Currently closed for renovation work, the Ixelles Museum is rethinking itself with a view of reopening in 2026. One of the many questions being asked is how to encourage greater appropriation of the collections and reflecting on complex themes through the museum labels.
To explore this question more deeply, the museum has organised a series of label-writing workshops based around a selection of paintings from its collections, with the aim of creating personalised, sensitive commentaries on these artworks.
A wide range of people were invited to take part, including young people with disabilities, retired people and people in precarious economic situations…
Sharing different points of view on the works during these moments of encounter of rare depth, they are a reminder of the extent to which our institutions - and education activities - can be privileged and safe places for visitors, enabling them to tackle sometimes highly sensitive themes through a very personal appropriation of the artworks.
But beyond the writing process and its sharing within a caring group, united by its engagement in a collective and participatory experience, how can these texts be effectively communicated to other visitors? Can this polyphony of interpretations be appropriately integrated into the visitor's journey, and foster a broader appropriation of the collections by people who feel sometimes uncomfortable with more traditional museum media? What kind of cohabitation can be imagined with the other exhibition labels? The Ixelles Museum is unveiling the results of its experiments with the participatory cartel as a means of facilitating the artworks appropriation and an opportunity to address delicate topics within the exhibition itself. He also shares his further insights into the subject, based on inspiring exchanges with other institutions.
In an era of multiple crises and changing societies, the vision of a more just and democratic world appears to be both receding and finding new meaning. These crises, coupled with their psychological impacts, the fast pace of life, and drastic changes in how people learn, communicate, and entertain themselves, have intensified inequalities and exclusions.
Inclusion, combating exclusions, and ensuring the full participation of individuals and groups in social life, culture, and the arts has acquired renewed significance. Museums, as dynamic cultural and social organizations, are called upon to reflect on their role and methods of communication with the public, setting new goals to respond to these challenges. This new interactive and mediating role of museums brings forth new prospects through inclusive programs that adhere to inclusive principles in their design.
Rethinking the role of museums in this context includes consideration of two interrelated issues: i) access, participation, and representation in meaningful programs for even the most excluded ones, ii) re-establishment of a close relationship with society by demonstrating the valuable educational and social role of museums and their positive impact on both individuals and society as a whole.
Museums are places where people with diverse life experiences, perspectives, interests, abilities, identities and traumas meet. Contemporary art museums, in particular, can serve as privileged fields for exploring, understanding, and forming opinions and attitudes towards current realities and issues. Contemporary art, often perceived as incomprehensible, has the potential to provoke thought, spark fruitful discussions, and stimulate self-examination, as it is driven by the life around us.
This presentation examines how new challenges can be met within a museum. It showcases practices and methods applied in artistic and educational programs organized by the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST), which promote inclusion and engagement, and foster dialogue between people of different generations and backgrounds. They demonstrate how approaching contemporary art and engaging in art-making facilitate critical thinking, experience sharing, self-awareness, and a better understanding of others and the world we live in. Lastly, it explores the skills on which museum educator should focus and the potential of such activities to challenge stereotypes towards the excluded ones.
The question regarding the Museum’s social role, for an inclusive Museum that stands against social exclusion ( Golding 2009 ), while at the same time designing educational activities and outreach programmes, in collaboration with specific population groups towards the vision of a participatory Museum ( Simon 2010 ), remains open. It becomes even more relevant during a period of heightened social contrasts and the rise of nationalism, racism and xenophobia spreading across Europe, where population groups such as the Roma are violently pushed towards the social margins. In this context, the presentation will discuss aspects of the experience of the Byzantine Museum of Athens in designing - in collaboration with Greek Roma communities - educational programmes, mediator training, outreach events in regional cities in Greece - Thessaloniki ( the Museum of Byzantine Culture ), Drama ( the byzantine monuments ), familiarizing with the monuments of a specific neighborhood in Chalkida, the castle in Kalamata, the Archaeological Museum of Messenia, Sparta, the Old Fortress in Corfu and the Castle and Byzantine Museum of Chios-, the production of four short documentary films, filmed by acclaimed Greek directors – “Iris Street” ( 50’ ), a film by Mirna Tsapa, "Little Roma Stories" ( 67' ) a film by Stavros Psillakis, "The groups of Roma people" ( 44' ) a film by Nikos Anagnostopoulos and “Sam Roma” ( 40’ ), a film by Marina Danezi - and in coordination with the Greek Film Center, as well as events for Roma people aimed at non-Roma audiences.
Dementia education for museologists is crucial for fostering inclusive and supportive environments in museums. Understanding dementia allows museologists to create programs that are not only accessible but also therapeutic for people living with dementia. These programs can significantly enhance the quality of life for people with dementia and also provide essential support to caregivers. Museums, through tailored programs, can offer a unique form of engagement that combines visual art, history, and sensory experiences. Activities such as guided tours, interactive exhibits, and art-making sessions can help stimulate memory, reduce anxiety and improve mood among dementia patients. Education includes understanding how to communicate effectively, manage neuropsychiatric symptoms and create a safe, welcoming environment. So, museologists can design and implement programs that are more meaningful for participants. The intersection of museology and dementia care represents a significant opportunity to create dementia - friendly communities. The Dementia Day Care Center in Ioannina offers personalized care and a variety of activities for people living with dementia, as well as training museologists on dementia-related issues. A notable case study is the "Drink coffee and you will remember me" educational program, which was implemented in the framework of the project "Cooking in Epirus, 100,000 years" by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Ioannina with funding from the NSRF. The purpose of this case study is to show how the education of the museologists enabled to effortlessly address the various challenges in the process of museum planning as well as to make the museum program accessible and enjoyable to people with middle and severe dementia and also to encourage other museums to adopt similar initiatives. Τhis project was implemented in collaboration with Ms Maria Lambrini Koula, Ms Stamatia Kortzi, Ms Ioulia Katsadima and Ms Varvara Papadopoulou.
Cultural diplomacy through museums is underlined as an invaluable tool for uniting people from different cultures and promoting international understanding and peace. Museums have the capacity to bring people from different cultures by tackling complex issues and engaging particular audiences, in order to build a world where cultural heritage is a common good and a place of inspiration and peace. In a world today divided by cultural, religious and political differences, museums serve as a field of understanding of the world, as neutral zones of coexistence and dialogue, addressing complex issues and engaging particular groups of audiences. Having as a case study the Human Chain project of the Archaeological Museum of Patras , the paper focuses on the adoption and design of public outreach programs, that are successful efforts to engage different audience ( special needs, refugees, prisoners etc.) to the museum space, but also the transfer of the museum space to others not related to it through alternative communicative, educational and social actions. This paper will aim to analyze and present how museums function as catalysts for inclusion and acceptance, building a world where culture is a common good, a unique shared space for inspiration, dialogue, inclusion and peace. The awareness and adoption of the view that "every time we make a decision about the museum we are performing a philosophical and political act that has cultural consequences" is crucial. https://ampatron.gr/en/%ce%b3%ce%b9%ce%b1-%ce%b5%ce%b9%ce%b4%ce%b9%ce%ba%ce%ad%cf%82-%ce%bf%ce%bc%ce%ac%ce%b4%ce%b5%cf%82/
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