Cultural Franchises or Franchising Cultures?

Abstract Museums franchises have been part of our lives for several decades, gathering momentum and taking the cultural world by storm. These museums ‘brands’ are a product of the changes museums have experienced in the past decades that shaped their role as a social agents, and the influence of globalisation, which altered the paradigm of the essence of what museums constitute, and ultimately their new role as diplomatic agents. This article aims to analyse the development, the characteristics and the controversies that have surrounded the Hermitage Barcelona project, which embodies the challenges and opportunities new globalised museums are facing on a museological, political, economic and social level. This project raises social debates around topics such as cultural policy, branding strategy, tourism and identity, issues that it has in common with other satellite museums all over the world, such as the Louvre Abu Dhabi or the Guggenheim Museums. This strong social component underlines the importance of approaching the analysis of new museum models from an interdisciplinary, participatory and culturally sensitive perspective.