Museums as catalysts of cultural adaptation

Humanity’s climate crisis is a symptom of cultural dysfunction that circles the globe. Underpinning our escalating GHG emissions, declining biodiversity and more are the values, goals, behaviours and systems that humanity has normalised over centuries. Today, a vast chasm exists separating humanity’s ‘living culture’ and what we call institutionalised culture. Museums can become catalysts of cultural change that can help steer the living culture towards a relatively stable future. The challenge is changing museums so they effectively combine diverse insights from the past with human creativity to imagine and forge a future of equity and well-being for all.