The conference – at which 700 exhibition managers, curators and registrars from around the world are expected – is a project of the Austrian association ARC – Austrian Registrars Committee. The spirit and purpose of the conference, which takes place every two
years in another major city (last time in Helsinki, previously in Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Basel) is to define the status quo of the interna
tional museum and exhibition scene – and that, from a very practical approach. Unlike curators, exhibition managers and registrars work mainly behind the scenes of an exhibition; and, paradoxically, they’ve done their best job when they’ve managed to remain invisible – a state of affairs the conference would like to change. Communication on various levels and in numerous languages with lenders, artists and commercial partners, questions about preservation and presentation, exhibition design, complex transport of artworks – or insurance concerns – these, and much more, are the challenging duties in the broad spectrum job description of “Registrar.” Conceived as a week-long congress, featuring stimulating lectures by highlevel Arts experts of all sorts, workshops and “campfire“ discussions, guided walks through the city, evening receptions in the Museum of Fine Arts and the Vienna City Hall and rounded out with an extensive program of outings, the conference aims to create a vortex of know-how for the museum and exhibition sector and provide a networking platform of exchange among the numerous international professionals who dedicate themselves to the promotion of great Art.
