08/01/2025

How GLAM Institutions Are Rewriting the Rulebook: Adapting to the Post-Pandemic and Digital Age?

Cultural institutions like museums, galleries, and archives—known collectively as GLAMs—have always prided themselves on being community-focused, participatory spaces.
But the pandemic and the rise of digital technology have thrown these principles into sharp relief, pushing these institutions to adapt their management and organizational practices faster than ever before. How do these institutions maintain their identity while responding to new societal demands? And more importantly, how do they keep their core participatory practices intact in the face of  rapid change?
Our case study of the Schwules Museum in Berlin provides some compelling insights into these questions. The study explores the challenges GLAMs face as they attempt to balance traditional values with the modern pressures of digitization and post-pandemic reconfiguration.

ECHN met Ares Kalandides (Inpolis) and discussed what he has learned about the evolving role of management practices in cultural commons.

PART  II

ECHN: Would you like to share some specific tools that emerged from this study?

AK: What emerged was the importance of communication and moderation in managing this shift. Moderation and clear vision were identified as essential tools for mediating between different stakeholder groups and creating an environment where all voices could be heard. Volunteers and staff alike needed a platform to express their concerns and ideas, ensuring that the institution’s participatory nature wasn’t lost in the process.

ECHN: How do you envision the Future of GLAMs?

AK: The paper concludes by emphasizing that the future of GLAMs lies in their ability to remain flexible—adapting to new internal and external demands—while remaining faithful to their foundational participatory principles. As these institutions expand and professionalize, they must continue to prioritize the involvement of their communities, volunteers, and commoners in the decision making process.

ECHN: What would be your suggestions for Museums?

AK: In the case of the Schwules Museum, the study suggests that institutions can succeed by finding new tools for coordination and conflict resolution. By embracing new organizational practices that still allow for participatory governance, GLAMs can continue to evolve without losing their original sense of identity.

ECHN: What can we take away from this research? 

AK: First and foremost, that change is inevitable, especially in today’s fast-paced, post pandemic world. But that doesn’t mean institutions must abandon their participatory values. Instead, they should actively involve their communities in shaping the future of their practices. Whether through bottom-up initiatives, clearer communication channels, or more structured decision making processes, GLAMs must learn how to navigate these changes in a way that respects their history and ethos. As digitization and the pandemic continue to shape the cultural landscape, the research highlights a crucial point: the future of cultural commons will depend on institutions’ ability to adapt while staying rooted in the participatory principles that make them unique. The challenge now is to build GLAM institutions that are both innovative and inclusive, ensuring that their future is as vibrant and community oriented as their past.

ECHN: What are the conclusions from this research?

AK: The Schwules Museum case study offers a valuable lens through which we can better understand the evolving nature of cultural commons. As GLAMs face the challenges of modernity, they must remember that their greatest strength lies in their ability to bring people together whether physically or digitally—around shared values and practices. The future of these institutions will depend not just on how they adapt to external pressures, but on how they continue to center the voices of the very communities they were built to serve.