
#2012IAM Whose knowledge is valued & whose knowledge is facilitated? Who’s knowledge is simply enjoyed? @AliciaBruce
Everybody Can Talk about Art artworks and talk about them them come several times, and
Maybe one of the most im- during tours. Tours with these some even manage to get their
portant things is that visit- “unprofessional” guides give parents or grandparents to see
ing groups are always accom- a chance to explore and dis- the exhibition, too. Then chil-
panied by a guide when going cuss the meaning and content dren who have participated
around the museum. The ex- of the works in a basic level. in the guided tour can act as
hibition tour starts with ques- Exhibitions often include artist- guides themselves.
tions: Have you been here be- run workshops where the same One starting point and prac-
fore? What kind of art have you guides assist. tical reason to develop this ex-
seen here earlier? Orientating hibition concept has been the
or landing into the art world Experiencing the Museum problems of small provincial
happens by sharing memories. The art works in these exhibi- museum—the lack of audience
Talking about art starts already tions are often spatial, inter- interested in contemporary
in the first room. The guide is active, narrative and phenom- art. Limited resources are also
not necessarily an art profes- enal. Experiencing the works the reason for practical choic-
sional. She or he may have an- with many senses, not only es like working with guides
other qualification or has been seeing, is one of the curatori- who are not art profession-
unemployed for some time. al aims. The installing plan is als. Nonetheless, our aim is to
The guide persons are very of- always made keeping in mind work with this method towards
ten involved in exhibition in- how the guided tour will go a better future. We wish to in-
stalling and working togeth- around the museum. There crease awareness and to make
er with artists. They often get should be a possibility to cre- contemporary art attractive for
to know the artists person- ate some kind of a logical and larger audiences locally. Hope-
ally and they become part of dramaturgic story. fully we will have more active
the exhibition production. The adult audiences in the future.
guides are not required to do Attracting More Audiences Exhibiting contemporary art
extensive research or to collect How to get even more children, can be possible and successful
background information about and maybe also adults to vis- even in the periphery.
the art. They are coached and it the museum? After the tour
prepared for guiding as they with the school, many children
are taught about the contents come again with their friends. Henna Paunu
of the exhibition. The person- They know that the museum is Curator (Rauma Art Museum)
al connection with the artist free for children and they want President (Finnish Society for Curators)
makes it easy to relate to the to experience more. Some of Vice President (Pedaali)
 i e w s Béatrice Cofield

v
Vice-president and founder

e r of young masters of arts

Int he e
association, France

t c
We have a problem of defin-

t
a fere n ing the role of artists, educa-
tors and curators. You need to

con
have, I would say, all of the
three qualities. For example
the curator has to behave like
an artist to understand what
it’s like: besides being a cura-
tor and an educator he or she
has to be creative. And an art-
ist has to do the same and an
educator has to do the same. I
think in this triangle each mem-
ber has to choose a dominant
colour to understand his or
Pirjetta Brander her place and role in the world
Visual Artist and then there is no conflict. I
Of course all artists are differ- think we belong to a fascinat-
ent. I completely understand ing time where by asking our-
that some artists only want to selves these questions we can
complete a work and then hand indeed talk about this sharing
it over to the exhibition archi- of creativity, and solidarity—
tect and curator. I often do it about the positive elements
too. But it’s always a dialogue. of mankind really, brought
Then again, it’s a dream come through art. It’s not exaggera-
true to realize this exhibition tion that the world can change
exactly like I always wanted. through art but these roles in
the triangle have to be defined.

