Research, Co-Management, and Practices At The Emilio Pettoruti Provincial Museum of Fine Arts (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Abstract

This article analyzes the co-management work between a team of female workers from a provincial state museum and a group of researchers within the initial phase of the project “Mujeres artistas bonaerenses: relevamiento, catalogación, análisis y difusión del archivo del Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes ‘Emilio Pettoruti’. This initiative aims to rescue the archive and raise awareness of the presence of women artists. It is unique in that it is co-managed by museum staff, with the participation of a specialist from another provincial institution, and advanced art history students from the National University of La Plata. The first step is to contextualize the formation of the museum and its archive, as well as the specific characteristics and objectives of the research project. Second, the specifics of archive work and co-management with this state institution are addressed, specifically analyzing the staff's perceptions of the activities carried out with the researchers, the challenges, and the contributions of the research project to the Museum. Third, the professionalizing archival practices carried out within the framework of the project are described and analyzed, along with the students' reflections on this experience. Finally, the initial reflective approaches related to these axes are presented, which aim to contribute to the study of co-management processes between cultural institutions and the academic field by highlighting these types of practices within the framework of an inter-institutional project.