Typology and Audience Engagement of University Galleries

The main objective of this study is to analyse the environment and the processes of university galleries and their exhibition spaces, primarily on the territory of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The historical development of university galleries and their role in society are briefly introduced. An important part of this research paper deals with the definition and typology of university galleries, followed by an analysis of their role and a discussion on the aspect of audience and public engagement. The study draws on research conducted by the author in the years 2016–2020 predominantly in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, described in detail in her doctoral thesis. The methodology of the research is mainly based on semi-structured interviews and study visits of the various institutions in question. The research paper brings forth the subject of university galleries and their role in the advancement of the academic cultural environment.

Spatial Distribution Model for Targeting the Support for Cultural Institutions’ Development: A Case Study of Slovakia

Culture is one of the main tools for developing regions and reducing regional disparities. It is a significant job creator; it participates in social cohesion representing a catalyst for economic growth. In practice, when boosting the potential of cultural and creative industries, we encounter an insufficiently developed approach to evaluating the initial conditions for the allocation of financial resources for its development. This paper’s objective is to identify, map, and analyse spatial concentration of cultural institutions in Slovakia. The intention of the analysis was the identification of regions and districts with the potential for full use of cultural capital as a tool for sustainable regional development as well as the setting of cultural policy. The cluster analysis pointed out significant differences in the representation of cultural institutions in individual regions and districts of Slovakia. The regions with the most desirable results (e.g., Bratislava, Trnava, or Nitra) have some common characteristics linked to the local context, such as historical development, good infrastructure, concentration of educational institutions. The results also confirmed the assumption that within the regions, cultural institutions will be concentrated in larger district cities, specifically in the case of Bratislava even inside the city. From the cluster analysis it is possible to observe a “belt of districts” of Southern, Central, and Eastern Slovakia, which do not have sufficient cultural infrastructure. Since the process of shaping the supportive policy for cultural industries is now ongoing in Slovakia, we consider mapping the situation as one of the key elements in the policy-making process.

The Museum System of Modern Kazakhstan: Classification and Typology of Museums

This article discusses the museum system of modern Kazakhstan and offers, for the first time ever, a classification and typology of the country’s museums.In recent years in independent Kazakhstan, on the basis of the Soviet system, a modern museum network has been formed which currently lists 250 museums. Among them are 17 national-level museums, 54 at the regional level, 73 at the provincial level, 103 branches of regional- and district-level museums and four private museums.The purpose of this article is to analyse the museum system of modern Kazakhstan and develop a classification and typology of the country’s museums.In the course of the study, conducted in 2017–2018, data was collected on the activities of museums at the national, regional and district levels over the past seven years. From the results of this investigation, the museums of Kazakhstan were systematized according to the subject or topic of the museum (e.g. history, art, scientific), its affiliation (national, regional district), and by size, measured by number of employees.

Museums of martyrdom and the pedagogy of remembrance in the context of shaping students’ attitudes and future competences

Museums of martyrdom operate on the sites of former Nazi concentration camps in Poland as memorials to the events of the Second World War. These institutions are part of the pedagogy of remembrance, which is an educational discipline connected with the theories of the German philosopher Theodor W. Adorno. The pedagogy of remembrance assumes that as part of the didactic process, it is important not only to learn about atrocities, but above all to analyse their causes. The discussion and debate surrounding the pedagogy of remembrance have allowed this article to identity the correlation between its assumptions and the shaping of students’ attitudes as well as the development of skills included in the key competences. These competences are also referred to in a broader sense as competences of the future, as they are necessary for an individual to function properly in society. The aim of this article is therefore to clarify whether and how museums of martyrdom and the pedagogy of remembrance can foster the development of the skills defined as competences of the future. This article also attempts to indicate the museum activities and didactic methods that can be used by educators at places of remembrance in order to shape attitudes and develop key competencies.

