Quand le musée de société donne du pouvoir : enjeux de la construction participative d’expositions au Mucem

Participatory practices are a particularly important and often utilized tool in museums of society: dealing with contemporary issues, they bear responsibility for their representation of society in its entirety, in all of its diversity and complexity. Indeed, it is presumed that participation, in all of its forms and to varying degrees, is the most adaptable and positive way to successfully reach inclusion. This article proposes an exploration of the issues at stake in the inclusion of representatives of society at large in museum projects, and particularly those at Mucem. The central questions are as follow: what is the benefit of giving a voice, and thus power, to local communities? For whom? What are the pitfalls of designing participatory exhibitions with museum non-specialists?