Pressmeddelande -
A World of Games at the Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg
On April 1st 2023, the Museum of World Culture - Världskulturmuseet - opens a major exhibition on human playing of games through history. In A World of Games, 4000-year-old boardgames meet today's gaming culture. Games from different eras and different parts of the world are shown side by side. Objects from the museum collections are juxtaposed with a living, global culture of games.
Mankind has played games in all times and places. It's a way of socializing - both physically and nowadays digitally. But games have also been used to resolve conflicts, to predict the future or to connect with divine beings. One thing all games have in common is that they have rules that must be followed - rules that can vary in different groups and across time and space.
The collections of the Museums of World Culture contain a wide variety of games from different places and cultures. Now, several of these are on display for the first time - juxtaposed with newer board games, role-playing games, arcade games and so called indie games and – last but not least – e-sports. The exhibition also includes objects on loan from other museums, including the Musée Suisse du Jeu/Swiss Museum of Games, as well as many private loans.
- We will show everything from thousand-year-old board games to the world's first archaeological excavation of video games, says Lena Stammarnäs, exhibition producer at the Museums of World Culture. In A World of Games, visitors can try out copies of games from the collections. This exhibition welcomes several generations to experience and play together.
Games have played a major role in human development and are still important. In the exhibition, visitors can follow this evolution from the past to the present, from gods to gamers. A World of Games also highlights the fact that the playing of games has not always been viewed positively. Not only gambling, playing for money,has been regulated or forbidden. Games with violent content and those that have criticised power or political systems have also often been banned
The exhibition A World of Games is produced in collaboration with, among others, the Digital Ludeme Project, a research project at Maastricht University, the Netherlands. The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of activities, lectures and live music.
Game on!
--
Världens spel – A World of Games
Exhibition period:
1 april 2023 -18 august 2024, Världskulturmuseet, Göteborg
Then moves to the Ethnographic Museum in Stockholm, where it is expected to open by the end of 2024.
For more details:
Lena Stammarnäs, curator
lena.stammarnas@varldskulturmuseerna.se
Anja Sjögren, communication and marketing
anja.sjogren@varldskulturmuseerna.se
Relaterade länkar
Ämnen
Kategorier
Regioner
About the Museums of World Culture
The National Museums of World Culture is a national museum agency instructed by the Swedish government to show and bring to life cultures in the world. Our activities are carried out at the Museum of Ethnography, the Museum of the Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities, the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm and the Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg, which is where the management office is located. Together, we care for 470,000 objects, one million photographs and an infinite number of stories - a major part of the international cultural heritage in Sweden. We document and illuminate contemporary and historical manifestations and encounters of various cultures. We promote interdisciplinary research in dialogue with various stakeholders nationally and internationally. It is part of our mission to broaden the public debate and reach visitors throughout the country.
