Giulia Cordin

Extending the Museum: The Exhibition Visitor as a Cultural Producer

Beginn des PhD-Programms / Start of the PhD-Program: WS 2019 Betreuung / Supervision:
Christa Sommerer
Stephan Schmidt-Wulffen In his essay, “The Exhibitionary Complex”, Tony Bennett describes the 19th century world exhibition as “exhibitionary complex”, defined by the organization of space, the exhibited objects and the gaze of the visitors. He also observes the way in which it involved both the lower and middle classes in new relations of power and knowledge, and offered them tools for self-regulation and the possibility of becoming a ‘subject of knowledge’.
Drawing on Bennett’s diagnosis, a closer examination of the interactive visitors’ engagement in the exhibition space appears crucial, especially with regards to the recent transformation in the tools of knowledge production provided by digitization. Do digital tools and the inclusion of social media alter the behaviour exhibition audiences? What would happen if the audience was to be an active participant rather than passive receiver of content and information? What if cultural institutions were to serve as a platform that connect different users who could act as content creators, distributors, consumers, critics and collaborators? If we take a new performative understanding of culture as the basis to reorganize the function of a museum, what would we have to do?
Taking these elements as a starting point, this research aims to investigate the profile of the exhibition visitor as a cultural producer. Kurz-Biographie / Short Bio
Giulia Cordin is a graphic designer focused on communication and editorial design. She is currently teaching at the Free University of Bozen – Faculty of Design and Art as adjunct lecturer in Visual Communication and she is a PhD candidate at the Interface Cultures Program at the University of Art and Design Linz. Since 2018 she in the editorial board of Progetto Grafico, the leading Italian magazine on graphic design culture. Email-Adresse / Email-Address:
giuliacordin@gmail.com Weblink:
www.giuliacordin.com