European Museums in the 21st Century: Setting the Framework Vol. 3 Books European Museums in the 21st Century: Setting the Framework Volume 3 edited by Luca Basso Peressut, Francesca Lanz and Gennaro Postiglione Books European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) — v iv — European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) mela book 07 – European Museums in the 21st Century: Setting the framework (vol. 3) Published by Politecnico di Milano © February 2013, The Authors This work is provided on line as open access document under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported. The work is protected by copyright and/or other applicable law. Any use of the work other than as authorized under this license or copyright law is prohibited. For additional information http://creativecommons.org/. isbn 9788895194332 European Museums in the 21st Century: Setting the Framework æ volume 1 1 – National History Museums Museums as Agonistic Spaces Clelia Pozzi he Museum and Radical Democracy Chantal Moufe This Book ensued from the Research Project MeLa - European Museums in an age of migrations, funded within the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (SSH-20105.2.2) under Grant Agreement n° 266757. Project Officer: Louisa Anastopoulou 2 – Natural History Museums Museums of Natural History in Europe Fabienne Galangau-Quérat, Sarah Gamaire and Laurence Isnard Museums in France Florence Baläen Escape from Bureaucracy Giovanni Pinna mela consortium Politecnico di Milano (Coordinator), Italy – Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design, Denmark – Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche ITIA, Italy – University of Glasgow, United Kingdom – Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Spain – Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, France – The Royal College of Art, United Kingdom – Newcastle University, United Kingdom – Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’ Orientale,” Italy. www.mela-project.eu Constructing a Highly Citizen-Oriented Relection Interview with Judith Pargamin 3 – Ethnographic and World Culture(s) Museums Ethnographic Museums: Towards a New Paradigm? Camilla Pagani english editing Ilaria Parini, Tim Quinn, John Ekington Exhibition-ism Maria Camilla de Palma graphic design Zetalab — Milano Cultural Diference and Cultural Diversity Nélia Dias layout Francisco J. Rodríguez Pérez and Cristina F. Colombo National Museum of World Culture Interview with Klas Grinell legal notice The views expressed here are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission. [S]oggetti Migranti Interview with Vito Lattanzi European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) — vii vi — European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) æ volume 2 Acknowledgments 4 – Migration Museums Migration Museums in Europe Anna Chiara Cimoli Museum and Nation Joachim Baur he German Emigration Center Simone Eick 5 – City Museums City Museums in Transition: a European Overview Francesca Lanz City Museums: Do We Have a Role in Shaping the Global Community? Jack Lohman International Networking Projects and the Web Interview with Marie-Paule Jungblut æ volume 3 6 – Local Museums Local Museums as Strategic Cultural Forces for 21st Century Society Elena Montanari Local Museums of the Future Hugues de Varine 7 – War Museums Narratives of Conlicts: Architecture and Representation in European War Museums Luca Basso Peressut 8 – Temporary Exhibitions Forms of Collecting / Forms of Hearing Marco Borsotti Exhibiting History Paolo Rosa, Studio Azzurro Interviews with: Anna Seiderer, Galitt Kenan and Marc-Olivier Gonseth hese books grew out of the work of the Research Field 6 “Envisioning 21st Century Museums,” led by Luca Basso Peressut and Gennaro Postiglione, Politecnico di Milano, within the European project MeLa– European Museums in an age of migrations. MeLa is a four-year interdisciplinary research project funded in 2011 by the European Commission under the Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities Programme (Seventh Framework Programme). Adopting the notion of “migration” as a paradigm of the contemporary global and multicultural world, MeLa relects on the role of museums and heritage in the twenty-irst century. he main objective of the MeLa project is to deine innovative museum practices that relect the challenges of the contemporary processes of globalization, mobility and migration. As people, objects, knowledge and information move at increasingly high rates, a sharper awareness of an inclusive European identity is needed to facilitate mutual understanding and social cohesion. MeLa aims at empowering museums spaces, practices and policies with the task of building this identity. MeLa involves nine European partners—universities, museums, research institutes and a company—who will lead six Research Fields (RF) with a collaborative approach, and this book is meant to report about the preliminary indings of the irst research phases. he editors would like to thank all the scholars who enriched this book with their suggestions and contributions as well as all the museums and their staf, curators, directors, designer and architects who kindly provided information, images and drawings supporting our investigations. Amention goes to the English editors and translators, and to Elena Montanari, Cristina Colombo and the staf from POLIMI, who essentially contributed with their help to the editing of this book. viii — European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) — ix he project’s Research Field 6, Envisioning 21st Century Museums— which is developed in parallel to and in consultation with the other ive project research areas—is aimed at pinpointing innovative models, practices and tools to further the role of European museums in promoting new democratic and inclusive forms of citizenship, contributing to foster dialogue between the diferent ethnic, religious, social and generational groups which characterise our societies, and furthering awareness and education among new citizens and young generations. Introduction European Museums: Mapping an Ongoing Change he MeLa Project, funded in march 2011 by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme (Social Science and Humanities) is