03 Jun / 06 Jun
Time: All Day
http://network.icom.museum/camoc/about/about-camoc/
We live in the urban age, where cities are growing in size and importance as centers of power
and influence. They take the lead in social, economic and educational development. They
matter, they make a difference. For those reasons alone people move to cities for a better life.
The city is the people, but to whom does the city belong? A great city may shape its country,
but who shapes the city? Two writers in particular have explored this fundamental aspect of
life in cities: the matter of rights. Henri Lefèbvre was the first to present the concept of The
Right to the City (1968), as a collective reclamation of urban space by marginalized groups
living in the border districts of the city. David Harvey took this concept forward, stating that “the
Right to the city is far more than the individual liberty to access urban resources: it is a right to
change ourselves by changing the city. It is, moreover, a common rather than an individual
right since this transformation inevitably depends upon the exercise of a collective power to
reshape the processes of urbanization” (2008). At the same time, it is in urban environments
that many of today’s problems – ecological, economic and social – accumulate.
Museums have a great capital of social trust, and museums about cities can play a significant
and trusted role in responding to the ever-changing city. They are rooted in their communities
and are therefore especially accountable to life around them. However, this raises many
questions: what exactly is the role of these museums? What purpose should they serve? Are
there limits to their actions? What about difficult and controversial issues such as migration,
and matters which directly concern city people such as housing, traffic, pollution, education,
crime?
These and other questions will be posed at our CAMOC 2020 meeting in Krakow, our 15th
annual conference, organized in conjunction with the City of Krakow and the Museum of
Krakow.
Within the broad theme we have outlined above, we will welcome the proposals focusing on
the following sub-topics:
1. Participation/locality
According to Joan Roca (MUHBA/City History Museums and Research Network of Europe),
the right to the city has a series of implications, reflected in the “right to the neighbourhood”
and the “right to the centre”, as well as “the right to the memory” and “the right to history”. In
this context, the city museum acts simultaneously on a city scale and a local scale: “as an
organiser of spaces and narratives and as a connector of neighbourhoods to the city”.
In this session, contributors are invited to reflect on how the dialectics between local everyday
life and the city as the symbolic space of representation, the space of memories and, simultaneously, of tangible evidence of city history and development, may be understood and
rendered visible in city museum strategies, collections and activities. How can the city
museum become an agent of social inclusion and sociocultural cohesion? How can it fulfil the
role of a cultural hub for the city, arrival point for a visitor, and a safe and inclusive space for
everyone?
2. Who has the right to the city?
The questions “Who belongs?” and “Who has the right to the city?” are the starting point of this
session. These questions raise diverse issues to be tackled such as changing demographics,
migration and immigration or relations between “insiders” and “outsiders”, between residents
and tourists.
This session also invites contributions that explore how city museums address the problem of
mass tourism and its conflicting relation with the right to the city.
So many cities worldwide have experienced the benefits of being attractive destinations for
visitors, but at the same time there are great challenges: how do cities and city museums cope
with overuse, the negative impacts of large number of visitors and paradoxical situations when
tourists destroy exactly what they seek for?
As the growth in mass tourism or demographic changes often overlap with processes such
as the concentration of a city’s population, and an increase in inequalities and exclusion, the
question of belonging becomes more intricate and also more relevant to explore in the city
museum context. How can city museums contribute to understanding and mediating complex
relations between visitors and residents, (im)migrants and residents, “insiders” and “outsiders”,
and the (productive) differences they bring into play in urban space?
3. Urban revitalization
This session invites contributions which examine the nature and process of urban revitalization
processes and reflect on the future of public space and housing. On one hand, there is a
desire and opportunity to reinforce inclusivity – equal access to public services, to housing, to
public space for all people, and the possibility for all to participate in shaping places and cities.
On the other hand, speculation tends to turn public spaces into contested spaces and thus to
generate inequalities.
How can city museums contribute in developing new forms of participation in the process of
urban revitalization and thus help creating a more inclusive, participative city?
