What do we mean when we say “punk museology”?
Punk Museology is part of a wider and rich tradition of people in and around the museum profession discussing and demanding change. The hope is that the Punk Museology Manifesto, by naming concretely the problems and suggesting a possible approach or ethos can stimulate not only debate, but actual change.
We’re hoping to get like-minded together to discuss what they can do, what they are doing and what’s worked and what hasn’t.
What do we mean with “Punk”? Good question! Our working definition has been:
“Punk: a complex and oftentimes ambiguous term, comprising culture, music, fashion, ideologies, ethics, and art. It is a movement which, regardless of political leanings, is typically categorised by anti-establishmentism, non-conformity, anti-stateism, anti-capitalism, gender-egalitarianism, direct action and a DIY ethic. Perhaps not something one would expect to see in the confines of museums, which for many are institutions of and for the culturally dominant.“
So we are looking for projects that might be seen as “taking matters into your own hands”, perhaps by communities who use the museum, or ways that people have sought to make change happen in unconventional ways when more conventional methods have proven too slow or with too many roadblocks. It’s not just about troublemaking (although we like that too!), but about a healthy sense of pushing back against the hierarchy and mechanisms that perpetuate old and established ways of seeing and doing.
What we are looking for:
Projects that have worked
Projects that have failed
Projects that are still a dream and you’re looking for input and support
Ways of looking at museum practice that can help others to be more disruptive in their work
Recommended Reading
Enthusiasm
Inspiration
Energy
Change
We would like to build a network of people throughout the world. We’re starting off very European – that’s where the founders are based – but there are no limits. If you’re happy with the job google translate will do with your words, you can submit in languages other than English. We want many and varied perspectives. We want discussion and debate. But we also want action.












