Applications are Open for the Conference Experiencing the Museum 0+

The eighth Experiencing the Museum conference will take place April 19–21, 2024. It will explore inclusive practices when working with children and teenagers and will be organized in partnership with the Republican Children’s Library in Tashkent.

Experiencing the Museum is an international conference initiated by the inclusive programs team at Garage Museum of Contemporary Art as a way of exchanging experience and discussing various scenarios for the development of inclusive projects. 

Open call text in in easy-to-read format (PDF file)

Open call text in International Sign (IS)

Open call text in Russian Sign Language (RSL)

The last conference took place in 2022 and invited participants to share the results of a decade of active work on incorporating inclusive practices into cultural and educational projects and to discuss the possible future of such projects. One result of this collective reflection was an understanding that many initiatives are isolated from each other, with specialists in great need of the support of co-thinkers.

For this reason, in 2024 the Garage team decided to create a «traveling» conference, changing the host city every year in order to continually attract new participants who may not otherwise have the opportunity to join a conference at the Museum.

The eighth conference will explore the theme of childhood. The project partner is the Republican Children’s Museum in Tashkent. The library reopened after reconstruction in August 2023 and is now an accessible and inclusive space for children and adults. The reconstruction, relaunch, and reprogramming of the Republican Children’s Library was initiated by the Art and Culture Development Foundation of Uzbekistan.

The conference program will be developed partly through an open model based on selected applications and participants and partly using speakers invited by the organizers. It offers various forms of participation: lectures, discussions, seminars, masterclasses, group work, and others. The format of participation will be discussed individually with the organizers during the preparation of the program. The conference organizers will cover the expenses of participants attending the conference (air or rail tickets, hotel).

The conference team understands inclusion as a set of practices linked to the support of diversity in society, the provision of physical and information access and changes to the environment, and the overcoming of exclusion and discrimination. The organizers base their work on the social model of disability, however participants with other concepts of inclusion and models of understanding disability are welcome to take part in the conference.

The conference can also be attended online or offline as a visitor, with advance registration. The organizers are not able to cover the expenses of visitors wishing to attend the conference.

The program of the conference will be available shortly.

All events at the conference are free of charge for speakers and visitors with advance registration.

HOW TO APPLY

We invite applications from museum workers, teachers, methodologists, artists, and other specialists with an interest in educational practices and inclusion and who are prepared to propose for discussion a project or method or to run an event for children and teenagers with various experiences using their own methodology.

Application dates: February 9–March 3, 2024

Air or rail tickets and hotel accommodation will be paid by the organizers for those participants whose applications are approved by the expert committee.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Applications must be sent to openmuseum@garagemca.org with the subject Experiencing the Museum 2024. 

The application to take part in the program requires a description of the project in one of four languages: Uzbek, English, Russian or Russian Sign Language, or International Sign. It should include links to the project home page, video materials, media coverage, and so on.

Please base your application on the following questions: 

1. What practical outcome will result from the discussion of this case at the conference?
2. How are those with experience represented in the project: target audience, expert committee, part of a working group, etc.?
3. Do you plan to distribute materials as part of your presentation? If so, which?
4. Do you plan to involve the audience in your presentation? If so, how?

If you require additional support or assistance during the conference, please note this in your application.

SELECTION STAGES AND SELECTION PROCESS

Applications will be selected by an expert committee, the members of which will be confirmed by March 4, 2024.

Applications: February 9–March 3, 2024

Selection by expert committee: March 4–22, 2024