Museum Why

Museum Why is a creative learning network rooted in Nordic and Baltic traditions, unpacking the possibilities of the future art institution through artistic interventions and knowledge sharing that accumulates new collaborative approaches. United by a common commitment to rethinking institutional change through the lenses of ecology, radical locality and social sustainability, our network continues to find collective ways of reshaping the art institution of tomorrow.

Since our founding in 2020, the Museum Why network has critically assessed the changing role of art institutions in society, emphasizing the need for greater relevance and openness to wider publics. Building on this rich collaboration, Malmö Art Museum (SE), The Museum of Contemporary Art Roskilde (DK), PUBLICS (FI), EKKM (EE), Heine Onstad Kunstsenter (NO) and Center for Practice-based Art Studies PASS (DK) continues our work in a redefined constellation, with the ambition to apply acquired knowledge within our institutional structures.

Driven by the question at the heart of our name, Museum Why, this conversation centers on questioning as a method for institutional transformation. Within Museum Why, curating is addressed as a process of instituting—reimagining structures, relationships, and ways of working. Our network operates on principles of honesty and transparency, creating space to openly address tensions and complicities as meaningful experiences to grow from. Change, we argue, emerges not only through large-scale structures but also through small and deep collective practices that prioritize closeness and commitment.

The practices of the Museum Why members and participants in this conversation, the Museum of Contemporary Art Roskilde (DK) and Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia (EKKM, EE), exemplify the institutional learning and challenges of physical and organisational changes. The conversation is led by Museum Why member Anne Thomasen curator at Malmö Art Museum (SE).