Fatoş Üstek's 'The Art Institution of Tomorrow' Critiques Museum Models and Proposes Reforms

Independent curator Fatoş Üstek's book 'The Art Institution of Tomorrow: Reinventing the Model' offers a polemical analysis of contemporary art institutions, diagnosing them as elitist, colonial, and struggling to adapt to societal crises like climate change, identity issues, and digital transformations. Published by Lund Humphries for £19.99 in hardcover, the work synthesizes interviews with global curators, though it primarily reflects perspectives from the Global North, omitting alternative models from Asia and Africa, such as those highlighted by Indonesian collective ruangrupa during Documenta 15. Üstek critiques institutions for their imposing architectures, low artist fees, centralized power structures, and reliance on government funding, questioning their relevance in a world where culture is produced globally by everyone. She explores decentralized autonomous organizations and digital technologies as potential solutions, advocating for horizontal management, financial self-reliance, and risk-taking to foster critical engagement. The book's defense of institutions is noted as circular, arguing they are needed to make artists important to society because artists are already important, without fully addressing whether such models are worth preserving. Üstek's thorough examination covers mission, management, finance, and audience engagement, concluding with imperatives for institutions to empower workforces and resist conventional exhibition-making.