The general meeting of the uMĚNÍM platform took place on Wednesday, November 20, and the conference Presentation of Museum Collections on Thursday – both in Prague, and I have a great feeling about both. Our gallery has been part of the uMĚNÍM platform since the spring of this year, and other cultural organizations are gradually joining. I was surprised by how many familiar faces from the ranks of gallery educators I met at the general meeting. In addition to the classic vote for the platform leadership, the meeting agenda also addressed the financial requirements and sustainability of the organization, the amount of the fee, the promotion of events and members, but above all the form of the Festival of Arts and Creativity in Education (FUK) in 2025 and in the following years. Since its beginning in 2021, it has been gradually changing and is also looking for its own form within the regions. According to the presentations, it looks like it is establishing itself beautifully in the regions and gradually growing. We will see how it turns out in our Vysočina region, especially when our gallery is closed.
The conference Presentation of Museum Collections II. had the subtitle Approaches – Trends – Implementation this time and was held in the historic building of the National Museum. It dealt with specific examples from selected museum, gallery, and educational institutions. The commercial sector was also represented. I must admit that the subtitle of the conference initially seemed too general to me and I could not imagine what topics would actually be covered. The moment I read the more detailed annotations, I began to look forward to it. I probably found the contribution by Adam Bartalský from the Cyril and Methodius University in Trnava, which dealt with the topic of presenting human remains, to be the most interesting. Ondřej Táborský from the National Museum focused on current approaches to sustainable exhibition. The combination of narrative spaces and modern technologies was presented by architect Barbora Klapalová. Dominika Nagyová's contribution on new trends in the installation of textile collections also interested me because I had seen one of the exhibitions mentioned. Richard Drury from the Central Bohemian GASK Gallery presented the contribution on behalf of the gallery institutions, introduced the concept of a new permanent exhibition to the participants, which I had the opportunity to see several times thanks to our activities. The program was packed and mapped out various approaches, sectors and institutions. Such conferences are not only about sharing and new information, but also about meeting colleagues whom I would not have met otherwise. I would like to thank the Center for the Presentation of Cultural Heritage and the National Museum for organizing the entire event.
On Tuesday, a workshop was held within the uMĚNÍM platform, which, according to my colleagues, was also very inspiring. However, due to time constraints, I was unable to attend. I was preparing Advent programs that are coming up in a few days. So, Three in One may take place sometime in the future. :-)
Pavlína Pitrová, November 25, 2024
