A painting of a Swedish flag burning, the paitning reads (in Swedish): "Defile the flag, refuse weapons, betray the homeland, be non-national" and "the dick"

Carl Johan De Geer, Skända flaggan, 1967 © Carl Johan De Geer

The opinions and the museum

Panel discussion

29.10 2024

Stockholm

Can museums be relevant to society without contributing to polarisation? Possessing the highest trust of all social institutions, museums have a unique chance to create unifying conversations. Welcome to a panel discussion where museum colleagues and social debater Stina Oscarson meet to discuss the issue.

In the prevailing new media landscape, it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between what is true and what is false. Trust has therefore become a valuable currency. According to surveys by The SOM Institute, museums in Sweden are at the top when it comes to public trust.

The Museums Act and the Instrument of Government also state that museums must contribute to society by promoting free formation of opinion and democracy. As a social actor with a high level of trust, from both left-wing and right-wing voters, museums have a unique opportunity to act as a unifying force in an increasingly polarised society. Perhaps museums even have an obligation to do so?

In the panel discussion on Tuesday 29 October, a number of museum actors meet with Stina Oscarson to discuss how museums can promote social debate, and how museums can create important conversations about difficult social issues without increasing polarisation.

The participants are Niklas Cserhalmi, director of Arbetets museum (The Museum of Work) and chairman of the Swedish Museums Association, Helene Rånlund, director-general of The National Swedish Museums of Military History’s, Rani Kasapi, head of Content and Learning at The National Museums of World Culture.

Larissa Borck, digital pedagogue at Sörmland’s museum, Gitte Ørskou, director of Moderna Museet, and Stina Oscarson, theatre director, playwright, and social debater, are also participating.