If Participation Is the Means, What Is the Goal?

Over the past decades, participation has become a central ideal in cultural policy and a recurring concept in the cultural sector. Often associated with democratization, relevance, and user involvement, the term encompasses a wide range of rationales, formats, and strategies.

In this session, we explore participation as a cultural and communicative phenomenon – together with researchers, cultural professionals, students, and other participants. What ideas underpin the concept of participation, and how do they unfold in practice? What counts as legitimate participation – and for what purpose?

Associate Professor Anja Mølle Lindelof (Roskilde University) will offer a framework to help summarize and systematize the many formats and functions of participation – from inviting and inclusive to co-creative approaches. The discussion then opens up to a collective reflection on the conditions, limitations, and value creation of participation in various cultural contexts.

Participants

• Anja Mølle Lindelof (she/her), Associate Professor, Roskilde University

This session is part of Open Campus at GRASP and is organized in collaboration with students from the elective course in Cultural Mediation at the Department of Communication, Roskilde University.

This session is presented by Roskilde University.