Welcome to the Nordic Museum Conference 2021 at the Falstad centre and Stiklestad national culture centre.
Extreme situations such as war, terrorist attacks, pandemics or natural disasters put societies to the test. What consequences can a crisis have for our society? How does a crisis affect our conception of humanity? How do we deal with crisis narratives when normality returns? And what role can, and should a museum take during and in the wake of a state of emergency?
These will be core issues in the Nordic Museums’ Association’s conference «Culture and crisis – museum and societies in the face of extreme situations». Based on the Covid 19 pandemic the conference aims to address the links between social dynamics and crises, and specifically how this connects to the role of museums.
The conference will shed light on the questions from a long historical perspective and with a focus on Nordic conditions. At the same time, it will address the museum’s present and future: The ongoing pandemic has shown that a crisis may have a major impact on how museums are operated and organised, as well as on their approach to and communication of historical matters.