What is a participatory museum?

Anyone involved in the museum world is likely familiar with Nina Simon, the trailblazer behind the concept of the participatory museum. I first encountered her ideas when I watched her TED talk and delved into her book, 'The Participatory Museum,' during my very first semester in my master's program at the Rhode Island School of Design. Her book evoked a myriad of 'Hell yeah' moments, nearly causing me to leap out of my seat with inspiration.

As I questioned the conventional and somewhat static nature of museums, her work provided me with a roadmap for what a museum could become, introducing me to the vital concept of participation in the realm of design.

I embarked on a journey to explore various forms of participation, learning from Simon's book along with my own experiments and ideas that led to co-creating a participatory project with Shivani Pinapotu at the RISD Museum called '(un)heard voices.' Through '(un)heard voices,' we created spaces to create, share, and connect.

As I continue to contemplate these ideas, I wish to offer a glimpse into what set me on this transformative journey that I am currently navigating. If you are interested in participatory projects, I wholeheartedly recommend reading Nina Simon's book.