Museum participation: How can a museum build lasting connections with society?

How can museums truly share power and create lasting participation? This project explores innovative practices in Flanders.

In short
How do museums in Flanders embed sustainable participation and co-creation in their operations? This research and valorisation project focuses on audience staff and heritage institutions that aim to engage diverse publics through shared ownership.

Need and relevance
Museums are urged to rethink their social role in a changing society. The renewed Heritage Decree encourages them to explore and implement lasting forms of participation. Despite inspiring examples, in-depth and sustainable audience engagement remains scarce. Audience professionals especially struggle with issues of power redistribution, hierarchy and inclusion.

From approach to impact
Through interviews, case studies and partnerships in Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, we mapped how participants and staff experience participatory practices. The focus was on co-creative processes that distribute power more equally. The findings show how museums can build lasting connections with diverse communities through horizontal collaboration. This research offers valuable insights for institutions seeking to future-proof their operations through inclusive and sustainable engagement.