Guimet research plan 2026 2030 31

Part 1 → The structuring axes of research at the Villa Guimet

Global or local : museographic

stakes for Asian art museums

past and present

The exhibition is at the same time a strategic tool for attractiveness , one of the

privileged forms of research promotion and an essential mechanism for sharing

knowledge . In a context of renewed public expectations and diversif ication of forms

of display , particularly in Asia where museums are experiencing considerable

expansion , this research axis intends to explore , from a comparative perspective ,

the practices and issues related to the presentation of Asian arts , in Europe as well

as in Asia . Research on the exhibition as an object of study has undergone

signif icant development over several decades , f irst in Germany and the United

States , and then more recently in France . The history of exhibitions , museology

and the sociology of the public have contributed to making this theme a booming

multidisciplinary f ield . As a follow - up to the conference " Exhibiting Asian Arts .

New Franco - Chinese Perspectives " organized by the Musée Guimet on June 8 ,

2024 , this program proposes to structure a sustainable ref lection on the modalities

of exhibition of Asian arts , through crossed and contextualized perspectives .

In particular , it will be a question of questioning the narratives and museographic

devices deployed according to the cultural , historical and geographical contexts .

How are Asian arts shown in Western museums ? Is this dif ferent from the way these

works are presented in an Asian context ? How is Western art , in turn , presented

in Asian museums ? This cross - sectional view , focused on the conception and

reception of exhibitions , invites us to think about the question of otherness

in museum practices of yesterday and today . Particular attention should also be

paid to permanent exhibitions , whose attractiveness issues are widely shared on

an international scale .

Chinese Archaeology Gallery on the First Floor of the musée Guimet

© musée Guimet Paris Vincent Leroux

Several axes will structure this research . First , the analysis of formats , from

the spectacular large - scale exhibition to the exhibition of a few carefully highlighted

masterpieces , will make it possible to assess the trends at work in Europe and

Asia . Then , the issue of narratives – from the def inition of the point of view to the

structuring of the discourse through the mode of address to the visitor – will of fer

a framework for understanding how museums transmit the history of Asian

art according to cultural contexts and local conjunctures . An axis will be devoted

to the question of exhibitions : what do we choose to exhibit in Asia and Europe ?

Do we show the same objects in dif ferent contexts and periods ? This axis will make

it possible to compare practices in terms of the typology of works , the nature of

the objects presented – originals and replicas in particular – as well as to question

the place of contemporary art in permanent or temporary exhibitions mainly devoted

to ancient art . Museography and scenography will be the subject of another part

of the analysis : the study of modes of presentation – contextual reconstructions

( period rooms or reconstructions of the context of discovery ) , ref ined presentations ,

dialogues of works from comparable or different periods , techniques or

iconographies – will make it possible to grasp the privileged biases and the ef fects

they produce , in dif ferent cultural contexts . In addition , mediation mechanisms will

be questioned through the intentions of museums and the supposed cultural skills

of visitors . Within the framework of this axis , particular attention will be paid to the

analysis of the modalities of presentation of Asian works in both Europe and Asia ,

as well as to the comparative study of exhibitions devoted to Asian art in a Western

context and those dedicated to European art on the Asian continent . Finally ,

a research axis will be devoted to the growing role of digital technology , whose

uses , far from being homogeneous , are experiencing contrasting developments in

Asia and Europe , carrying specif ic technological and discursive orientations .

Bringing together museum professionals and researchers in the humanities and

social sciences in a multidisciplinary and international approach , this research axis

aims to identify , in the practices of designing Asian art exhibitions that crystallize

many issues in a world crossed by global and local tensions , the changes at work

today and the long history of representations between Asia and the West in which

they are inscribed .