MUSEUMS AND TRUST

Introduction

Dr Sophia Handaka, CoMuseum Co-Founder and Curator of World Cultures, Benaki Museum, Greece

“Museums in a Changing World: Audience Trends, Impact, Trust”

with
Susie Wilkening, Principal and Founder, Wilkening Consulting, U.S.

Every day, millions of people engage with museums and museum content. Why do they choose to do this? What impact have museums had on their life? And why do they trust what museums share? Explore how extensive research on museum audiences in the United States is helping museums not only answer these questions, but also prepare for increasingly tumultuous and polarizing times. We will delve deep into research findings, discuss who does (and who doesn’t) trust museums, and how controversy and politicization is changing how museums plan for the future.

with

Anja Sommer, Head of Cooperations Unit, Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden, Germany
Stephanos Cherouvis, Senior Project Manager and Researcher, Ecsite, Belgium
Seán Doran, Co-Creator/Lead Artistic Partner ULYSSES European Odyssey, Ireland
Liam Browne, Co-Creator/Lead Artistic Partner ULYSSES European Odyssey, Ireland
Agni Terlilxi, Deputy Head of Conservation and Restoration of Works, Art National Gallery Alexandros Soutsos Museum, Greece

Moderated by
Lizzy Moriarty, Independent Museum Consultant – Museum Expert, Museums Revisited, British Council, UK

“Building a future for a society in flux”

with

Elly Andriopoulou, Managing Director, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), Greece

What does it take for cultural institutions to become the cornerstones of more equitable, sustainable, and cohesive societies? Commitment, consistency, and courage are only but a few of the qualities that cultural leaders and their institutions need to showcase in their quest to become trustful platforms for civic engagement and social imagination. An exploration of methodologies, practices, and experiments that connect a mission and good intentions to daily operations and true impact in micro and macro level.

with

Bartosz Frąckowiak, Foresight Consultant and Art Curator, 4CF The Futures Literacy Company, Poland
Epaminondas Christophilopoulos, President, MOMus | UNESCO Chair on Futures Research, Greece
Elena Mavromichali, Strategist – Cultural Advisor to the Office of the Prime Minister, Advisor to the Special Secretariat of Foresight Hellenic Republic

Moderated by
Tom Fleming, Director, Tom Fleming Creative Consultancy, and Global Culture Expert, UK

“Two ears and one mouth: On caring to listen and listening to care”

with

Monxo López, Curator of Community Histories, Museum of the City of New York, U.S.

We will explore how curation can transcend traditional frameworks by embracing active listening as a core practice, engaging deeply with community voices, historical narratives, and collective memories that may otherwise be overlooked. This approach reimagines museums not only as spaces of presentation but as environments for receiving and responding to diverse perspectives, positioning listening as a powerful tool in exhibition design. Drawing on recent projects from the Museum of the City of New York, this presentation invites a rethinking of curators as facilitators of dialogue, dedicated to creating exhibitions that resonate authentically with audiences and bridge the gap between institutional authority and public voice.

Sophie Henderson, CEO, Migration Museum, UK

with

Constance Rivière, Managing Director of the Établissement Public du Palais de la Porte Dorée, France (online)
Adla Shashati, Director, Greek Forum of Migrants, Greece
Alexandra Bounia, Professor, Museum Studies, University of the Aegean, Greece
Yonous Muhammadi, President of the Greek Forum of Refugees and Bureau Member of the European Migration Forum in Brussels

Moderated by
Anna Routsi, Senior Investigator – Greek Ombudsman, Columnist, Greece

with

Stela Anastasaki, Co-Founder, Off Stream, Greece
Charis Ann Gullickson, Senior Curator, Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum, Norway
Haroula Hadjinicolaou, Art Historia, Department of Education, Benaki Museum, Greece
Annalisa Trasatti, Coordinator, Museo Tattile Statale Omero, Ancona, Italy

Moderated by
Tatiana Karapanagioti, Producer, Member of LifeisforAll, Greece

“Tabakalera: a platform for Art, Society and Innovation”

with

Clara Montero, Cultural Director, International Centre of Contemporary Culture Tabakalera, Spain

This presentation introduces Tabakalera, a center for contemporary culture in San Sebastián’s former tobacco factory, transformed into a culture system that combines a cultural program for a wide and diverse audience with an artistic production center and a focus on mediation initiatives and community projects. Fostering and prototyping co-creation between engaged communities, experts and creatives can contribute to new forms of society driven and artists driven innovation to address common challenges as well as to contribute to a more critical and enabled citizenship. An arts center can play a crucial role to achieve it while putting arts at the center.

with

Dr Sophia Handaka, CoMuseum Co-Founder and Curator of World Cultures, Benaki Museum, Greece

Liam Browne, Co-Creator/Lead Artistic Partner ULYSSES European Odyssey, Ireland
Seán Doran, Co-Creator/Lead Artistic Partner ULYSSES European Odyssey, Ireland
Maria Papasotiri, Head of Thessaloniki Cinema Museum at Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Greece

Moderator

Dr Prodromos Monastiridis, Marketing Director, Thessaloniki Concert Hall, Greece

Monxo López, Curator of Community Histories, Museum of the City of New York, U.S.

Latent Community, Interdisciplinary artist duo 

Annalisa Trasatti, Coordinator, Museo Tattile Statale Omero, Ancona, Italy 
Elias Mastoras, Founder of the International Campaign “A ball for all”
Dr. Anastasia Samara, Architect, Founder of Inclusive Lines, Greece

Moderator

Angelos N. Vassos, Director «Now» Creativity Platform, Greece

with
Dr Sophia Handaka, CoMuseum Co-Founder and Curator of World Cultures, Benaki Museum, Greece