4. Confronting post-truth
The increasing and problematic phenomenon of the denial of science, evidence, facts, and
even the dismissal of truth itself has been broadly recognized as one of the most unsettling
tendencies we have today. The aim of this session is to provide a better understanding of the
impact and scope of the so-called “post-truth” in the context of city museums and then to
reflect on possible action such as conveying authenticity through museum collections and
programs, clarifying urban reality through acknowledging a multitude of voices, which
sometimes may even be in opposition to each other, creating a common space and reliable
base for learning, debate and the interpretation of past, present and future of cities.
Selection committee:
Joana Sousa Monteiro, CAMOC Chair / Museum of Lisbon
Michal Niezabitowski, Director, Museum of Krakow/CAMOC Board member
Katarzyna Winiarczyk, Curator, Museum of Krakow
Joan Roca i Albert, MUHBA / City History Museums and Research Network of Europe
Catherine C. Cole, CAMOC Vice-Chair
Sarah Henry, CAMOC Vice-Chair / MCNY
Jenny Chiu, CAMOC Board member
Jelena Savic, CAMOC Secretary
PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME OVERVIEW
June 2, 2020 / Tuesday
Arrival in Krakow and informal welcome by the local organizers
DAY 1 – June 3, 2020 / Wednesday
Conference sessions
Evening reception
DAY 2 – June 4, 2020 / Thursday
Conference sessions
Closing event
DAY 3 – June 5, 2020 / Friday
Specialized visits to museums and sites in Krakow,
organized by the Museum of Krakow
DAY 4 – June 6, 2020 / Saturday
Excursion day in the Krakow region
CAMOC Grants for the Krakow 2020 Conference
To encourage colleagues to participate in CAMOC’s activities, we will award at least two
travel grants of five hundred Euros (€ 500) each for ICOM/CAMOC members who intend to
take part in our conference.
Up to two more grants funded by ICOM will be directed specifically at our young member(s).
The grants will provide assistance for airfare (economy fare) and accommodation. Other
expenses related to the members’ participation, such as insurance coverage, visa costs, local
transportation, meals, will not be covered by these grants, under any circumstances.
Successful applicants must fulfil the following criteria:
- To be individual members of ICOM and preferably of CAMOC, in good standing, for a
minimum of 2 years at the grant application date; - To be working in the museum field for a minimum of 2 years, as of the application date.
Also, preference will be given to:
- applicants who submitted successful proposals in response to this Call for Papers;
- members from the countries belonging to Categories 3 and 4;
- members who haven’t previously benefitted from CAMOC grants.
The grantees will also be exempt from the conference fees. After the conference, all grantees
will be asked to write a detailed report about the conference for publication in the CAMOC
Museums of Cities Review and the CAMOC website. The report must be in English and
submitted by July 31, 2020.
To apply, please send a motivation letter explaining why you are applying, accompanied by a
CV and evidence that you fulfil the above criteria to camoc2020krakow@gmail.com with the
title “CAMOC grant application”, no later than January 31, 2020. Please also let us know if
you can find any additional sources of funding for your travel, as the sum we can award may
not cover participation costs in full.
All grant applicants will be informed of the outcome by March 10, 2020.
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Please prepare an abstract of your proposal in English (up to 350 words), together with a brief
biographical note (up to 75 words), and send them in .doc format to the CAMOC 2020
Organizing Committee at camoc2020krakow@gmail.com until January 31, 2020.
Please provide the following information:
- Author(s)
- Your place of work, if applicable
- ICOM membership number, if applicable
- E-mail address
- The session theme your proposal fits best
- Title of the proposal
- Abstract (max. 350 words)
- Keywords (max. 5)
- Short biography (max. 75 words)
CAMOC may opt for multiple models for presentations (standard oral presentations, ignite
sessions, round tables). Further guidance will be provided upon completion of the evaluation
process, depending on the number and profile of the successful applicants and
recommendations of the selection committee.
Important dates
Deadline for abstract submission: January 31, 2020
Notification of acceptance: March 1, 2020
Grant award notification: March 10, 2020
Early bird registration opens: March 1, 2020
For enquiries regarding this Call for Papers, please contact Jelena Savic, CAMOC
Secretary, via: camoc2020krakow@gmail.com
For enquiries regarding the Museum of Krakow and the host city, please contact Mr.
Krzysztof Haczewski, via: camoc@muzeumkrakowa.pl
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