a four years long reserch project, which aims to investigate the efects of contemporary phenomena such as globalisation, demographic movement, transformation of migration patterns, increased mobility of people, as well as of objects, ideas and knowledge on the form, organisation, mission and status of museums, and to explore the likely potential role of museums in the construction of an inclusive European identity by facilitating mutual understanding and social cohesion. Adopting the notion of “migration” as a paradigm of the contemporary global and multicultural world, MeLa relects on the role of museums and heritage in Europe in the 21st century. he project aims to investigate how, and to what extent, changes in population lows and demography, the impact of new media, the consequent layerisation, complexiication and fragmentation of societies and identities and, perhaps more importantly, the recognition of the central focus of such changes to the human experience of life and society in modernity, do, could and should, afect European museums. Focusing on the transformation of museums, seen as cultural spaces and processes as well as physical places, the main objective of the MeLa project is to identify innovative museum practices that relect the challenges posed by what the project deines as “an age of migrations”—an age characterised by intensive migration lows; accelerated mobility and luid circulation of information, cultures, ideas and goods; the political, economic and cultural process of creation and consolidation of the European Union, and the consequent high degree of cultural encounters and cross-fertilisation. While the investigation and the consideration of the role of contemporary museums and heritage has nowadays become a relevant component of the European agenda and lively debate on the subject is gaining prominence, nurtured also by several research projects and academic studies, museums themselves are questioning their raison d’être and roles, and undergoing a process of deep transformation of their missions, strategies, practices, spaces and exhibitions. he present books collect the work of MeLa Research Field 6, Envisioning 21st Century Museums, and are meant to illustrate the preliminary results of its earlier investigations aimed at mapping and exploring such a transformation process and its features, particularly in terms of architecture renewal, museography and exhibition settings. he irst phase of this research ield thus focused on the possibility of mapping current trends in contemporary European museums in order to set up an overall picture of the state of the art of museum development in relation with the abovementioned issues and questions. Its activity has been aimed at deining a general framework for the development of subsequent research phases, that are the identiication of strategies and practices to support a renewed and increased role for museums, and the revision of their contribution inbuilding a democratic inclusive European citizenship through practicable and efective intervention by EU policy-makers and the institutions working in cultural and educational ields. his research has been investigating diferent categories of museums, individuated as those which better represent the current status of European museums, including: national history museums, ethnographic museums and museums of cultures, migration museums, city museums, local museums, and war museums. Because of the relevance of some museographical practices in the representation of the evolution of contemporary museums, the research activity has been extended to the transversal topic of temporary exhibition design. Due to the large quantity of gathered materials, the publication has been divided into three volumes, each of which is organised into sections curated by a MeLa reseracher including a piece by the MeLa researchers involved in the investigation, contributions from scholars and museum practitioners, interviews and the presentation of signiicant examples of museums which are new, have been renewed or are under renovation. Particular attention has been paid to their architectural and exhibition design, which is intended as concretisation of innovative and sometimes highly experimental ideas of what we deine as “new museography,” new models of representation and communication of knowledge. x — European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) he irst volume opens with an overview on the evolution of contemporary national history museums, analysing how globalisation, migration phenomena and their efects have challenged these places of stabilisation, where identities are formed and displayed, and their transformation fostered into inclusive arenas of multiculturalism. By considering the representation of national identity as a political act in the sense outlined by political theorist Chantal Moufe—acknowledging the aim of democracy in a pluralistic condition as the possibility of transforming antagonism into agonism, and creating unity in a context of conlict and diversity, as explained in the complementary text—Clelia Pozzi assumes the so-called “agonistic pluralism model,” which Moufe had previously coupled with art museums, and applies it to national history museums. Her investigation of these institutions as “Agonistic Spaces” explores and exempliies the museological, museographical and architectural translation of this model, illustrating the modalities in which migration and its agonistic efects may enter the rationale of these museums, a category which, more than others, seems to have been subjugated by coercive interpretations of states and regimes and, moreover, she redeines their role, strategies and spaces from within. he review of the role of museums as places for the presentation, stabilisation and construction of identities is also crucial in ethnographic museums, which have been profoundly challenged by the mutation of the contemporary political, social and cultural context. he beginning of the 21st century represents a turning point for the role, objective and strategies associated with these institutions, reacting to the evolution of the colonial “west and the rest” model, as well as the efects of globalisation increasing cultural diversity and cosmopolitanism. Challenged