A week of research and teaching, learning and living in (the heart of) the museum: From 27 July to 1 August 2026, the Centre for Advanced Study “Access to Cultural Goods in Digital Change” and the Institute of Cultural Anthropology/European Ethnology of the Uniersity of Münster organised a one-week practical course on current topics and tasks of museums, in cooperation with the LWL-Museum Hellerlecht, Detmold, Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Kultur und Geschichte. Participants gained in-depth insights into the museum as a field of practice, a place of research, a collecting and educational institution, and much more.
Curating Materialities: The Summer School 2026 took up the current focus of the cooperating museum and was interested in the work and transformations of this institution. In 2026, the new entrance and exhibition building opened in Detmold, the museum was given a new name and transitioned to year-round operation. This has led to changes in organizational and curatorial requirements, which also affect the museum’s exhibitions and collections. Over the course of the week, participants developed an the exhibition “(Un-)vergessene Alltagsstars – 14 Objekte aus der Keramik-Sammlung des LWL-Museums Hellerlecht” (“(Un-)forgotten Everyday Stars – 14 Objects from the Ceramics Collection of the LWL Museum Hellerlecht”) in collaboration with the course instructor, the invited international guest curator and the local staff.
Master’s students of cultural anthropology, history, art history and other courses in Faculty 8 (History/Philosophy) at the University of Münster were eligible to participate. The course was also open to Master’s students of museum-related subjects and doctoral students from other universities. The Centre for Advanced Study awarded limited travel grants to accepted applicants.
Concept and management
Prof. Dr. Lioba Keller-Drescher
Professor of European Ethnology with a focus on museums, collections and material culture at the Institute of Cultural Anthropology/European Ethnology and In-House Fellow at the Centre for Advanced Study “Access to Cultural Goods in Digital Change” at the University of Münster
International guest curator
Hon.Prof. Dr. Birgit Johler (Graz/Vienna)
Curator at the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum Wien, honorary professor of European Ethnology at the University of Vienna and Senior Fellow at the Centre for Advanced Study “Access to Cultural Goods in Digital Change” at the University of Münster
Funding
The event is funded by the Centre for Advanced Study “Access to Cultural Goods in Digital Change”, the LWL-Museum Hellerlecht, the Verein der Freunde des Museums and the Faculty 8 of the University of Münster.