As part of its 30th anniversary programme, Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart is hosting the symposium Where Do We Go from Here. Knowledge, Care and the Public (12 – 14 November 2026). The three-day gathering is dedicated to current questions regarding knowledge production and art histories, preservation and care, and education and learning in contemporary art museums.

Within this framework, Lights On! Sustaining Light-Based Art focuses on the preservation of light-based artworks and their future in museum collections. Held on 13 November 2026, it addresses challenges including technological obsolescence, material availability, and sustainability. Taking Dan Flavin’s site-specific installation untitled (1996) at Hamburger Bahnhof as a point of departure, the symposium considers how these conditions affect the authenticity, material integrity, and long-term stewardship of light-based art.

Bringing together international experts from conservation, curatorial practice, collection management, and research, Lights On! explores current approaches to documentation and preservation while fostering dialogue between institutions, artists, manufacturers, and estates on the future care of light-based artworks.

Programme

Registration / Conference Desk Open
8:30–9 am

Welcome
9–9:15 am

• Till Fellrath, Co-Director Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart
• Symposium’s Planning Committee Hamburger Bahnhof - Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart Berlin / Akademie der Bildenden Künste Wien

Keynote
9:15–9:55 am

• Reinhard Bek Mehr Licht! Bek & Frohnert LLC, New York

Case Studies – Brief Case Insights

Chair: Andrea Sartorius
9:55–10:15 am

• Markéta Krausová, Evelyne Snijders Too Hot to Handle? Exploring Alternative Light Sources for the Integral Hologram Angel (1975–76) by Simone Forti and Lloyd Cross University of Amsterdam
• Teddy Woods, Jihyun Choi Keeping Offspring Switched On: Conserving a Living Light Installation University College London & Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul
• Hannah Backes, Ute Kannengießer Illuminated from All Sides Albertina Museum, Vienna

Coffee Break
10:15–10:45 am

Session 1
Collection Care – Protocols and Practices for Light-Based Art

Chair: Carolin Bohlmann
10:45 am–12 pm

• Alessandra Guarascio, Yeung Shin Li, Dieke Ribbers From neon systems to incandescent bulbs and LED: institutional approaches to the preservation and perpetuation of dynamic works of art M+ Museum, Hong Kong
• Caitlin Gozo Richeson, Caroline Longo Illuminating Preservation: Developing Conservation Frameworks for Light-Based Artworks at The Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art, New York
• Melissa David, Kendra Roth, Miriam-Helene Rudd Illuminating the Gaps: Building Protocols for Light-Based Objects in the Modern & Contemporary Collection at the Met Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Session 2
Documenting Light-Based Art

Chair: Josephine Bobeck
12–1 pm

• Bogna Skwara, Ellen Moody, Maggie Bell, John Griswold, Olivia Kuzio Looking on the Bright Side: Spectrometric Insights into the History of Robert Rauschenberg's Green Shirt Getty Conservation Institute, Norton Simon Museum, USA
• Eva Rieß, Pauline Reschke How to Capture Light? Documentation Strategies on Light-Based Artworks at Hamburger Bahnhof Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, Berlin

Lunch Break
1–2:15 pm

Session 3
Light as Medium – Different Light Sources used as Artistic Media

Chair: Taylor Hinojosa-Hayes
2:15–3:30 pm

• Taylor Healy Truth in Light: Addressing Myths and Misunderstandings in Neon Art Art Institute of Chicago
• Lou Ashon, Alexandra Nichols, Willa Ratz What to do about Dimming: Treatment of a Software-Based Light Sculpture by Mona Hatoum Tate, London
• Nick Pendemonti, Caroline Gil Rodríguez Tunnel Vision: Three Light-Based Art Installations at the MFAH Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Coffee Break
3:30–4 pm

Session 4
Transitioning Into the Future – Approaches to Preservation

Chair: Andrea Sartorius
4–5:15 pm

• Zoelle Nagib, Jacob Fishman Neon in New Light Lightwriters Neon Chicago
• Christine Haynes Mitchell, Patrícia Navedo García Afterlife of Illumination: Maintenance and Obsolescence of Three Light Technologies at MFA Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
• Joy Bloser, Steve Morse, James Craven, Corina E. Rogge Stockpiles, Collaborative Stewardship, and Supply-Chain Response: Three Decades Sustaining Flavin’s Permanent Installation at the Menil Collection The Menil Collection, Houston & Estate of Dan Flavin

Panel Discussion
Where Do We Go From Here? What visions, strategies and responsibilities will shape the future of light-based art?

Moderation: Pia Gottschaller
5:15–6:15 pm

• Reinhard Bek Bek & Frohnert LLC, New York
• Joy Bloser Niki Charitable Art Foundation
• Ellen Moody Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles
• Francesca Esmay Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
• Willa Ratz Tate, London
• John Jaspers Zentrum für Internationale Lichtkunst, Unna
• Carolin Bohlmann Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Wien

Closing Remarks

6:15–6:30 pm

• Pia Gottschaller Courtauld Institute of Art, London

Registration will be available in May 2026. Participation is free of charge.