RT Journal Article
T1 Embedding plurality: exploring participatory
A1 Katy Bunning
A1 Jen Kavanagh
A1 Kayte McSweeney
A1 Richard Sandell
YR 2015
VO 3
IS Spring 2015
K1 participation
K1  participatory
K1  co-curation
K1  co-creation
K1  museums
K1  Science Museum
K1  Information Age
AB Increasing numbers of museums and galleries worldwide have developed an array of working practices that might be termed 'participatory' or 'co-creative', which seek to involve visitors, non-visitors, community and interest groups with diverse forms of expertise and perspective in their activities. Frequently the central aim of such practices has been to strengthen relationships between a museum and its audiences through projects that are jointly conceived and developed with local communities. However, relatively little attention has been given to participatory practice within the work of larger institutions, particularly those with a national and international remit, reach and audience base, where participatory practices are adopted to enrich the development and content of new permanent displays (aimed at large and diverse audiences). Drawing on a single case study – the development of the permanent Information Age gallery at the Science Museum in London, which opened in 2014 – this paper aims to reflect upon the extent to which existing concepts, theories and approaches to participation and co-creation resonate with museum work of this kind. Unlike many participatory practices internationally, the range of projects and activities utilised in the development of Information Age were driven less by a desire to share authority and decision-making with communities outside the museum and more by a concern to foster involvement with diverse communities of interest in the making of a major gallery and to generate and embed plural perspectives on the objects and stories presented within it. This paper raises further questions around how participatory work is perceived, valued and shared across the sector.  
NO See Tilly Blyth on the gallery’s response to the challenges of displaying information and communication technologies in this issue of the Science Museum Group Journal.
NO For a brief history of participation at the Science Museum, see Tim Boon, Merel van der Vaart and Katy Price, 'Oramics to electronica: investigating lay understandings of the history of technology through a participatory project', Science Museum Group Journal, 2, Autumn 2014.
NO For example, participation as footfall or attendance is measured in the Taking Part household surveys commissioned by the English government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport to measure engagement across the cultural sector (Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2015).
NO Simon (2010) has argued that multiple forms of participatory practice can be used simultaneously and can co-exist within a single institution.
NO For Govier, this assumption ‘…polarises the co-creation debate and reduces it simply to a question of democracy versus elitism, when it is more complex and nuanced than that. [...] When we stop making power hand-over a central aim of co-creation, I think we give ourselves many more possibilities to do interesting work with our audiences, which will be embraced by more of our colleagues (and will probably involve quite a significant sharing of power along the way).' (2010, p 4)
NO This research, undertaken in collaboration with colleagues at Kings College London, will be completed in summer 2015 and will be the subject of a future report.
NO Individual participants were all volunteers, although their travel and expenses were covered. The different groups involved were named and acknowledged on the gallery and in the accompanying literature and website. In addition, all participants explicitly expressed that they appreciated the opportunity to work with a large institution like the Science Museum and to gain experience and expertise from the diverse teams and specialists (e.g. new media teams, curators, designers) who were also involved. Part of the summative evaluation of the gallery has been designed to look in greater detail at the participation process and the impact on participants.
NO Visitor numbers as of 13 April 2015
PB The Science Museum Group
SN 2054-5770
LA eng
DO 10.15180/150305
UL http://journal.sciencemuseum.org.uk/browse/issue-03/embedding-plurality-exploring-participatory/
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WT Science Museum Group Journal
OL 30