The Master thesis considers how art institutions are increasingly positioning themselves in solidarity with social struggles and becoming sites for political expression. With the resurgence of activism and social movements in the last 10 years, protesting police brutality, racism, gender inequality, ecological crisis, immigration, and war, art institutions are employing a critical responsiveness to these concerns. Cynthia Stucki’s research explores this phenomenon through the discourse of museum activism. In consideration of this orientation, her research centers on the ongoing project of democratizing art institutions, their potential as affective infrastructures, and the relevance of relational engagement in exhibitions and programming. The Queens Museum in New York and the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin are used as case studies to further reflect and propose activist curatorial practices. Sustainability and critical responsivity are two concluding perspectives that Cynthia Stucki considers as enduring qualities for a social impact and resonance of activist art institutions within their local and global contexts.
