In the Search of Contemporary Identity for Museums: Detecting, Reflecting and Proposing

This paper explores the evolving identity of contemporary museums, starting from their continuous redefinition since the post-war era. The ‘language’ of the museum, encompassing the registers and channels of communication, is crucial to its identity. The traditional focus of curatorship, which was once oriented towards collections, has shifted towards broader social and digital engagement. While ‘archistars’ undoubtedly influence the museum’s image, the core identity of the institution lies in its ability to communicate. The paper examines ICOM’s evolving definitions of museums and the challenges of defining ‘museum’ in a changing world. The author argues that the defining feature of a museum is its ‘voice’, expressed through its museographical language, which is distinct, not only due to the uniqueness of its collections, but also because of the physical and intellectual space in which the museum’s ‘epiphany’ is experienced. At the theoretical level, drawing upon the philosophies of Wittgenstein, Halbwachs, Warburg, and Mauss, the paper explores how museums create meaning through exhibitions. The impact of artifical intelligence (AI) and the metaverse on the future of museums are then considered in a concise manner.