Jennifer Barrett is associate professor in Museum Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney and Jacqueline Millner is senior lecturer in Critical Studies at Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney.

'Museums have changed profoundly over the last twenty years, and one of the most vital symptoms and drivers of change has been the engagement of contemporary artists with them. Artists' interventions have been predictably controversial and much debated. It is time for a more balanced analysis and this book offers one, along with an overview of the distinctive and important history of contemporary engagement with institutions in Australia.' Nicholas Thomas, University of Cambridge, UK ’Informed by, but going beyond the perspectives of institutional critique and the new museology, Australian Artists in the Contemporary Museum throws welcome light on the distinctive forces shaping contemporary Australian art practices: the legacies of colonialism, Indigenous art practices, and feminist interventions. It also rescues questions concerning the relations between art practices and museums from the narrowing horizons of art history by exploring the political interventions that Australian artists have made across the museum sector as a whole, rather than just art museums. An important and timely book.’ Tony Bennett, University of Western Sydney, Australia

• Contents: Introduction: situating the artist/museum relationship; Institutional practices and artists’ critiques; Post-colonial engagements: playing with history; The artist as curator; Beautifying the museum: the aesthetics of collections; Conclusion: artists and museums now; Bibliography; Index.

Jennifer Barrett is associate professor in Museum Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney and Jacqueline Millner is senior lecturer in Critical Studies at Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney.

'Museums have changed profoundly over the last twenty years, and one of the most vital symptoms and drivers of change has been the engagement of contemporary artists with them. Artists' interventions have been predictably controversial and much debated. It is time for a more balanced analysis and this book offers one, along with an overview of the distinctive and important history of contemporary engagement with institutions in Australia.' Nicholas Thomas, University of Cambridge, UK ’Informed by, but going beyond the perspectives of institutional critique and the new museology, Australian Artists in the Contemporary Museum throws welcome light on the distinctive forces shaping contemporary Australian art practices: the legacies of colonialism, Indigenous art practices, and feminist interventions. It also rescues questions concerning the relations between art practices and museums from the narrowing horizons of art history by exploring the political interventions that Australian artists have made across the museum sector as a whole, rather than just art museums. An important and timely book.’ Tony Bennett, University of Western Sydney, Australia

• Contents: Introduction: situating the artist/museum relationship; Institutional practices and artists’ critiques; Post-colonial engagements: playing with history; The artist as curator; Beautifying the museum: the aesthetics of collections; Conclusion: artists and museums now; Bibliography; Index.

Jennifer Barrett is associate professor in Museum Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney and Jacqueline Millner is senior lecturer in Critical Studies at Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney.

'Museums have changed profoundly over the last twenty years, and one of the most vital symptoms and drivers of change has been the engagement of contemporary artists with them. Artists' interventions have been predictably controversial and much debated. It is time for a more balanced analysis and this book offers one, along with an overview of the distinctive and important history of contemporary engagement with institutions in Australia.' Nicholas Thomas, University of Cambridge, UK ’Informed by, but going beyond the perspectives of institutional critique and the new museology, Australian Artists in the Contemporary Museum throws welcome light on the distinctive forces shaping contemporary Australian art practices: the legacies of colonialism, Indigenous art practices, and feminist interventions. It also rescues questions concerning the relations between art practices and museums from the narrowing horizons of art history by exploring the political interventions that Australian artists have made across the museum sector as a whole, rather than just art museums. An important and timely book.’ Tony Bennett, University of Western Sydney, Australia

• Contents: Introduction: situating the artist/museum relationship; Institutional practices and artists’ critiques; Post-colonial engagements: playing with history; The artist as curator; Beautifying the museum: the aesthetics of collections; Conclusion: artists and museums now; Bibliography; Index.