Teadmiste koosloome ja õppimine Eesti Rahva Muuseumi osalussaalis

Abstract

The Estonian National Museum has been hosting inclusive exhibitions for over ten years. The purpose of the participatory hall is to attract people and provide space for various topics, thereby strengthening ties with different audiences. This exhibition format grew out of the museum's desire to collaborate with various groups and people and give them an opportunity to use the museum as a platform for self-expression and a place where their ideas and opinions could be visualized. After a long-term joint effort, it is important to examine what the participants have learned from the exhibitions, how their experience has benefited them and how the museum can apply this towards further cooperation. The article analyzes the exhibition creation practices carried out by non-professional participants using the examples of two participatory hall exhibitions where the curators were enthusiasts and students. Two major aspects emerged that should merit greater attention in the future when evaluating the participatory hall experience: first, imagining the curation of the participatory hall exhibitions as citizen science, and second, the emphasis on the context of learning for the participants. For the latter, the staging of an exhibition is a research method in which they undertake action similar to professional curators. In particular, the existing sources and collections are reviewed and new materials are produced. Thus, more than before, exhibitions in the participatory hall should be viewed as contributions to the museum collections. In the same way, the staging of an exhibition can be seen as a transformative learning process that takes place in an informal environment. The format of the participatory exhibition had not been originally planned or conceived as such, as this process is similar to the learning process taking place in the environment of everyday life, in which the outcomes are not immediately and easily visible. Helping the participants to realize that they have acquired a number of new and transferable skills when mounting the exhibition would also help strengthen their motivation. Similarly, the exhibition has the potential to serve as a part of a non-formal learning endeavor supporting the formal education system. The whole process must be framed by the systematicity, thoughtfulness and flexibility of the museum’s support that takes into account the diversity of the curators.