AMSTERDAM.- The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam announces the launch of
Stedelijk Studies, a free academic online journal that is made in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam, the VU University of Amsterdam, Utrecht University, Leiden University, Radboud University and Maastricht University. Stedelijk Studies publishes high-quality peer-reviewed academic research for international audiences of (upcoming) art professionals and those with an interest in art theory and history.
Stedelijk Studies presents research related to the Stedelijk Museum collection, institutional history and topical themes in an accessible, attractive manner. The Stedelijk has a timehonored tradition of research and (academic) publications. It has published many catalogues and, in 1957, founded a library (which today ranks among one of Europe’s most noted libraries of modern and contemporary art and design).
In the past decades, the Stedelijk has gained considerable expertise in areas such as conservation and education, often in the context of collaborative projects with academic partners. The Stedelijk’s academic members of staff carry out thorough research into the museum’s collection. And, with its extremely diverse, in-depth public program of debates, lectures and book launches, the Stedelijk also demonstrates that the museum is not only a place for thought-provoking exhibitions, but a platform for experimentation, critical reflection and (academic) debate. Stedelijk Studies offers a focal point for academic reports on such activities at the Stedelijk Museum.
Dr. Margriet Schavemaker, initiator of the journal and Head of Research and Publications at the Stedelijk: “Stedelijk Studies marks the importance of research for the Stedelijk. It is an important link in the museum’s wide-ranging publication policy that aims to produce quality publications tailored to the needs of broad and diverse audiences. Stedelijk Studies is the most scholarly publication in this range of catalogues, children’s books, public guides and artist’s books: it is a free, open access platform for researchers outside the walls of the museum, where upcoming and established thinkers from around the world can share their research with international audiences.”
With two thematic issues a year, Stedelijk Studies addresses key issues in modern and contemporary art and design. Six to ten essays are selected from an international call for papers. Stedelijk Studies also publishes complete, stand-alone papers. As a platform for scholarly analysis, the journal enables researchers to respond swiftly to urgent issues, and make a vital contribution to the current debate on art theory.
The inaugural issue
The inaugural issue of Stedelijk Studies is devoted to the theme Collecting Geographies and is curated by Stedelijk curator Jelle Bouwhuis and freelance researcher and postdoctoral candidate Christel Vesters. This first edition presents a selection of papers originally written for the conference Collecting Geographies: Global Programming and Museums of Modern Art jointly organized by the Stedelijk Museum, the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis, the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the Folkwang Museum in Essen and the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam from 13-15 March 2014. The conference and this inaugural issue of Stedelijk Studies are part of the three-year program Global Collaborations launched in late 2012 by the Stedelijk to form a well-rounded picture of developments in contemporary art, with a particular focus on emerging regions such as Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
The project encompasses collaborations with experimental and versatile art institutions throughout the world and comprises exhibitions, publications, events and an online platform. The conference Collecting Geographies: Global Programming and Museums of Modern Art addressed collection acquisition and exhibition programming in a globalized world. These issues are currently at stake as many museums for modern and contemporary art in the West seek to expand their programming, acquisitions policy and approach. In the articles selected for Stedelijk Studies we see a variety of critical analyses of the outcomes of this quest. We also discover how, in the past, this deficit was addressed by legendary exhibitions such as Magiciens de la Terre in 1989 in Centre Pompidou in Paris and the largely forgotten presentation Moderne kunst – Nieuw en Oud at the Stedelijk Museum in 1955. The papers are written by established researchers such as Annie Cohen Solal and Kitty Zijlmans and young academics as well.
Some forty researchers from around the world have already responded to the call for papers for the second thematic issue, which addresses exhibition history, and is due for release in May 2015.
