More and more Dutch museums program and collect modern and contemporary non-western art. The increasing attention that is being paid to non-western art is affected by a number of factors such as globalization in the art world; the museological search for a new social relevance in a multicultural society; increasing pressure from funds and the government to reach new, diverse composed audiences and to undertake inter-museum cooperation.

The center of the art world is no longer Paris or New York; there is a mosaic of global centers. This has consequences for the selection, presentation and collection of contemporary art.

Because different types of museum are gradually becoming more engaged in non-western art, the functions and positions of art museums, ethnographic and historical museums are increasingly overlapping. Currently, these museums operate independently of each other. However, in these changing circumstances, museological self-reflection is needed.

How does the Dutch museum world deal with these new developments? What place is there for these (post-colonial) art forms in future museum policy?

The extended program of the expert-meeting Collecting Without Borders is aimed at the exchange of knowledge, experiences and insights in the area of presenting and collecting non-western art in art museums, historical museums and ethnographic museums. Opportunities for cooperation will also be explored.

During the introduction Simon Njami held a keynote speech, and Wouter Welling held a presentation.

Both can be downloaded as .mp3-files.

The organization is in hands of the Centraal Museum in cooperation with the Afrika Museum, Museum De Paviljoens, ICN (Instituut Collectie Nederland), Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), Municipal Museum De Lakenhal, Royal Tropical Institute and Van Abbemuseum.

Collecting Without Borders and Framer Framed will present a joint publication at the end of 2010.

Collecting Without Borders is financially supported by the Mondriaan Foundation and the Fonds BKVB.