The Kaleidoscope of Culture: expanding the museum experience and the museum narrative by inviting visitors into the curatorial process

Abstract

Traditional art museum exhibitions are planned according to art-historical elements. At Trapholt – a museum of modern Danish art, design and applied art in Denmark, we are interested in exploring what happens when ordinary visitors are invited to curate personal exhibitions in the museum space. This paper analyses the project The Kaleidoscope of Culture, where people with no art historical background were invited to curate exhibitions based on the Trapholt collection of art and their own cultural backgrounds and experiences. The main argument is that, by allowing these personal voices in the museum space, new museum narratives are established. But to make the museum a truly transformative space the art- historical knowledge and methods must also be activate.