Museums of contemporary art—as they have been defined, activated, and understood over the past thirty years—are in need of a reassessment to re-think the traditional notion of the ‘museum’.

With its traditional core tasks of collection and conservation, this historic category stands in contrast to the term ‘contemporary’. This volume takes a variety of complementary perspectives on today’s museology as it reflects upon the paradoxes underlying the very concept of the museum of contemporary art.

Composed of three chapters — Now, Tomorrow, and Flux — and gathering together original essays, extensive conversations, as well as canonical texts, this anthology addresses questions regarding the roles and tasks of the contemporary art museum.

It discusses its double character as a site of both production and conservation, and emphasizes its relation to different public spheres. It also explores ways of dealing with the standards, norms, and regulations that emerge from the practices of collecting, organizing, and educating.

Published with the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich, in collaboration with the Institute of Art History, University of Bern, and the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig.