The museum of the future is strange, open, and innovative

What is a museum? Google tells us it is ‘a building in which objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited’. However, speaking at this month’s Communicating the Museum conference in Berlin (12–15 July), former Tate Modern director Chris Dercon defines the museum as a ‘robust form of strangeness and openness’.

Protecting these values is increasingly seen as essential in the museums sector today, especially in the context of an increasingly nationalist and culturally segregated world. Cultural integration – over tolerance – is key.