#2012IAM “What’s the difference between an activist & an artist?’ an artist might get paid!” @JohnnyGailey
 tant part of art education. I see
that artistic thinking and artis-
tic methods—for example in-
terventions outside art institu-
tions—are what is needed and
what we need to apply in oth-
Helena Sederholm er areas of life and not only in
The idea that we have to be art. We have seen exactly this
able to criticize the silencing happening during the confer-
effect of solidarity inspired me. ence. Offering tea and food is
Everyone agrees on the good a useful way to attract people
stuff and no one questions an- to work together. In situations
ything. It is quite dangerous. I like that, art and life are not
started to feel that, yes, art still separated from one another.
has many opportunities to ex- I do believe that if art educa-
ist somewhere else than within tion considers societal connec-
the institutions. Now I feel that tions in a broader scale it will
we are on a borderline, that guide people toward art be-
something is changing, that cause they will get interested.
also in art education we will
adapt similar ways of thinking
as there are in contemporary
art. It was great to notice that
mediating still equals living and
acting on a borderline. Without
disapproving workshop activi-
ties we can see something new
in the horizon. I am fascinated
by the thought that art is not
only theory and self-expression
even though they are an impor-

#2012IAM 6m people in UK, some 700,000 work in the cultural industries: artists, museum workers, educators, etc... We are the cultural 1% @JohnnyGailey
 Maria Malmberg Wallin
Art curator, pedagogical
curator, Bror Hjorts Hus,
Sweden
Coming from Sweden, I also
work in a small museum and
we don’t have those different
Liz Whitehead departments but still I think
co-director of Fabrica that we are very divided into
Gallery, Brighton, UK different roles because we have
My organisation is a small or- so much to do! I’m an art edu-
ganisation. To me, it seems cator: I work with groups, with
that these questions come children and also adults. And
from the large institutions that takes up to eighty percent
where I can see there are big of my time, just meeting people
enough teams to have a de- and talking with people and I
partment for education and a love doing that. But I also have
department for curation. But this ambition that once a year
there are many cultural or- I’m a curator for an exhibition.
ganisations in Europe that are For me the problem is also how
small and it’s not practical to to share those roles in a small
have these departments, there museum. How it can be done,
is not enough money. There are because it has to be done. You
people who are working across can’t really have those divi-
curation and education and sions because you have to help
so these are integrated by de- each other and be creative to-
fault. So, are we really talking gether. I think it’s impossible to
about something, which only be creative on your own, you
exists theoretically because of have to talk to someone and
finance, because of good will? to share ideas. There is a di-
For professionals working in vision, I think, but not in the
the sector it’s not really a prob- same way as in the large de-
lem, we already have an in- partments or museums.
tegrated practice. That’s my
question for Friday morning.
#2012IAM What will happen if education stops serving curatorial needs? @KaisaKettunen
 Hannah Kruse, Berlin
It’s important to me to show
and to create an open process,
to make it clear where every-
one’s standing, where people
are coming from… Trying to
make the environment open,
to bring our own interests and
values to the forefront and
likewise listen to other peo-
ple’s values and ideas. To cre-
ate access to artworks. It’s al-
ways fantastic to go over and
beyond the artist’s intention,
actually to get other ideas and
influence—not quite creating an
artwork—but giving it a more
rounded picture. About learn-
ing itself if you teach at the
university or in a programme
the most productive learning
and the most successful learn-
ing happens when people start
doing it themselves. Project-
based learning, I think that’s
the only way to learn, or that’s
the way I prefer to learn.

#2012IAM Sally Tallant inspiring talk. “I resist the tensions between curators & educators when there are much bigger questions at stake” @AliciaBruce
Julia Koch
trainee at the Helsinki City
Art Museum, University of
Hildesheim
The experience that I have now
is that when you work in the
gap between art and the audi-
ence, your position is not that
you have to know everything,
that you have to say what they
should or shouldn’t know. It’s
not about that at all, but it’s
about these bridges you build.

Raquel dos Santos Arada

head of education in a
cultural centre in Lisbon
I feel that we really need more
practical work. We need work-
shops, more places to meet
and talk about our experiences,
to be with each other. The au-
ditorium is not the best place
for this sort of communication.

