Although globalisation exists for over a century, the term “global” was only used prevalently in cultural debates in the 1990s. Within the art world, globalisation bears different meanings. It firstly acknowledged that art was being produced (and exhibited and perceived) beyond the traditional centres of economic and political power, the Western metropolises. How does this affect the museum as an institution dedicated to the common interest and the public trust? While some perspectives indicate that museums should adopt the global challenge and play a global role, is it possible to establish a set of values to represent and respect local differences, taboos or symbolic relevance that are of global value?

Bartomeu Marí is a nonaffiliated author and curator who served as Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona (MACBA) between 2008 and 2015. He was previously Chief Curator and Head of the Exhibition’s Department at MACBA as well as Director of Witte de With Centre for Contemporary Art in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. In 2005 he was the curator of the Spanish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale and he co-curated the Taipei Biennale with Chia Chi Jason Wang in 2002. He is the author of numerous catalogues and monographs on contemporary art. Marí is the President of the International Committee of Museums and Collections of Modern and Contemporary Art (CIMAM) an international committee of ICOM (2014-2016).