Symbolic Machines

Institutional Transformation through Exhibitions

Pernille Lystlund Matzen, Jacob Lund, Nora Sternfeld , Mutumba Yvette

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English

Aarhus University Press
18 October 2025

Exhibition catalogues & specific collections; Museums & museology

With contributions from artists, scholars and curators, this book examines how exhibitions not only reflect but can also challenge and reshape a museum's relevance to its audience.

Artistic critiques have long revealed the gendered, classed and colonial power structures embedded within institutions. Recently, however, there has been a shift toward institutional self-critique, with even major museums increasingly addressing their practices and narratives in public dialogue with audiences. By integrating historical context with contemporary analysis, Symbolic Machines explores these transformations and shows how museums and exhibitions can actively engage with societal change.

Edited by Pernille Lystlund Matzen, curator and PhD, and Jacob Lund, associate professor of Aesthetics and Culture at Aarhus University, this volume presents a diverse range of perspectives on the changing practices and critical functions of museums and exhibitions. Contributors include Nora Sternfeld, Yvette Mutumba, Cem A., Kim West, Giulia Bellinetti, Lucia Pietroiusti and James Voorhies.

Distributed for Aarhus University Press in association with the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

Contributions by: Nora Sternfeld, Mutumba Yvette, Cem A.
Edited by: Pernille Lystlund Matzen, Jacob Lund
Imprint: Aarhus University Press
Country of Publication: Denmark
Dimensions: Height: 197mm, Width: 191mm,
ISBN: 9788775976430
ISBN 10: 8775976439
Pages: 160
Publication Date: 18 October 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Pernille Lystlund Matzen is a curator at Medicinsk Museion. Jacob Lund is an Associate Professor in Aesthetics and Culture