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Graciela Weisinger

Graciela Weisinger with Lyndel King and Steph Scholten.

Graciela Weisinger, Argentina

It is with great sadness that we were informed of Graciela Weisinger’s death, yesterday. Graciela was in the UMAC Board between 2014 and 2019, first as Secretary and then as Vice-president. She was currently President of ICOM Argentina. We are all in shock at her sudden death.

I am grateful to Karin Weil for preparing the text below, in Spanish and English.

Marta Lourenco, UMAC President

“ El lema de este año es Museos por la igualdad, diversidad e inclusión, pero propongo que vayamos un poquito más allá de ellos. Porque no todos somos iguales y porque cada persona es única, propongo que desde los museos trabajemos en la aceptación. La aceptación de la diversidad cultural, para así tan solo no incluirla, sino más bien integrarla.”

(Graciela Weisinger, 18 de mayo 2020)

Graciela Weisinger Cordero, con justa razón merecedora del Premio “ Asociación Amigos del Museo Mitre” por mejor desempeño en la carrera de Museología. Doctorando en Historia. Lic. en Museología de la Universidad del Museo Social Argentino (UMSA) y Técnico Superior en Museología Histórica de la ENAM. Titular de cátedras en las carreras de Museología y Gestión del Patrimonio Cultural, en Peritaje y Valuación de Obras de Arte y en Conservación y Restauración de Bienes Culturales en UMSA. Es Investigadora del Instituto de Investigaciones y Estadísticas Científicas y Sociales de la UMSA y curadora de la Colección de UMSA. Se desempeñó como profesional en diversas instituciones diseñando muestras permanentes y temporarias. Publicó libros, documentos y artículos propios y en colaboración con profesionales de diversas disciplinas. Organizó seminarios, jornadas y encuentros nacionales e internacionales. Actualmente era la presidenta de ICOM Argentina, donde también fue Vocal y Tesorera, ejerció la Secretaría y luego la Vicepresidencia del Comité Internacional de UMAC (Comité de Museos y Colecciones Universitarios de ICOM) en el período 2014-2019. Siempre comprometida y aportando activamente al desarrollo de la museología, gran admiradora de Hugues de Varine por su trabajo comunitario, al que ella también se dedicó. 

“This year’s slogan is Museums for equality, diversity and inclusion, but I propose that we go a little further than that. Because we are not all the same and because each person is unique, I propose that museums work on acceptance. Acceptance of cultural diversity, so that we don’t just include it, but rather integrate it”.

(Graciela Weisinger, 18 May 2020)

Graciela Weisinger Cordero, rightly deserving of the “Association Amigos del Museo Mitre” Award for best performance in the Museology degree. Doctorate in History. Degree in Museology from the Universidad del Museo Social Argentino (UMSA) and Advanced Technician in Historical Museology from the ENAM. Professor in Museology and Cultural Heritage Management, in Appraisal and Valuation of Works of Art and in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage at UMSA. She is a researcher at the Institute of Scientific and Social Research and Statistics at UMSA and curator of the UMSA Collection. She has worked as a professional in various institutions designing permanent and temporary exhibitions. She published books, documents, and articles of her own and in collaboration with professionals from various disciplines. She organized seminars, conferences and national and international meetings. She was currently the President of ICOM Argentina, where she was also a member and Treasurer, and was the Secretary and then Vice-President of the International Committee of UMAC (University Museums and Collections Committee of ICOM) in the period 2014-2019. Always committed and actively contributing to the development of museology, she is a great admirer of Hugues de Varine for his community work, to which she also dedicated herself. 

Karin Weil, 30 June 2022

 

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New issue UMACJ: Pedagogy Hub

University collections and museums are increasingly used for teaching. The latest issue of the University Museums and Collections Journal (Vol. 13, No. 2), edited by Alistair Kwan and Andrew Simpson, brings together essays from all over the world on the roles of university collections for state of the art pedagogy. 

As Alistair Kwan writes in the issue: “As this collection of essays shows, there are important things for university museums and collections—as hubs—to contribute to the scholarship of teaching and learning, and to the steering of our universities into exercising their sociocultural, epistemic and economic privileges more critically, more wisely, more ethically, more influentially over the coming century of widely anticipated struggle.”

Access the issue here.

 

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New Museum Definition

Last week, the ICOM Advisory Council approved the museum definition proposal to be voted at the General Assembly in Prague next August.

“A museum is a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible and inclusive, museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate ethically, professionally and with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection and knowledge sharing.”

Read more here.

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Two more issues of UMACJ in Chinese

A complete volume of UMACJ — volume 12, comprising 2 issues — has been translated into Chinese and is now accessible.

The translation is a result of the ongoing collaboration between UMAC and the University of Shanghai Museum. 

Please read UMACJ Chinese version here.

 

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Museums and Museum Professionals in Ukraine

ICOM Call for Donations to Support Museums and Museum Professionals in Ukraine

The International Council of Museums (ICOM) would like to acknowledge the significant outpouring of support from the global museum community for the protection and valorisation of Ukrainian cultural heritage since the start of the invasion by armed forces of the Russian Federation. ICOM expresses its gratitude for the many offers of assistance received since the beginning of the conflict, a testament to the solidarity between the museum professionals and cultural actors in general.

Continue reading in ICOM website.

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New IMAGINATIONS videos published

Learn more about the daily lives and aspirations of young museum professionals around the world.

Zhao Ke, Co-Chair of UMAC Futures and Director of the Museum of Electronic Science, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, CHINA, has released three more videos of the series IMAGINATIONS:

  • Holly Millward, Australia
  • Mohamadou Moustapha Dieye, Senegal
  • Rebeca Bombonato, Brazil

The videos can be seen in UMAC YouTube channel. Here is a shortcut.

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Ukraine: Appeal from ICOM POLAND

Dear Colleagues, Dear Friends,

in these dramatic days for Ukraine, the Polish Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM Poland) is asking for your support in our efforts to help Ukrainian museum professionals.

In the third week of the Russian aggression on Ukraine, Poland received over 1,7 millions of refugees, mainly women, children and the elderly. Extensive help is being offered by the Polish population and the local and state governments to assist them. They often arrive with few, if any, belongings and are in need of shelter, food, medical supplies and so on.

In Ukraine people are not only fighting the aggressor, but also try to protect and save the cultural heritage: museums, libraries, onuments, architectural gems. Polish museums and Ministry of Culture and National Heritage are organizing help for museums and cultural institutions in numerous Ukrainian cities.

What do we do?

ICOM Poland decided to focus on the needs of the museum personnel that found refuge in our country. With the assistance of ICOM General Secretariat we established an Ukrainian speaking office and started to locate persons scattered throughout Polish cities. We plan to provide 3-months individual grants to the museum professionals that will apply. These grants should help them to accommodate their first needs.

At the same time, our office will act as a contact point between the grantees and Polish museums and cultural institutions, so that they may find a job and a welcoming professional milieu. The Polish state already simplified the necessary employment formalities to the minimum.

Continue reading here.