Fifteenth International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

This paper explores the innovative model of an inclusive cross-cultural transmedia exhibition that intertwines physical, virtual, and digital spaces and sets new dialogical exhibition practices and museographic forms through joint work on exhibition development of geographically or physically remote communities. This model is designed to respond to the needs and the coexistence of different isolated or vulnerable individuals and groups. It uses the process of exhibition development as a source for intercrossing and enriching different cultures and identities, developing tangible and intangible commons and complex cultural products. The differences become the platform for building new shared/common values and patterns. Through the participatory involvement of diverse communities, their negotiations on the specific values of identified objects and resources for exhibition, and the creation of practical outcomes, the concept of cultural syncretism - creolization is introduced. It denotes processes by which different and formerly separated cultural elements (tangible and intangible) are combined and creatively merged to support the co-curation and co-creation of new forms, objects, and cultural practices, making them common property. In this particular case, creolization refers to the exhibition’s curation, carried out through a participatory artistic approach in which artists and community members become selectors and co-creators who exploit state-of-the-art digital and IT technologies. The paper explores how this kind of creolization challenges different aspects of the theory and the practice of representation, the traditional autonomy of a singular curatorial vision, and the hierarchical structure of exhibition practice.