Art Museums: Between Culture and Administration
2026-06-09 How can art museums redefine their role in a changing society? At the fourth workshop of the “Expanding Art Museums” research project, international museum representatives and researchers gathered at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark to discuss how museums can push cultural, digital, and organizational boundaries.
Today, museums face the challenge of being much more than simply places for collecting, preserving, and exhibiting art. They are expected to spark social debates, reach new audiences, create digital spaces, and at the same time continue to develop their internal structures. These issues were the focus of the “Expanding Culture” workshop, which took place on May 26 and 27, 2026, at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk.
The Louisiana Museum served not only as the host but also as a case study for an expanded understanding of culture. Together with international museum representatives from the Zentrum Paul Klee, MUDAM, the Lenbachhaus, the Belvedere, the Munch Museum, and the Met, participants discussed how art museums can diversify their activities, overcome institutional boundaries, and strengthen their social relevance. The focus was on questions regarding new forms of collaboration, digital strategies, and organizational prerequisites for cultural innovation.
Reorganizing Museums
A particular focus was placed on the organizational conditions of cultural transformation. Drawing on insights from the museum’s leadership and various departments at the Louisiana Museum, participants explored how institutional structures, processes, and forms of collaboration can be adapted to respond to changing societal expectations. For example, Paul Erik Tøjner, Director of the Louisiana Museum, Mathias Seeberg, Curator and Head of Research, and Peder Wuth, Head of Louisiana Digital, spoke on topics as wide-ranging as the diversification and expansion of museum programs and programmatics, internal feedback and evaluation processes, as well as the design of the digital presence and, in particular, the establishment and success of the Louisiana Channel.
“The future of art museums is determined not only by exhibitions, but also by the organizational structures that enable cultural work,” says Dr. Maximilian Schellmann of the Leuphana Innovation Community for Art and Culture. “A key question is how museums can bring together cultural, digital, and social responsibilities without losing their institutional identity.”
The workshop also served as the kickoff for discussions on the “Organizing Art Museums: A–Z” project. The handbook currently in development and the digital platform bring together insights from international case studies and offer new perspectives on the organization of art museums. The findings will inform further research within the “Expanding Art Museums” project and will be refined in collaboration with the participating institutions.
