Impermanent Collections

Challenging the conventional notion of museums as permanent institutions (as ICOM defines them), this book shows collections to be in constant flux. It brings to light the hidden dynamics of museums: the preservation of individual objects, the formation and dismantling of ensembles, the replication of artworks, institutional change, and shifting terminologies. Drawing on case studies from Paris and Vienna to Ndar, it traces how the idea of museums as permanent institutions has evolved since the eighteenth century, arguing that such permanence has never existed. By exposing the political uses of conservation — a phenomenon  termed conservation washing — the book offers fragments towards another history of museums. In doing so, it makes the case for restorative justice as a foundation for the future of museums, addressing the ethical and ecological challenges facing collections today.