by the claim for identity recognition and, at the same time, the demand for an egalitarian representation of cultural diferences, the transformation of these institutions, aimed at displaying cultural pluralism, seems to aim at erasing colonial roots by turning the ethnographic approach into an aesthetic one, or by giving voice to minorities in the representation process. hrough the comparative analysis of the diferent progress of new, re-established or refurbished institutions, Camilla Pagani and Mariella Brenna investigate the reasons, the nature and the extent of the current process of renovation, from institutional redeinitions to museological approaches, and categorisation of museums of world culture(s). he interpretation is also bolstered by interviews with some museum workers who are directly involved in this process. hese include Maria Camilla de Palma, director of the Museo delle Culture del Mondo di Castello D’Albertis in Genoa, Klas Grinell, curator at the Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg, and Vito Lattanzi, Director of the Educational Department at the Museo Nazionale Preistorico Etnograico “L. Pigorini,” in Rome, and by the theory contribution of Nélia Dias, Associate Professor at the Department of Anthropology at ISCTE-IUL, in Lisbon. he evolving socio-cultural context also poses a challenge to museums of natural history. hese museums have radically changed over recent decades in their relationship with what is at stake in society. Laurence Isnard, European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) — xi Sarah Gamaire and Fabienne Galangau illustrate the transformations of these institutions, triggered by a powerful increase in the awareness of environmental issues along with their social consequences, the biodiversity crisis, and the development of new interdisciplinary research approaches. he piece explores how these phenomena have questioned the role of natural history museums and exhibitions as sources of knowledge and players in the conservation and validation of scientiic and natural heritage, and investigates its evolution, beneiting from technological progress and communication techniques, as well as from growing knowledge on visitor expectations. By reporting the results of a recent survey developed by the authors, the text sheds light on the dynamism of these institutions and their commitment to renovation projects, especially those aimed at including diversity in cultural representations of nature. hese considerations are supported by Giovanni Pinna, who questions the role of bureaucracy in the evolution of natural history museums, and of Judith Pargamin, director of the Musée d’Histoire Naturelle de Lille, who ofers a highly citizen oriented relection on the renovation project of the museum. In the second volume, the investigation begins by focusing on more local facts, bonded and rooted in speciic communities, their stories and identities. Anna Chiara Cimoli attempts to map out and analyse the rise of a huge constellation of migration museums and temporary exhibitions that focus on the relationship between migration and identity. By investigating museological strategies, museographic tools and exhibition design trends that characterise this museum typology, the piece investigates the speciicities, implications, diiculties and risks of displaying present and past mobility. By investigating how museology and museography choices can reveal, explain or, in some cases, gloss over the cultural policies and the more general local, national or international political attitudes towards migration, the piece aims to verify whether these institutions act as history museums, or whether they are evolving into vehicles to orient, educate, and participate in political debate. his exploration is complemented by the positions of Joachim Baur, highlighting the ability of migration museums in building a master narrative as a choral epic and a socially unifying experience, promoting a sense of community, representing the diversiication of cultural identities, and fostering societal integration. he rise of migration lows discloses a profound transformation of the current socio-cultural context which museums purport to represent, cooperating with other phenomena to enhance the role of certain locations, especially cities. While updated demographic forecasts envision that in the next 30 years the growth of the world’s population will mostly be concentrated in urban areas, the new economic and cultural opportunities ofered by globalisation, the luid mobility occurring at the European and world-wide level, together with the ongoing political, economic and cultural processes of creation of the European Union, are deeply inluencing the development of contemporary cities posing both new changes and challenges. It is widely believed that, within this complex scenario, xii — European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) glocity museums, as institutions historically responsible for representing the city, recording its transformations and conserving its memory and history, could and should, contribute to these transformations in several ways. Francesca Lanz investigates how city museums are reacting to these stimuli, questioning themselves, rethinking their mission, acquiring new roles and experimenting with new tools and strategies. he piece aims to outline this transformation process in order to interpret it, deine its features, identify commonalities, challenges and possible criticalities, and analyse the museographical aspects related to such changes. hese considerations are endorsed by the contribution of Jack Lohman who, as former director of the Museum of London, argues for the role of city museums as the endogenous development of communities in their diversity and shaping of the global community. he interview with historian Marie-Paule Jungblut, former deputy-director of the Musée d’histoire de la Ville de Luxembourg, adds relections on the crucial role of international networking projects and the web for the advanced role of contemporary city museums, while diferent examples of a “new generation” of city museums presented by curators and directors, supports the relections outlined in the opening piece. City museums focus their mission on the past