Symbolic Machines
Institutional Transformation through Exhibitions
A part of the subject area Art
Thank you for your pre-order. We will let you know when Symbolic Machines: Institutional Transformation through Exhibitions is available for ordering on 04. September 2025.
Edited by
Pernille Lyslund Matzen and
Jacob Lund
More about the book
About the book
How does a changing understanding of the museum’s public role influence the way exhibitions are created today? In what ways can exhibitions transform, discuss or revise the art institutions from within? With contributions from artists, scholars and curators, this book examines how exhibitions not only reflect but can also challenge and reshape a museum’s relevance to its audience.
Artistic critiques have long revealed the gendered, classed and colonial power structures embedded within institutions. Recently, however, there has been a shift toward institutional self-critique, with even major museums increasingly addressing their practices and narratives in public dialogue with audiences. By integrating historical context with contemporary analysis, Symbolic Machines explores these transformations and shows how museums and exhibitions can actively engage with societal change.
Edited by Pernille Lystlund Matzen, curator and PhD, and Jacob Lund, associate professor of Aesthetics and Culture at Aarhus University, this volume presents a diverse range of perspectives on the changing practices and critical functions of museums and exhibitions. Contributors include Nora Sternfeld, Yvette Mutumba, Cem A., Kim West, Giulia Bellinetti, Lucia Pietroiusti and James Voorhies.
The book is co-published with Louisiana Museum of Modern Art and Yale University Press.
