The Museum after the Revolution

THE MUSEUM AFTER THE REVOLUTION

A two-day conference dedicated to museums and their collections after 1917
28 – 29 April 2017, London

Organised by Calvert 22 Foundation and the State Hermitage, St Petersburg, in partnership with the European University, St Petersburg, SSEES - UCL, London, The Vladimir PotaninFoundation and Rich Mix.

The Winter Palace, the Hermitage’s current home, was at the centre of events in St Petersburg, 1917. The subsequent seismic political shifts saw the Hermitage transformed from imperial to state property. Its collections were deeply affected
by Soviet government policy and new models of museology that would be
developed over the following seventy years.
This conference will address the impact of the Revolution on museum collections
across the former Soviet territory, taking the Hermitage as its starting point, and
with a particular focus on the effect on modern and contemporary holdings.
How do museums that were once part of the Soviet bloc reflect on this history
today? In particular, how do they deal with the gaps, violent ruptures and
contradictions that characterised the 20th century? What specific problems – and
also potential strengths – can be identified as a result of these histories?

Friday 28th April - Calvert 22 Space (22 Calvert Avenue, E2 7JP,London)

5pm - Welcoming address by Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director, the
State Hermitage Museum.
5:30pm - Keynote speech by Prof Catriona Kelly, Professor of
Russian, University of Oxford
The Museum of Things versus The Museum of Ideas: The History of an Argument
6:30pm-8:30pm - Evening reception

Saturday 29th April – Rich Mix (35 - 47 Bethnal Green Road, E16LA, London)

Speakers include :

Prof. Mikhail Piotrovsky – Director of the State Hermitage Museum
Prof. Catriona Kelly – Professor of Russian, University of Oxford Dimitri Ozerkov – Head of Hermitage 20/21 Collection, The State Hermitage Museum Prof. Jan Kubik – Director of the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (UCL SSEES) Nicolas Liucci-Goutnikov – Curator, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris

Full programme available here.

£5 refundable deposit. Booking via Eventbrite.