and present history of the described urban environments. Nevertheless, a large number of other museums drawing on the distinctive nature of speciic locations are likely to play a signiicant role in the contemporary context. he third volume focuses, on the one hand on very local museums and, on the other hand, on war museums and temporary exhibitions in national museums and it somehow comes full circle in this publication. As explained by Elena Montanari, the diferent institutions who aim to conserve, validate and “matrialise” the memory, heritage and culture related to speciic places, are characterised by the employment of speciic tools and strategies, which may turn out as particularly efective means to foster the role of museums as inclusive social agents in this “age of migrations.” Allowing for their status, forms and means, and variation according to their diverse backgrounds, management structures and conceptions of heritage and identity across diferent countries and cultures, local museums seem to share a common mission in preserving, interpreting, celebrating and presenting the visible symbols produced by human history in a speciic environment. In addition, they also perpetuate the origins and sources of cultural heritage, opposing resistance to the efects of globalisation and the increased migrations of people, objects and knowledge, which include impoverishment and distortion of habitats and cultures, standardisation of space, homogenisation of material culture, dispersion of collective memory, etc. as well as assert continuity and stability through secure and rooted values, contrasting the disorientation of self-awareness and enabling societies to deine and anchor their identity. he potential, challenges and risks currently pertaining to these institutions are further depicted through the words of Hugues De Varine, who outlines their European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) — xiii speciicities, raises pivotal questions and proposes paradigmatic models and practices for their future. Among the most signiicant national and local museums, the institutions ensuing from war memories and places are becoming crucial elements in heritage discourse. Luca Basso Peressut considers the many European museums that focus on war and its various representations, identifying two distinct situations. On the one hand, there are still in existence representative models typical of museums of weapons, of armies, and of military history, which were set up between the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. On the other hand, he observes that in recent decades there has been an increase in museums that are committed to emphasising how Europe needs to critically reinterpret its past and the conlicts that have marked it, both in a tangible and an intangible way, overcoming the “divided memories” that have dramatically marked the populations of the European continent as an essential requirement to build the political and cultural identity of Europe. With their tools and representation devices, museums dedicated to the history of European wars are committed to the raising of such awareness through a “policy of memory” that, with no sacralisation or vulgarisation, must involve all cultural institutions, including those devoted to the education of younger generations. hus, Basso Peressut suggests the role of war museums is crucial in the process of building and consolidating a shared European memory and identity. Moreover, war museums convey the transnational value of those events that are part of a common history that transcends any geographical border, contributing to a better understanding of the importance (and fragility) of peace and freedom, and of the establishment of the European Union based on mutual respect and on the rejection of war as a solution to controversies. he inal chapter by Marco Borsotti analyses the role of temporary exhibitions in the dynamics of approaches of museums to innovative topics. Temporary exhibitions can be identiied as signiicant strategies in the promotion of new approaches to the portrayal of museums, as well as in the search for public interest in media, and in the possibility of generating income, image and prestige. Today, temporary exhibitions are also visible manifestations of an educational, informative or celebratory discourse, which is characteristic of the rapid changeover in the communication rhetoric of contemporary society. Furthermore, temporary exhibition models can also be expressed in dazzling experiences of cultural innovation, leaving permanent displays with the more accustomed role of keeping continuity with historical portrayals and settings. his can be considered a strategy for the renewal of the representational assets of museums. he overall aim of this investigation was to detect how, and whether, European museums in their diverse range of interests are reacting to the topics and issues of our “age of migrations” and to the changing conditions of production and fruition of culture, memory and identity. As Appadurai already noted almost twenty years ago, it is increasingly evident xiv — European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) that globalisation is not the story of cultural homogenisation, and that contemporaneity is more and more characterised by a high degree of cultural encounters and cross-fertilisations. We are in agreement with the philosopher Wolfgang Welsch that the traditional description of cultures based on the ideas of ‘inner homogenisation’ and ‘outer separation’ is nowadays both descriptively and, in terms of legislation, inappropriate. Our analysis of new exhibition spaces and arrangements in museums of national and local relevance (a distinction which currently proves to be very blurred and perhaps to be overlooked), seems to suggest that the rise and the inclusion of new stances and approaches toward the role of museums and the narratives it puts on display are starting to foster not only a revision of the curatorial practices of museums and approaches but also of those consolidated exhibition design practices and museum organisation that relected a premise of objectivity and reality and a traditional conception of identity as unique, homogeneous, and geo-politically deined, that is today