What is the role of museums in global culture? It is discussed at a conference in Florence with the directors of the world's great museums

A conference on the role of museums in contemporary global culture: this is the one to be held in Florence on September 28 and 29 and will feature directors and curators from the world’s leading museums of ancient art. Entitled Museology and Values: Art and Human Dignity in the 21st Century, and organized by the Opera diSanta Maria del Fiore and the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, the conference, which stems from the experience of the recent renovation of the Museo dell’Opera, directed by Timothy Verdon, aims to stimulate a debate on the role of museums in today’s global culture, asking whether they still educate people to a sense of dignity. In the way they display and explain works, do they bridge the gap between past and present? Do they offer alternatives to a rootless contemporaneity? What do they say to young people, the handicapped, immigrants eager to integrate into our societies?

Open to the public free of charge upon registration on the Museology and Values website(https://museology.operaduomo.firenze.it/), subject to availability, the conference will be streamed live on the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore’s youtube channel(https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC14I32_TbQSfvXs8-D5L3NQ).

The very high level of attendance at the event suggests the topicality of the theme and acknowledges Florence’s historical role in the invention of the Western model of the museum. Speakers and participants in the panel discussions include directors and curators of famous museums, specialized academics, and architects active in the field, including: the directors of the Louvre(Jean-Luc Martinez), the State Hermitage Museum in St. Louis, and the State Hermitage Museum in St. Louis. Peterburgs(Mikhail Borisovic Piotrovsky), the Bode-Museum in Berlin(Julien Chapuis), the Kunsthalle in Mannheim(Ulrike Lorenz), the Uffizi Galleries(Eike Schmidt), the Pinacoteca di Brera(James Bradburne), the Egyptian Museum in Turin(Christian Greco), the Galleria dell ’ Accademia in Florence(Cecilie Hollberg), the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice(Paola Marini) and the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo(Timothy Verdon). Also speaking are the curators of the National Gallery in London (Susanna Avery Quash), the Museum of Islamic Arts in Doha, Qatar (Mounia Chekhab Abudaya) and the Vatican Museums, Maria Serlupi Crescenzi, as well as the President of theAccademia delle Arti del Disegno in Florence Cristina Acidini and the Vice President of International Relations of the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, Allen Quine. Antonio Paolucci, former Minister of Culture of the Italian Republic and former director of the Vatican Museums, will offer a brief reflection on Florence’s historical role in the evolution of the museum idea. Institutional greetings will be given by Sergio Givone, vice president of the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, and Antonio Lampis, director general of MIBAC Museums.

On the second day, the panel discussion chaired by Adolfo Natalini includes a talk by Marco Magni, both authors, together with Piero Guicciardini, of the new Museo dell’Opera del Duomo. And from other architects specializing in museum layouts(Rispal, Micka, Canali) and teachers of museology(Biscottini and Di Natale). With Sponsorships: Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, Council of Europe, UNESCO, Tuscany Region, City of Florence, Florence Architects Foundation, ICOM Italy.

What is the role of museums in global culture? It is discussed at a conference in Florence with the directors of the world's great museums

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