Culture for the climate

The new role of museums in the time of the climate crisis

Abstract

In recent years, we have observed a gradual change in the way of defining the social role and responsibility of museums (and more broadly - cultural institutions). The signals of this change are, for example, discussions on the new ICOM museum definition, or publications proclaiming a shift towards the model of institutional activism. Although we are used to perceiving museums as specializing in issues of long duration and not in activist involvement in contemporary challenges and problems, the climate crisis appears to challenge that way of perceiving institutional responsibilities. The informal activist group Culture for Climate made an attempt to turn these postulates into institutional practice. The article analyzes the practical consequences of such a paradigm shift for museums and attempts to capture the significance of this change for the museum sector, and more broadly - for the entire heritage sector.