brought into question by the shifting nature of contemporary cultural conditions in our contemporary “age of migrations.” LBP, FL, GP Volume 3 European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) — 531 530 — European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) Table of Contents, Volume 3 765 7bO–he 7 Billion Others Project Interview with Galitt Kenan 771 “Fetish Modernity,” Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgium Interview with Anna Seiderer 777 MEN-Musée d’Ethnographie de Neuchâtel Interview with Marc-Olivier Gonseth viii Introduction Case Studies “7 billion Others Project” 533 Local Museums “Fare gli Italiani 1861–2011” 535 Local Museums as Strategic Cultural Forces for 21st Century Society “Fetish Modernity” Elena Montanari “Helvetia Park” Local Museums of the Future “Destination X” Hugues de Varine “Figures de l’artiice” 575 Case Studies Écomusée du Val de Bièvre, Fresnes, France Musée Dauphinois, Grenoble, France Fondazione Museo Storico del Trentino, Trento, Italy Museo Storico della Resistenza di Sant’Anna di Stazzema, Italy Knowledge Centre of the Castle of Sagunto, Spain 637 War Museums 639 Narratives of Conlicts: Architecture and Representation in European War Museums Luca Basso Peressut 739 Temporary Exhibitions 741 Forms of Collecting/Forms of Hearing Marco Borsotti 759 Exhibiting History Studio Azzurro, Paolo Rosa 823 Index of Authors and Editors, Volume 3 590 — European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) — 591 Écomusée du Val de Bièvre Val de Bievre Ecomuseum, Fresnes, Paris, France he Écomusée du Val de Bièvre is an urban ecomuseum, articulating its mission around the main issues concerning the community inhabiting the southern area of the Île-de-France region. By positioning such topics as urbanisation, work, immigration, the status of women, citizenship and identity at the core of the notion of heritage, the institution operates as an active instrument at the service of the population, on the one hand preserving collective memory, on the other, triggering critical debates about social problems, promoting awareness and a sense of belonging, and fostering inter-cultural dialogue. img. 6.31 — Écomusée du Val de Bièvre, Fresnes, France. A glimpse on the exhibition “Pieds Noirs ici et la tête ailleurs,” 2012. Courtesy of Écomusée du Val de Bièvre. he foundation of this ecomuseum participates in the original evolutionary process airming the deinition of this special institution at the end of the 1970s, along with the enhancement of the Nouvelle Muséologie theoretical framework. he idea of establishing an ecomuseum in Fresnes originated in 1976, through the development of a public debate on the preservation of an ancient farm, the Ferme de Cottinville, and beneited from the enthusiastic contribution of George Henri Rivière and Françoise Wasserman, who sustained the creation of a museum operating as a centre for cultural promotion, networking with existing institutions. hough the restoration of the farm was completed in 1984, the research and display activities oicially started in 1979 through the construction of active relationships with the community, the development of new investigation and collection practices focused on the local material and immaterial heritage, and the inauguration of the irst exhibitions, that took place in the municipal polyvalent room. hese initiatives were enhanced when the ecomuseum moved into the Ferme de Cottinville. his ancient farm, which from the 12th to 16th century was the residence of a noble family, is part of Fresnes’ historical architectural heritage. It is an articulated struc- ture composed of diferent buildings surrounding a central courtyard, which evolved over the centuries. Today, the Écomusée du Val de Bièvre shares its location with a national school of music, the Regional Conservatory, and the local theatre, the Grange Dimière; this spatial cohabitation is representative of the cooperative approach which characterises the ecomuseum, fostering and beneiting from the network with several local cultural institutions. Originally, the ecomuseum was dedicated to the promotion and development of the municipal territory, and was thereafter known as Écomusée de Fresnes. he focus of its theoretical and operational activities was mainly directed towards the rural past of the area and its historical heritage, illustrated through temporary events and a permanent display, aimed at presenting the development of the city and the Ferme de Cottinville. At the end of the 1990s, the ecomuseum underwent several profound transformations. In 1999 the territory was included in the Communauté d’Agglomération de Val de Bièvre, thus in 2006 the institution re-deined its relationship with the area at an inter-municipal level, extending its research and exhibition practices to an expanded cultural perimeter (including seven municipalities), as relected in the change of the name to Écomusée du Val de Bièvre. his transformation also led to the removal of the original permanent display about the history of Fresnes (2009) and the evolution of this space for the presentation of exhibitions arising from the participative workshops. As highlighted by its recognised position within the main national networks—Fédération des Écomusées et Musées de Société, Association Muséologie et Experimentations Sociales, Les Neufs de Transilie—over the last twenty years, 592 — European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) — 593 img. 6.32 — The courtyard of the Ferme de Cottinville, 2006. Courtesy of Écomusée du Val de Bièvre. img. 6.35 — Educative activities in the resource centre, 2005. Courtesy of Écomusée du Val de Bièvre. img. 6.33 — Axonometric sketch of the Ferme de Cottinville, 1999. Courtesy of Écomusée du Val de Bièvre. img. 6.36 — Set up of the participative exhibition “Les Jeunes s’exposent,” 2012. Courtesy of Écomusée du Val de Bièvre. img. 6.34 — Information panels at the entrance of the Ferme de Cottinville, 2012. Courtesy of Écomusée du Val de Bièvre. img. 6.37 — Exhibition of the outcomes of the Atelier de l’Imaginaire “L’ordre des choses,” 2012. Courtesy of Écomusée du Val de Bièvre. 