Strengthening Engagement
Designing for Participation: Spatial Preferences of 8-11-Year-Olds in Museums
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Büşra Altıntepe
City public spaces, including museums, should be inclusive for all, regardless of age, gender, or ability. However, children, as a disadvantaged group, are often overlooked in public spaces, limiting their right to participate in cultural and social life fully. As one of the most frequently visited public spaces, museums provide an essential context for exploring how children can participate and engage in such environments. This study examines children's preferences in museums and whether gender plays a role in shaping these preferences. One-to-one online interviews (30 children) were conducted using a mixed-methods approach. The interviews explored their last museum experiences, general perceptions, and museum visit preferences. A focus group (10 children) was formed to validate the data further, where children drew their dream museum environment. Findings indicate that children know museums as places for displaying objects and prefer visiting historical museums with their families on weekends. While school trips are common for children to visit museums, they prefer family leisure visits. There was no significant relationship between gender and museum preferences. Although children are familiar with traditional hands-off experiences, there is a desire for multisensory engagement during exhibitions. This study highlights the importance of incorporating children's perspectives and experiences into museum design. Actively involving children in designing museums can improve their engagement and overall experience. These findings may contribute to the literature on children's participation in museums and provide insights for museum professionals. Further research is encouraged to increase the understanding of children's museum participation by directly listening to their voices.
Featured Re-envisioning Oral History Archives as Tools for Self-Actualization and Collective Liberation through Research-Creation and Participatory Performance Art
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Gracia Dyer Jalea
By responding to the current-day needs and interests of descendants, oral history interviews are resurrected from archives to become useful tools for self-actualization. Moving beyond mere remembrance into spaces for co-created futures, this study explores how oral history interviews can be used to break cycles and heal division so we can learn, grow and discover new pathways forward that don’t replicate harm from the past. Drawing on oral history, research-creation, autoethnography and ethnic studies articulated through the work of Filipinx scholars, this approach asks the reader to consider oral history interviews as more than historical texts. Through this approach they become valuable resources for descendants. As relics, they carry the potential to strengthen, repair and maintain relationships that have been severed due to colonial rule, displacement, separation, and death. Through oral history interviews and participatory performance art the sharing of stories and memories of the past moves beyond mere remembrance into spaces for co-created futures, where the burden of repair is a collective effort to listen, learn, engage with, and make sense of what was, so we can move forward into what could be. Through images, audio, and film, I share examples of oral history interviews recorded with my grandmother in 2008 that were re-visited and re-purposed in 2023 to produce two participatory art pieces that were performed at the Acts of Listening Lab at the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling in Montreal, engaging my mother, daughter and I in a process of co-creation.
Museums, Libraries and Archives - Mapping the (In)tangible: Insights from Project InMAP
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ana Carvalho
In the last decades, there has been a growing number of new archives and repositories created by memory institutions (museums, libraries and archives) and other organisations (universities, schools, communities). At least three intertwined aspects have contributed to this state of the art: 1) oral history development has reinforced the need to document the memories of people, communities, and participants in past events; 2) the impact of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, urged for the need to record traditional silks and practices, e.g., Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) for a sustainable future; 3) the need to enrich and complement official archives with community experiences and participation. Many of these recent memory archives contain collections of sound and video recordings, photographs or other documentary materials related to memory preservation and to ICH documentation, either in analogue or in digital form. Project InMAP-Memories and Archives: Mapping the (In)tangible (2024-2025) analysed the situation of Portuguese memory archives that have been created in the last two decades by heritage organisations (museums, libraries, archives, universities, associations). Besides a characterisation of these memory archives that document Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) and oral history, it was essential to understand the scale and extent of barriers to documentation, preservation and access. This diagnosis contributes to informing public policies in this field. The study combined a set of analysis tools, which included a survey, fieldwork (in-depth interviews and focus groups) and literature review. This paper presentation will discuss the main findings of the project.
Embedding Inclusive Practice in Museum Programmes
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Simon Dodi, Vanessa Weibel
This paper explores inclusive practice through the lens of the V&A’s current Inclusive Design Residency, focusing on work developed in collaboration with the museum’s Schools team. Rooted in a person-centred ethos, the residency aims to engage the lived experiences and creative input of both the resident designer and participating school communities, centring their voices within co-design processes.It examines how inclusive practice is not a fixed goal but a responsive, evolving process. Drawing on case studies from the residency, we reflect on how working collaboratively across teams, with residents, and with school audiences has shaped our thinking around inclusion, accessibility, and participation. We’ll discuss practical and conceptual tensions between process and outcome, interrogating how person-centred approaches influence both the design journey and its outputs. By sharing key moments, challenges, and successes, we aim to illuminate the contextual and operational realities of embedding inclusive methodologies within museum learning and engagement programmes. Our reflections offer insights into the importance of flexibility, listening, and critical self-reflection in sustaining inclusive practice. We conclude with practical takeaways and recommendations for museum professionals interested in advancing inclusive practice through residencies and co-design initiatives, proposing pathways for more equitable and meaningful engagement with diverse audiences.
