The contribution of participatory projects in promoting the inclusive museum: Are visitors' artistic creations welcomed in an international exhibition of contemporary art?

Abstract

The article discusses the meaning of participation in its different forms, focusing more specifically on a collaborative approach that was realized both inside and outside the museum as part of the 6th Biennale of Contemporary Art, held in Thessaloniki in 2017. For the first time in the history of the event, museum educators had the opportunity to contribute to the exhibition-making process in its early stages, namely, in the selection of artists and in discussions around the overarching exhibition theme. Furthermore they developed a participatory project that involved visitors as co-creators, thus enhancing inclusiveness. Teenagers and adults over 50 collaborated with a local artist and the museum educators as part of a workshop on the subject of "Imagined Homes," and subsequently created an animated video installation that was exhibited in the Biennale venues. The curators, the museum educators, the artist, and the visitors later shared their experience of their involvement in the project. The analysis of the collected data raises interesting issues pertaining to the co-participation of the curators and museum educators on the curatorial team, the participation of visitors in artistic projects, and the role of artists in participatory projects. © 2020 Common Ground Research Networks.