#2012IAM Sparkling eye syndrome? Do educators really have this? I think many of us are here to be self reflective & self critical. @AliciaBruce
Voices,
Views & cussions and the current con-
text of art mediation in Finland,
of “curator” and “educator”.
Approximately one third of the

values which has recently started to

define itself quite strongly. It’s
participants in the conference
were educators or education-
& All Mediating conference with al curators and one fourth de-
o
r en its international perspectives fined themselves clearly as cu-
a
n on
and well-positioned speak- rators.[1] The rest were artists,
r ers also played a part in this academics, directors, freelanc-
Fo okk development. ers and students. In practice,

lla a K
the conference had a distinc-
ROLES AND VALUES, tive emphasis on art educa-
Sa ur EMPOWERMENT AND CRITICISM tion. During the two days, is-

La Would be good to look at the

sues that were mainly related
to education and mediating
It’s All Mediating confer- theme of the congress also were raised. Both curatorial
ence aroused lively discus- from the “other” side, meaning voices and the position of art-
sion around art mediation and from the curatorial side. Now ists as mediators were of less-
provoked both new insights the outcome was somewhat er attention in the conference,
and some contradictory ap- curator-hostile at times. which was also mentioned in
proaches. We briefly examine Conference Feedback the feedback. One of the rea-
connections between mate- sons for this might be the ed-
rial collected during the con- I’m interested in the roles of ucational background of the
ference—interviews and dis- artists and of audiences as me- organising team, and the fact
cussions—and the keynote diators--moving beyond the cu- that the unstructured curatori-
lectures. We will approach the rator/educator dichotomy... al field in Finland has just be-
outcomes from two points of Conference Feedback gun to take its form.
view that were debated during
the conference: roles of the cu- As a starting point, there was The situation of going to an-
rator and educator, and “social a strong need to reflect on the other country and being away
impact”. We reflect on the dis- professionalization of the field from what you did before, it
and the relatively new titles makes you so thoughtful. You
rethink everything. What I liked execution differed greatly be- en. This might lead to new
very much of the statements tween institutions. The ques- kinds of power positions.[2] Al-
was the question of who teach- tions remain, who has the though the artist-driven strate-
es and who learns and how power and is there an imbal- gies were not in the core of dis-
this can be turned around and ance of power? What kinds of cussion in the conference, e.g.
how it’s important to deal with future museums are built in Johnny Gailey also spoke about
in art education. cooperation? projects on participation in his
Julia Koch, trainee at the In the auditorium space, to case study.
Helsinki City Art Museum, accompany all the keynote Another very inspiring exam-
University of Hildesheim presentations, there was an It’s ple of a participatory strategy
All Mediating Twitter screen, came from Johan Lundh and Ai-
Under the theme Negotiating which enabled the audience to leen Burns whose case study
power and professional po- tweet their comments whenev- was about Curating (Post)Con-
sitions, Jane Sillis asked in er they wanted. The presenta- flict in Northern Ireland. Lun-
her case study session “Are tion by Valérie Lagier seemed dh and Burns are co-directors
Educators Cultural Leaders?” to awake enthusiasm and such and curators at the Centre for
and reflected on what barri- citations were sent to Twitter Contemporary Art (CCA) in a
ers prevent this, institution- as she spoke: “I can make my city with a naming dispute,
al or individual. The fact that own mistakes! — Let’s take re- Derry or Londonderry. The ten-
Sillis’ speech struck a chord in sponsibility on the things we sions between Irish national-
the audience shows that there do! And not be afraid of fail- ists and unionists are everyday
is a need for discussion about ing!” -- “Who gives permission reality that can easily have de-
power relations of the curator when we exercise our right to structive effects on the young-
and educator. In the informal fail? More chat about the pow- er generation who should
discussions, these profession- er struggle in arts” — “The cu- break the pattern. The situa-
al positions and the need for rator/educator is an endan- tion urged the curators to ask
collaboration between curators gered species”. Valérie Lagier themselves: How to save these
and educators were repeated- is an example of the assimila- kids? They have attempted to
ly emphasized. Planning exhi- tion of curator and educator. form a completely new rela-
bition content and education- One reason for why the roles tionship with the audience. The
al programmes in cooperation of curators and educators may audience has membership sta-
seemed to be a common prac- change and maybe even merge tus; people have power to de-
tice in many museums and in- is participatory and socially en- cide on the direction of the or-
stitutions already, even if the gaged art, which is artist-driv- ganisation. CCA hosts different