594 — European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) the Écomusée du Val de Bièvre has conirmed its role as a preeminent social agent, mirroring contemporary urban society, relecting with the local population on its own future, as well as communicating through its collective memory. æ an inclusive instrument serving the community Within the typological ecomuseum context, the Écomusée du Val de Bièvre stands out as a unique institution, which has been strengthening its position as an active social and cultural instrument at the service of the community, through an innovative and ambitious programme of temporary exhibitions, participative activities triggering an inclusive representation of the local identity, and research and collecting practices focused on contemporary heritage. Its distinctive features irst draw on the particular nature of the ecomuseum institution, conceived by George Henri Rivière as “a mirror in which the local population views itself to discover its own image,” this is, a progressive tool of knowledge and auto-analysis. A more speciic characterisation of the institution ensues from its peculiar focus—as stated by Hugues de Varine, some ecomuseums centre their mission on natural heritage, while some others relate their programme to a socio-cultural mission—and context, bearing the reading of urban and border areas as epicentres for the enhancement of particularly committed institutions, actively reacting to the phenomena related to this “age of migrations.” he suburban territory of the Communauté d’Agglomération de Val de Bièvre could be described as a geographical and cultural frontier lying in-between the city and the country, on the one hand straining towards metropolitan dynamics, on the other clinging to its rural past and decentralised position. he Department, venue of the main prison in France (Fresnes), is characterised by a lively and diversiied economic structure and a heterogeneous demographic frame (including 12% immigrants, according to INSEE). In this socio-cultural context, the Écomusée du Val de Bièvre presents itself as a tool aimed at investigating, displaying and promoting the topics and people which usually remain unmentioned and excluded. his task is enhanced through the choice of the themes explored and exhibited—the initiatives promoted have dealt, for example, with the condition of workers throughout the economic crisis, “Quand le travail ne paie plus” (2008), or the discrimination against “people of nomadic origin,” “Insaisissables Voyageurs: Tsiganes” (2000). he institution was also one of the irst museums in France to deal with the topic of immigration, showing “Rassemblance: un siècle d’immigration en Île-de-France” (1993), or “Paroles de femmes tunisiennes” (1998)—as well as through the involvement of the community in all phases of the ecomuseum’s work. he participation of the population is encouraged and supported at diferent levels and via a variety of strategies. For example, the adoption of a programme based entirely on temporary activities not only its the contemporary nature of the socio-cultural heritage presented—which is probably not possible to ix into a permanent display because of its multifaceted and evolving character—but also feeds the interest of the people through the constant renovation of the activities proposed, stimulates the participation of diferent types of public, reinforces the role of the ecomuseum as a place for cultural encounter, and provides opportunities to enhance the active cooperation of the members of the community as actors of the museum. he Écomusée du Val de Bièvre is the promoter of special participative activities, speciically conceived to foster the contribution of the population to the cultural production. In particular, these experiences include two types of practice which produce short-term exhibitions displayed in their own dedicated space, the original stable (previously occupied by the permanent exhibition). Firstly, since 2006, the institution has been organising annual “Ateliers de l’Imaginaire,” plastic art workshops dedicated to the exploration of local heritage, identity and citizenship through experimenta- European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) — 595 tion in artistic practices. Each year, from October to June, four school classes and a group of ifteen adults are guided by the ecomuseum staf and a special educator, a plastic photographer, through an interactive programme aimed at increasing acknowledgment, awareness and sense of belonging to the territory through the reading of a transversal theme, by analysing its features, documenting its elements, thus producing a personal interpretation. he inal outcomes are presented in two/three-month exhibitions—e.g. “Témoins de l’éphémère” (2007), “Secondes peux secondes vues” (2010), “Lieux d’écrits, lieux décrits” (2010), “Territoires, à la limite” (2011) and “L’ordre des choses” (2012). Secondly, the ecomuseum promotes participative exhibitions organised in cooperation with local art centres, socio-cultural associations and the Fresnes prison. he partnerships with these institutions, operating as fundamental mediators fostering the relationship between the museum and the population, are crucial strategies to involve a wider public and, above all, diferent demographic categories (e.g. young people and immigrants), who become the main contributors in the deinition of special activities focused on the themes that concern the community or a particular group, in the production of the narration, in the creation of the display, and therefore in the promotion of a critical debate about contemporary issues—e.g. “Lieux et histoires de vie” (2010–11), “Des jeunes s’exposent” (2012). A further form of participation supported by the Écomusée du Val de Bièvre concerns the collection strategies. Beside traditional conservation activities—objects, photographs, cards, journals, videos and interviews, organised into four speciic areas (Communication, Transmission, Life and Social Actions, Architecture and Urbanism), document the local history, the material culture related to its rural and artisanal past, but also such topics as the physical development of the suburban area, sociological evolution and the immigration lows—in 2000, the institution started to include testimonies narrating the recent history of the territory through the direct contribution of the