Recently some of the world’s leading museums, such as MoMA, Pompidou Centre and Tate Gallery have been expanding, adding new annexes or building satellite branches. The influence of globalism too has seen contemporary art's popularity spread rapidly throughout the world, particularly in Africa and China, where booming sales are invigorating the entire Asian art market.
In Japan recent reforms in governmental organizations have meant that public and private museums have had to make drastic changes to their management systems.
How has this changing global context influenced the roles of the world's leading museums? What are their new visions - their new strategies for survival? And what does this mean for Japan's museums? How can they make a unique contribution to the international art world?
On 9 February the Mori Art Museum, which celebrated its third anniversary last October, presented a symposium featuring members of its International Advisory Committee. Including directors of some of the top museums in the world, the symposium provided a good opportunity to think about the future of museums both abroad and in Japan.