Museums after the pandemic, from resilience to innovation: the case of the Uffizi

Abstract

The article explores how museums have responded to the COVID-19 crisis, referring to the concept of resilience and critical juncture. Whereas the first relates to a system's ability to recover or resume its original form after stress, perturbation, or shock, the latter refers to extraordinary conditions produced by unexpected and dramatic events that are able to enact profound and deep changes. The case of the Uffizi museum, which has suffered many lockdowns, shows that resilience measures have been accompanied by innovative actions redesigning the role of the museum. Some new projects could in fact be enacted because the pandemic was treated as a critical juncture. Any innovation, however, originated from the need to manage and decentralise tourism flows and revitalise local communities. The Uffizi has forged and implemented projects that value sustainability, community welfare, city decongestion, economic development, and inclusiveness, producing transformations on nature and vocation of the museum itself as well as on the neighbouring areas, becoming a propulsive fulcrum for other museums and cultural institutions. [ FROM AUTHOR]