community. his strategy was inaugurated by the exhibition “Vos objets au musée racontent Fresnes,” which attempted to reconstruct local memory by presenting objects lent by the population. he initiative triggered the development of a new collection methodology, based mainly on the donation of representative objects, each one documented with a description of its history, social value, technical use and anthropological meaning. his information is always accompanied by the personal story of the donor, recorded in interviews and images illustrating its original (physical and cultural) context. hrough the direct combination of material and immaterial culture, as well as personal and collective memories, this “biographical approach” to the collection contributes to a complex representation of the local identity. By including several pieces from people’s houses, this heritage ofers an interesting overview of the efects of political, economic and cultural phenomena—e.g. the consequences of globalisation on the material culture—and, potentially, the multicultural evolution of the community. hese practices trigger signiicant questions related to identity—for example, should a Maghrebi immigrant donate an object from his country or one produced in Fresnes? Identity, citizenship and controversial societal issues are often the core of the major events promoted by the Écomusée du Val de Bièvre, the long term exhibitions aimed at presenting the territory, its heritage, the pivotal events and the socio-cultural issues. hese representations are developed through signiicant depictions— arising from the words and images produced by the community e.g. “Parle ma banlieue. Le Val de Bièvre vu par ses habitants” (2007–08), or from representative artistic expressions e.g. “Doisneau en Val de Bièvre” (2011)—or through the reading of relevant transversal phenomena (ranging, for example, from sociocultural conditions and work issues to urban transformations), mainly observed from a contemporary critical point of view. Even when they explore historical events or topics, the presentations always include an overview about their efects on the current situation—e.g. the integration of French citizens from Algeria, 596 — European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) img. 6.38 — The exhibition “Vos objets au musée racontent Fresnes,” 2001. Courtesy of Écomusée du Val de Bièvre. img. 6.39 — The exhibition “Pieds Noirs ici et la tête ailleurs,” 2012. Courtesy of Écomusée du Val de Bièvre. European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) — 597 “Pieds Noirs ici et la tête ailleurs” (2012). hese exhibitions are displayed in modest but evocative settings, which enhance their communicative power through the combination of diverse means—the display of objects and documents, providing evidence and scientiic documentation, the support of audiovisual devices (though any ICT tool may be included), the setting of evocative scenographic projects, achieved using simple techniques and exploiting the symbolic representations conceived by a designer, immersing the visitor into a personal exploration (rather than guiding him/her through a ixed documentary path). he narrations are usually accompanied by the interviews of selected members of the community, prepared in cooperation with specialists such as ethnologists, sociologists and economists. he intensive use of the population’s actual words, reporting experiences and opinions, permits a reading of the topic with plural voices. hrough the paradigmatic modulation of cultural actions and participative practices, this institution fulils the ecomuseum mission as an instrument for the promotion of information and self-awareness, and allows a pluralistic presentation of the territory and of the local heritage. Elena Montanari æ references Delarge, Alexandre. 2001. “Participation: A Community Regulates its own Heritage.” ICOM News (1): 8. ———. 2004. “La participation, pierre angulaire et moteur des écomusées.” Musées & collections publiques de France 243 (3): 26–28. ———. 2009. “Entretien avec Alexandre Delarge, Engagement et participation de l’Ecomusée du Val de Bièvre.” Expologie, accessed November 5th, 2012. http://ddata.overblog.com/xxxyyy/2/26/81/51/Entretien-avecAlexandre-Delarge.pdf. Delgado, Coral. 2001. “he Ecomuseum In Fresnes: Against Exclusion.” Museum International 53 (1): 37–41. De Varine, Hugues. 2002. Les racines du futur: le patrimoine au service du développement local. Chalon sur Saône: ASDIC. Rivière, George Henry. 1985. “he Ecomuseum: An Evolutive Deinition.” Museum 37 (4): 182–183. Rivière, George Henry. 1989. Déinition évolutive de l’écomusée. In La muséologie selon Georges-Henri Rivière, 142. Paris: Dunod. Index of Authors and Editors European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) — 823 Index of Authors and Editors, Volume 3 Luca Basso Peressut Luca Basso Peressut, Architect, PhD in Architectural Composition (IUAV, Istituto Universitario di Architettura, Venezia), is Full Professor of Interior Architecture, Exhibition Design and Museography at the Politecnico di Milano, and coordinator of the PhD in “Architecture of Interiors.” He is co-founder and director of the Level II Master course “IDEA in Exhibition Design.” He is Director of the International Workshop of Museography and Archaeology “Villa Adriana-Premio Piranesi” held in Tivoli and Rome since 2003. He is member of the Scientiic Committee for the National Conference of Interiors 2005, 2007 and 2010, and member of the Scientiic Board and co-organizer of the international conferences IFW-Interiors Forum World. He is member of the Scientiic Board of Museography of Ediir Publisher and consultant for the architectural magazine Area since 1997. He has carried out several researches and projects in the museums ield. Francesca Lanz Francesca Lanz holds a PhD in Interior Architecture and Exhibition Design and a MS in Architecture. Since 2006 she has been collaborating to several research projects and teaching activities, teaming up with diferent departments of the Politecnico di Milano. Since 2009 she teaches interior design at the School of Ar- chitecture and Society of Politecnico di Milano and collaborates as post-doc researcher with the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies. She’s