'Network of industrial and technological museums of Europe' Symposium

The major changes in the world of production after the Second World War gave rise to the obsolescence of factories and other production centres from the industrial era. It was not only the forms of production that changed, but also society. These major changes also affected the world of heritage and museums, whose links to society were strengthened. In the late 1960s a new model of cultural heritage appeared in England: industrial heritage.

The complexity of conserving, studying, interpreting and disseminating this industrial heritage made it necessary to articulate larger spaces where the focus could be on different industrial actors and processes. Therefore, from the 1980s different regions and territories of Europe created themed networks of industrial heritage. 

In this symposium, based on the internationally recognised example of the Territorial System of the mNACTEC, seven theme networks of European industrial heritage were selected and invited. Despite these networks having the same purpose and objectives, they are organised in different ways and this session will provide first-hand information on the operation of the various forms of transversal museum organisation, which are still one of the most dynamic and innovative systems in the world.

A simultaneous English-Catalan and Catalan-English interpreting service will be available.

Limited places.

PROGRAMME

08.45 - 09.15h 
Collection of accreditations

09.15 - 10h
Inauguration of the symposium, by Jaume Perarnau, director of the National Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia (mNACTEC).

Inaugural talk ‘Vision and development of the Territorial System of mNACTEC’
Eusebi Casanelles, industrial engineer and director of the mNACTEC from 1983 to 2013

An industrial engineer, Casanelles studied Social Sciences in Barcelona and Environmental Studies at Indiana University. He was the first director of the Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia, where he developed the Territorial System of the mNACTEC, a network of 28 heritage museums and spaces which explain the process and history of the industrialization of Catalonia. He was president of the International Commission for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage from 2000 to 2009 and is currently vice-president of the Museum of Colònia Vidal.

10 - 10.45h
‘The Museum of Science and Industry and the Science Museum Group’
Sally MacDonald, director of the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester (England)

In 2014 Sally MacDonald was appointed director of the Museum of Science and Industry of Manchester, after directing the museum and public participation programmes at University College London (UCL). She previously worked as a director and curator in different London museums, setting up an award-winning museum service in Croydon.

10.45h - 11.15h
Coffee break

11.15h - 12h
‘An integrated approach to the conservation, study and valorisation of technical heritage: the case of the Museum Network of the Piraeus Cultural Foundation’
Elia Vlachou, museologist and cultural administrator. Greek Steam Institute (Greece)

Archaeologist specialising in industrial heritage. Vlachou has worked as a museologist in art galleries and in the Greek Ministry of Culture. Head of the Department of Museums of the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation (PIOP) since 2007, she has coordinated European projects and numerous temporary exhibitions, educational programmes and cultural activities. Vlachou is the cofounder of the Greek Steam Institute, dedicated to the preservation and valorisation of Greek Industrial Heritage.

12h - 12.45h 
‘Networks of industrial Heritage Sites And Museums in the Rhine-Ruhr Area in Germany’
Walter Hauser, director of LVR-Industriemuseums. Rheinisches Landesmuseum für Industrie (Germany)

A Doctor in History of Science, Hauser has worked in different exhibitions and museums, including the Deutsches Museum in Munich, the Expo2000 World Fair in Hanover, the Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum (HNF) and Internationale Bauausstellung IBA Emscher Park, in Essen. Since 2009 he has been the director of the LVR-Industriemuseum (Rhenish Industrial Museum), a network of seven industrial museums in Rhineland.

12.45h - 13.15h
‘The Industrial Heritage Trail in the Ruhr and its aim for Regional Development’
Marion Steiner, Route of the Ruhr (Germany)

A cultural geographer specialising in the interpretation of industrial heritage, Steiner has collaborated in the candidacy of the Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin as UNESCO World Heritage Site. She has worked as coordinator of the Berlin Centre for Industrial Heritage (2011-2015) and since 2016, she has been in charge of the industrial heritage networks of the Ruhr Regional Association.

13.15-13.45h
Question time

13.45-15.45h
Lunch break

15.45h - 16.30h
‘Creating a network of industrial museums, Silesian experiences’
Piotr Gerber, president of the Foundation for the Preservation of Industrial Heritage Silesian Museums (Poland)

Architect and historian specialising in industrial architectural heritage and technological heritage. Gerber founded the Museum of Industry and Railway in Silesia (2004) and the Foundation for the Protection of Industrial Heritage of Silesia (2007), where he has contributed to saving and converting industrial equipment in museums. One of the objectives is to build a system of museums representing the main industries in Silesia. Gerber is the author of an extensive specialist bibliography.

16.30h - 17.15h
"Un exemple de réseau: les musées des techniques et cultures comtoises"
Philippe Mairot, Heritage curator, researcher for the inventory of heritage and a renowned specialist in ecomuseums in the French region of Franche-Comté.

Mairot founded and was president of the French Federation of Ecomuseums and Society Museums (1988-1995). He was director of the Nord-Dauphiné Ecomuseum (1985-1988) and the network of Museums of technologies and cultures of Franche-Comté (1988-2010) in France, and has organised several exhibitions on technological culture and ethnological and industrial heritage. From 1994 to 2006 he was a senior lecturer at Universitat Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, and he has also taught museology and heritage both in and outside France.

17.15h - 17.45h
Question time and closing

18h - 19h
Inauguration of the itinerant exhibition ‘Industry. Territory. Identity. The Route of Industrial Heritage of the Ruhr visits Catalonia’