On our first meetup resilience was explored through the ways and means how memories and trash from the former Republic of Yugoslavia were picked up by contemporary artists to interpret anew and transform into works of art. Milena explained how, in Serbia, these responses helped communities see the world from a different angle and to look forward to the future. Indeed, resilience can also manifest itself through collections and collecting as we seek to rebuild and bounce forward.

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Our second meetup brought Julie Decker, Director of the Anchorage museum in Alaska in conversation with Milena Jokanović. The discussion revolved around the social role of museums and the necessary steps that museums need to take in order to stay resilient. Indeed, the challenges might be much bigger on the periphery but location and relation are always subjective perspectives. Julie shared her thoughts on how to put the peripheries at the centre in order to spearhead a global response. For a fact, there is much to learn about resilience on the periphery.

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Our third meetup brought Julie Decker in conversation with Cristina Lleras, an independent curator working for the Museum of Bogota in Colombia. The most pivotal role museums have today is to envision the future in addition to reflecting about the past, construct alternative narratives of the future and offer possibilities and not only catastrophes. No museum, regardless of its collections, themes, size and place can ignore the upheaval we are living through. The call to activism has never been so pronounced. That, too, has much to do about resilience.

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The fourth meetup brought Cristina Lleras in conversation with Julie Rokkjaer Birch, the Director of the Women's Museum in Aarhus. The discussion revolved around activism and how the museum can make its voice heard. One way is by looking at the past and the material collections that bear testimony to it, then read, talk and share them in light of the ever-pressing issues of our times. Julie explained how, in this context, resilience is the result of collective action in the face of crisis. Museums are not neutral and in times of crisis – museums are more relevant than ever. It's not naïve to want to change the world, Julie claimed. It's naive to think that we can go on in this complex world doing business as usual. Indeed, resilience is also about having the courage to change course.

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For our last session, we invited Professor Lindsey McEwen, Director of the Centre for Water, Communities and Resilience, Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of the West of England (United Kingdom) and Doctor Kristin Alford, Director of the Museum of Discovery - MOD (Australia) to reply to the following question:
February 4, 2021

Watch the recording of the meetup here