#2012IAM educators as leaders, what barriers prevent this? The institution or individual? @LesleyHepburn
learning platforms, also online, cational and curatorial practic- and what kind of activities they
where the members can for ex- es as strategies in which con- enable?
ample suggest things that they tradictions can be addressed, For Nora Sternfeld, muse-
would like to see, learn or know and of exhibitions as spaces ums and exhibitions are first
about, after which CCA facili- of negotiation and action. Her and foremost public and dem-
tates it. In addition, the whole speech was very much liked ocratic places. When it comes
city is considered a gallery. in the feedback, and was not to attracting more audiences,
considered as provocative. The Sternfeld raised the question
COMMENTS ON MUSEUM SPACE, more critical approaches of of what kind of audience does
PARTICIPATION AND SOCIAL Sternfeld and Mörsch seemed a museum have, what does it
IMPACT also to resonate with people want to have and what kind of
Adela Zeleznik posed the ques- and the discussions continued audience it produces. Accord-
tion, can one be political and in the hallways. ing to her, when we ask for
mediate at the same time. From Many speakers and partici- more participation there is a
the point of Carmen Mörsch pants in the conference, in- danger of creating pseudo-par-
and Nora Sternfeld for instance, cluding the keynote speak- ticipation. For example, when
this would be the ideal situa- ers, demanded more dialogue museum is the one asking all
tion. Being political means also about and within the muse- the questions and the public
being critical and self-reflec- um space. Dialogue is needed only answers, no real partici-
tive. The educator empowering not only between profession- pation or dialogue takes place.
speeches of Sillis and Lagier als but also between the pub- “Why would we think it is dem-
mainly provoked positive com- lic and the artists. In an email ocratic to put a tick on a ques-
ments and attention, whereas interview we conducted, Lind- tion that nobody posed? So
the critical position of Carmen Johan sey Fryer mentioned that using how could this place host the
Lundh
Mörsch created more debate. & Aileen
museum and gallery spaces in public so that the public would
She had seemingly anticipat- Burns unexpected and creative ways want to use it?”
ed this, since she started her and having more transparen-
speech by giving the audience cy about how museums and More action. Everyone can
beautiful but poisonous flow- galleries work could open the google all the things we heard
ers, lilies of the valley, bought space for more groups of peo- at the conference. Participating
from a street beggar. ple. There is a need to question in pedagogical action would
Nora Sternfeld’s position is the fact that museum visitors have been better.
from the same critical German are often viewed as customers Conference Feedback
speaking tradition as Mörsch’s. and consumers as oppose to
As a first keynote speaker Stern- content creators. Do to people
feld started the conference have and how could they have
with the examination of edu- a say in what museums exhibit
It’s All Mediating IN LOCAL
CONTEXT
In Finland, most often profes- for the emerging professional Mediating conference high-
sionals of either art history or discourse that creates a critical lighted, there is a lack of smart
art education share occupa- counterbalance to the econom- solutions of dealing with budg-
tions in museums. Specialised ic strains. Even if recognised in et cuts from the public sector.
study programmes in curat- the conference, these issues These pressures increasingly
ing are a very recent addition were not formally discussed in affect art educational practices
to the Finnish university field. depth. in Finland, too.
Two curatorial MA programmes From the perspective of the
have been established in the In hindsight I wondered why four discourses of gallery ed-
capital within a couple of years. the conference wasn’t more ucation introduced by Carmen
CuMMA (Curating, Managing political. I consider good medi- Mörsch it seems to us that
and Mediating Art) was founded ation to be political, and won- there is a distinctive pressure
in 2010, and in 2012 the Praxis dered, particularly in times of using reproductive methods
programme was launched at with severe budget cuts, and a in order to gain more audience.
