Which conservation strategies are used for works of Process Art? How do the institutional practices that characterize the way we collect, exhibit, and – most importantly – conserve art become inscribed in works of this kind? How have processual art forms transformed the way museums understand their own role and the work they undertake?

These and other questions were discussed at the Hamburger Bahnhof in February 2016 as part of an interdisciplinary symposium entitled ‘Process Art and the Museum’, attended by experts in the theory and practice of art history, conservation, collection, and exhibiting. The new challenges currently facing conservators of contemporary art were approached from two angles. The first looked at how museumization and conservation impacted upon artworks. The second explored the ways the museum as an institution has been transformed by the advent of new art forms, and the technology, media, and materials they employ.

The conference was developed and organized by Carolin Bohlmann (Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart) and Angela Matyssek (Philipps-Universität Marburg). It was supported by the Volkswagen Stiftung.