Eleventh International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

The museum in the twenty-first century is no longer the sole owner of a ‘heritage plot’. It does not write the storylines by itself anymore, nor is it the only finding place for heritage. The museum is one node in a network of heritage plots, even more so in the urban space. The MAS is a museum located in the superdiverse city of Antwerp. It cherishes about 500,000 objects coming from around the world. The museum aims to be a ground-breaking museum on connectedness. It can choose from an array of ways to achieve that. This paper addresses three of these, each illustrated by a case. Firstly, the museum has a playing field beyond its exhibition halls. Both in activities it develops and hosts, as in the (side-)effects of participation, the MAS increases ‘heritage experiences’. The exhibition and program of ‘Antwerp à la Carte’ is a demonstration of this approach. Secondly, the growing attention for intangible heritage enlarges the layers of objects’ meaning. Elementary are the connoisseurs with different backgrounds and types of expertise. The exhibition of ‘Holy Places’ engaged with religious communities in Antwerp, which instigated more than one process of growing awareness. Thirdly, the participatory attitude and strategies open up the museum work to new audiences. Both the ‘Corner Shop’ as ‘Holy Places’ already demonstrate the impact of collaboration with volunteers, communities and experience experts. ‘Instinct’ is a further example: it is the first fully co-creative exhibition by MAS in Young Hands, the museum’s team of young volunteers.