currently involved in the EU-funded project “MeLa,” serving as Assistant Project Coordinator, Dissemination Manager and appointed researcher. Gennaro Postiglione Gennaro Postiglione is Associate Professor of Interior Architecture at the Politecnico di Milano. Researches focus mainly on domestic interiors (questioning relations among culture of dwelling, domestic architecture and modernity), on museography and on preserving and difusing collective memory and cultural identity (connecting the museographic issues with the domestic ambit). In this ield he carried out several research projects amongst wich: “he Atlantic Wall Linear Museum,” “Abarchive – archivio borghi abbandonati,” “One-hundred houses for one-hundred architects of the XX century.” Besides, he has a speciic interest in the architecture of Nordic countries. From 2004, he is promoter of PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE @ POLIMI, an interdisciplinary research & operative group that puts the resources of Architecture in the service of the Public Interest and from 2006 is promoter of IFW-Interior Forum World, an academic network and a web platform for research edited by the PhD in Interiors at POLIMI. 824 — European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol. 3) Michela Bassanelli Michela Bassanelli is Ph.D. Candidate in Interior Architecture and Exhibition Design at Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DAStU), Politecnico di Milano. She graduated in Architecture from Politecnico di Milano in 2010, she currently collaborates with diferent research project at the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies and is developing her PhD thesis on war archaeologies, diicult heritage and the musealization of memory. Marco Borsotti Marco Borsotti, is architect, Ph.D., and Assistant Professor of Interior Architecture at Politecnico di Milano, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DAStU). His main research topics are interior design and exhibition design for valorisation of the cultural heritage: in these speciic ield he has national and international experiences. Articles, essays and projects have been published by specialized review. He is Frate Sole Foundation–International Sacred and European Architecture Award guest referee and Editorial staf board member of Italian architectural and arts review Anione e Zeto. Carolina Martinelli She is architect and Ph.D. candidate in Interior Architecture and Exhibition Design at the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DAStU) of Politecnico di Milano. Her research investigates the role of contemporary museography in the preservation, arrangement, enhancement, communication and management of the archaeological heritage. She graduated in architecture from Politecnico di Milano and, in 2009, she received a diploma of Master in “Architecture, Archaeology and Exhibition” at the Accademia Adrianea di Architettura e Archeologia. Since 2008 she has worked as an assistant to the courses of Interior Architecture and Museum Design and, since 2011, she has participated as a tutor at the International Seminar of “Villa Adriana Premio Piranesi Prix de Rome.” She is also contributing to the research project Prin 2008, “he Archaeological Musealization: Multidisciplinary Intervention in Archaeological Sites for the Conservation, Communication and Culture.” Elena Montanari Elena Montanari is architect and Ph.D. in Interior Architecture and Exhibition Design. She graduated from Politecnico di Milano, where she is currently Temporary Professor of Interior Design at the School of Architecture and Society, and Research Fellow at the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DAStU). Since 2005, she has been collaborating to didactic activities and contributing to various national and international research projects, developing a versatile, multi-scaled and interdisciplinary approach to the investigation of diferent ields. MeLa* - European Museums in an age of migrations Research Fields: RF01: Museums & Identity in History and Contemporaneity examines the historical and contemporary relationships between museums, places and identities in Europe and the efects of migrations on museum practices. RF02: Cultural Memory, Migrating Modernity and Museum Practices transforms the question of memory into an unfolding cultural and historical problematic, in order to promote new critical and practical perspectives. RF03: Network of Museums, Libraries and Public Cultural Institutions investigates coordination strategies between museums, libraries and public cultural institutions in relation to European cultural and scientiic heritage, migration and integration. RF04: Curatorial and Artistic Research explores the work of artists and curators on and with issues of migration, as well as the role of museums and galleries exhibiting this work and disseminating knowledge. RF05: Exhibition Design, Technology of Representation and Experimental Actions investigates and experiments innovative communication tools, ICT potentialities, user centred approaches, and the role of architecture and design for the contemporary museum. RF06: Envisioning 21st Century Museums fosters theoretical, methodological and operative contributions to the interpretation of diversities and commonalities within European cultural heritage, and proposes enhanced practices for the mission and design of museums in the contemporary multicultural society. Partners and principal investigators: Luca Basso Peressut (Project Coordinator), Gennaro Postiglione, Politecnico di Milano, Italy Marco Sacco, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Italy Bartomeu Mari, MACBA - Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Spain Fabienne Galangau, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, France Ruth Noack, he Royal College of Art, United Kingdom Perla Innocenti, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom Jamie Allen, Jacob Back, Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design, Denmark Christopher Whitehead, Rhiannon Mason, Newcastle University, United Kingdom Iain Chambers, l’Orientale, University of Naples, Italy European Museums in the 21st Century: setting the framework (vol 3) Published by Politecnico di Milano © February 2013, The Authors