Finnish Academy of Fine Arts. right or conservative turn, why This might be something that
This development has encour- this wasn’t voiced collectively. the practitioners are not even
aged recognising and debating Conference Feedback aware of. And like Lindsey Fry-
the role of the curator. er formulated in an interview,
As was recognised in the Sally Tallant stated in her pres- museums and galleries are
planning stage of the confer- entation that she resists the more and more accountable
ence, curators and educators tensions between curators in terms of funding when it
in museums work under con- and educators when there comes to what they collect and
stant economic, social and po- are much bigger questions at exhibit. Currently they present
litical pressures. They have to stake. These bigger questions the values and choices of peo-
bear in mind the expectations seem very relevant in today’s ple in power and people trust
of various stakeholders; art- context in Finland, too. The “experts” to make choices.
ists, academia, funders, au- radical changes in the econom- What if the museum does not
diences and managers. How ic sustainability of the cultur- have the power?
do these demands affect the al institutions are of major im- Johnny The conference proved that
work in museums? The effects portance and they affect both Gailey
the strains mentioned above
of this trend to the content the displayed content and the are somewhat common for
of exhibitions and other pro- working circumstances of cu- everyone—regardless of occu-
ductions are a significant con- rators and educators. As the pational titles or geographi-
cern. This seems a good time discussions during the It’s All cal positions. Kaija Kaitavuori
 REFERENCES
opened the conference by dis- Mörsch, Carmen. “At a Crossroads
cussing the background of the of Four Discourses, documen-
occupations of curator and ed- ta 12 Gallery Education in be-
ucator, throwing the prejudices tween Affirmation, Reproduction,
on the table. This was a good Deconstruction, and Transformation”,
starting point for the confer- in documenta 12 education. Between
ence, since it made it possi- Cultural Praxis and Public Service.
ble to jump right to the phase Results of a Research Project,
of synthesis. She also encour- 2009. Ed. Carmen Mörsch. Berlin:
aged people to use Globish— Diaphanes.
Lingua Franca, language that is E-mail interviews (Lindsey Fryer,
easy for everyone to compre- Valérie Lagier, Carmen Mörsch, Sally
hend. This set a ground for an Tallant, Adela Zeleznik)
atmosphere of mutual under- Face-to-face interviews with confer-
standing and fruitful interac- ence participants (Raquel dos Santos
tion. The goal of dialogue was Arada, Julia Koch, Nora Sternfeld)
also achieved, in the evening It’s All Mediating Conference
on the Uunisaari Island by the Feedback
sea and at least in the gentle
heat of the sauna. NOTES
[1] The titles of the participants
I think the future of art media- 30.5.2012.
tion will continue to be a lot [2] The extensive literature on par-
less formal, in a more ad-hoc, ticipatory and socially engaged art
self- or group mediated setting, has also addressed these issues. See
just as there are big changes e. g. Pablo Helguera: Education for
underway in many educational Socially Engaged Art – A Materials
setting. and Techniques Handbook (Jorge
Conference Feedback Pinto Books, 2011) and Claire Bishop:
Artificial Hells – Participatory Art and
the Politics of Spectatorship (Verso,
2012).
Conference
Supported by
30–31 May 2012 Jenny and Antti Wihuri
Kiasma Museum of Foundation
Contemporary Art
Arts Council of Uusimaa
Helsinki, Finland

Organised by
Publication
Finnish Association for
Museum Education Pedaali
Pedafooni 3
CuMMA – Curating, Pedaali ry
Managing and Mediating 2013
Art – Aalto University
Editors
SKY – Finnish Society for Salla Fornaro &
Curators Laura Kokkonen

In association with Translations

Kiasma Museum of Salla Fornaro
Contemporary Art
Graphic Design
Engage – The National
Laura Kokkonen
Association for Gallery
Education
Photos
Finnish Museums p. 23: Salla Fornaro
Association p. 2, 5, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17,
18, 22, 25, 27: Markus Haikonen
Helsinki Art Museum p. 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12, 15, 19, 20,
21, 24, 26: Laura Kokkonen
Pori Art Museum

Rauma Art Museum Copyright

Pedaali, authors,
The Finnish Museum of photographers
Photography
ISBN 978-952-67915-0-0