THE LIBERAL MUSEUM
TEAM: Marco Dimonte, Italian
about cultural anoesis, mediocre standards of democracy and new nationalisms
The Liberal Museum is a project planned for a future Europe where cities struggle to find a relevant position in the globalized network. Each city could equip themselves with one Liberal Museum, and respond to the following needs:
1. SOCIAL HABITS: With the rise of the new nationalism and the quest for national identity, architecture is now pushed to define the formativities relevant to the country’s history. The Liberal Museum provides architecture that will outdo the degenerated contemporary architecture. Learning from the past it will be possible to define the perfect local prototype.
2. SOCIAL STRUCTURE: The old saying ‘[populus] duas tantum res anxius optat panem et circenses’ from Giovenale’s Satira X will give shape to the Liberal Museum. The First Floor will be used for free permanent exhibitions of ethnographical subjects, as well as the Ground Floor will provide restaurants and shops allowing the public to meet their consumerist daily requirements. The Second, Third and Fourth Floors will host temporary exhibitions and members rooms, accessible only to the donors and founders of the museum. For obvious reasons, the culturally relevant events and exhibitions could not be hosted on the First Floor.
3. SOCIAL SPACES: Working for Liberal Museum can be an incredible opportunity for artists, curators or general cultural workers. That is the reason why the Museum is allowing them to work for free in exchange for accommodation.