Study Day: Museums in Times of Crisis and Conflict

This October, the study day Museums in Times of Crisis and Conflict focuses on the social role of museums. Expect inspiring case studies, knowledge exchange, reflection and debate on the key issues shaping the museum sector today. The study day is co-organised by MoMu and FARO and is linked to the recent exhibition Embroidering Palestine.

• Laura Searson (British Council) will discuss the lessons learned from the Culture in Crisis programme and the changes it has brought about in the way cultural institutions think about their social role.
• Rachel Dedman (Victoria and Albert Museum) will reflect on curating the exhibition Embroidering Palestine and on the exhibition’s impact on debates surrounding the social role of museums.
• From a Flemish perspective, Kaat Debo, director of MoMu, and Maartje Stubbe, director of FOMU - Photography Museum Antwerp, will share their experiences in finding a balance between a museum’s social role and the well-being of staff and teams.
• Ama Koranteng-Kumi will moderate a conversation with artists Sachli Gholamalizad, Marah Haj Hussein and Pierre-Antoine Vettorello about collaborating with museums on socially engaged and sensitive topics.
• Finally, Marieke van Bommel, general director of the Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen in the Netherlands, and Karen Moeskops, director of the Red Star Line Museum and chair of Belgium's national museum council, will join Olga Van Oost, general director of FARO, for a discussion on museum autonomy and the relationship between museums and politics.

FARO is the support centre for the cultural heritage sector in Flanders and Brussels. By bringing together expertise, connecting heritage professionals and placing current heritage issues on the agenda, FARO fosters knowledge sharing, professional development and collaboration. Through training, advice, research and initiatives such as Heritage Day and the Heritage App, FARO contributes to a strong and future-oriented cultural heritage sector.

Laura Searson is Senior Programme Manager and leads the Culture in Crisis Programme at the British Council, supporting cultural heritage preservation and communities affected by cultural loss. She is also a Trustee of ICOM UK and a member of the Smithsonian Institution’s International Advisory Board for Cultural Property Protection.

Rachel Dedman is the guest curator of Embroidering Palestine. An internationally recognised expert on Palestinian embroidery and Middle Eastern fashion, she is currently Curator of Contemporary Art from the Middle East at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Dedman has previously curated acclaimed exhibitions on Palestinian textile arts and brings her deep expertise and insight to this project, illuminating the rich stories stitched into tatreez.

Kaat Debo is the Director and Chief Curator of MoMu. She studied literature in Antwerp and Berlin and joined the museum in 2001 as a curator. In 2009, she was appointed General Director. She has collaborated with leading designers and fashion houses and realized more than fifty exhibitions, several of which she curated. Between 2018 and 2021, she led MoMu’s major renovation and expansion. She regularly lectures on contemporary (Belgian) fashion.

Sachli Gholamalizad is a Belgian-Iranian theater and film artist. Her acclaimed trilogy A Reason to Talk, (Not) My Paradise, and Let Us Believe in the Beginning of the Cold Season toured internationally. She previously curated the museum takeover Where We Are at MoMu and develops sound work with Iranian poetry alongside her theater, film, and television projects.

Marah Haj Hussein is a Palestinian dancer, actress and maker based in Antwerp. Combining dance and theatre, her work explores language, the body and colonial power structures. She is the creator of Language: no broblem and In relation to whom? مرتاحة؟. Language: no broblem received both the Roel Verniers Prize and the Sector Award for Most Acclaimed Performance by an Artist Under 35.

Pierre-Antoine Vettorello is an Afropean artist and researcher based at the Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts and the University of Antwerp. His artistic practice and doctoral research Black Yarns explore decoloniality within fashion, focusing on the histories of Black African women in Paris and the role of clothing as a form of expression and resistance. He also develops research and curatorial projects around diaspora, museum collections and colonial legacies.

Ama Koranteng-Kumi moves between cultural institutions and grassroots practices. She founded Bloei & Groei in Amsterdam, an award-winning socio-ecological practice focused on nature, wellbeing, and female leadership. She is also co-founder of MINO, an independent art space and strategic practice in Antwerp. She serves as a board member and supervisor in the cultural sector across Flanders and the Netherlands.

Karen Moeskops has directed Antwerp’s Red Star Line Museum since 2017, sharing historical and contemporary migration stories. Drawing on 15 years at Amnesty International, she champions socially engaged, welcoming museums as drivers of change. Since late 2025, she has also chaired Belgium’s national museum council, strengthening the sector’s societal role.

Marieke van Bommel is a museum director and cultural strategist. Since 2022, she has led the Wereldmuseum, championing inclusion, global citizenship and decolonisation. She sees collections not as possessions, but as responsibilities, and museum work as relational. Previously, she worked at the Maritime Museum Rotterdam and directed MAS in Antwerp.

Olga Van Oost is General Director of FARO, the Flemish Institution for Cultural Heritage. She also teaches Cultural Issues at VUB Brussels University. A museologist with a background in art history and communication studies, her research focuses primarily on museums in transition.