On Defining the Participatory Museum: The Case of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk

This article seeks to contribute to the current debate on the new definition of the “museum” – a debate which led to turmoil at the 2019 ICOM General Assembly in Kyoto. With reference to the case study of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk (MSWW), it analyses the new and very successful genre of the narrative museum, a genre which arguably fulfils the core elements of the definition currently being discussed by ICOM. In this regard, it brings into focus the paramount importance of community involvement in creating and managing narrative museums – an aspect that has been virtually absent in the academic and media debates over the nature of the MSWW and its programme. By pointing out the fragility of the foundations for such participation, based solely on trust between communities, the museum, and state authorities, this article calls for and provides guidance for an academic and institutional redefinition of the narrative museum and the institution of a museum in general.

The Role of the Kolbuszowa Folk Culture Open-Air Museum in Studies of Traditional Wooden Architecture of the Rzeszowiacy Ethnographic Group

Province, which is located in the south-eastern corner of Poland. At the beginning of the 1970s, as the result of an initiative drawing attention to the need for documentation of the rapidly disappearing traditional Rzeszowiacy vernacular wooden architecture (and that of the neighboring ethnographic group, the Lasowiacy), the Folk Culture Open-Air Museum in Kolbuszowa was created. This paper presents a short overview of the open-air museum’s establishment and describes in detail its role in the study and protection of the wooden architectural heritage of the Rzeszowiacy ethnographic group, based on the museum’s research, carried out over fifty years, and its collection of buildings.

Museums as Landscape Activists

The article discusses the issue of the “extended museum”, raising questions about how museums become active actors in current topical discussions on the shape of cities, what their role is in the processes of city management and how this engagement in external spaces affects the overall mission of museums. The point of reference is the ICOM Resolution on the responsibility of museums towards landscape adopted in 2016, which offered museums legitimacy in taking actions with regard to their environment, beyond museum walls. On the grounds of four case studies of Polish museums I present strategies whereby relations between the museum, authorities and communities are negotiated (regarding the protection of post-industrial and Second World War heritage, the contextualisation of socialist heritage and the struggle for greenery).

The practical use of police databases of stolen works of art in the protection of national heritage in selected European Union countries

The effectiveness in the protection of works of art constituting national heritage depends on many factors. These factors include, among other things, binding legal regulations within the scope of the protection of works of art and national heritage sites, good organisation of police forces specialising in this type of activities and cooperation in this field with other state and local government institutions and the wider society. Apart from police officers’ commitment and experience, police databases that are dedicated to works of art also play an extremely important role. This article presents selected police databases devoted to works of art that are currently used by police organisations and the role of these databases in protecting national heritage in selected European Union countries. The content of the article was prepared on the basis of the analysis of literature, existing legislation and interviews with police officers and experts. The information obtained during the interviews was subjected to qualitative analysis and presented in a descriptive version

Specific Forms of the Safeguarding and Showcasing of Cultural Heritage as Part of Tourism in the High Tatras

This study describes a variety of approaches to communication by museums involved in cultural heritage exchange. It focuses on the High Tatras region, which is the most important centre of tourism in Slovakia. It also looks at the specifics of how tourism developed in the region. The data was collected over a multi-year series of ethnological field research trips, and primarily conducted by means of structured interviews, oral histories and participatory observation. The paper concentrates on shifts in the area of museum communication, from the classical interpretative approach towards exhibitions that present their subject matter in a more flexible way, with a focus on emotional experience.The article aims to use some chosen case studies of small, independent museums and galleries from the town of Vysoké Tatry, in the High Tatras, to highlight the importance of sustainability, especially in terms of the growth of tourism.

The Phenomenon of Digital Art as a Means of Preservation of Cultural Heritage Works

The constant development of multimedia technologies and, as a result, their rapid spread among countries around the world has been a general trend in digital art in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. This phenomenon, as practice shows, comes out top among other creative activities. With the help of multimedia technologies it is possible to optimize multimedia systems in figurative and meaningful value relations. An important role here is given to the development of a unigue multimedia “language”, which harmoniously combines technical, creative and value-oriented components.This article presents an analysis of the use of the submersive method in solving scenario-design problems for the preservation of elements of cultural heritage through the use of 3D mapping and video projection in exhibition space design and for projections onto the facades of architectural landmarks. The content of such video projections and specific characteristics of the artistic imag-es they draw upon depend on the functional purpose of the context in which the interactive work is presented. There remains a need for greater scientific understanding of the phenomenon of in-teractive art, in the interests of improving professional design practices in the preservation of cul-tural heritage works.