Muzeum aktywne, czyli słów kilka o społecznej odpowiedzialności instytucji muzealnych i innych wyzwaniach współczesności stojących przed nimi

Abstract

THE ACTIVE MUSEUM, OR A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF MUSEUM INSTITUTIONS AND OTHER CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES THEY FACE

The fundamental subject of the present paper is an attempt to situate the museum in the context of our contemporary world, and to propose a vision of its functioning and development based on its activity in space and public debate. The author has stressed the importance of education in the context of its goals, form, and scale, with particular emphasis on building a community around the museum by using participative tools. The question of the museum’s active participation in social life, its engagement in the debate about issues which are important for the community has also been raised. The paper depicts a vision of the museum which does not distance itself from current events, but, rather, systematically documents them, offering a commentary, and encouraging a public discussion about them. Finally, the author presents the proposition of the enterprising museum, both in the strictly economic terms, i.e. a museum that competes and cooperates with commercial entities on the leisure market, and in terms of organization and development. Therefore, the present paper is an elaboration of the vision of the modern museum, however, the term ‘modern’ does not refer to the use of stateof-the-art technologies, but to the forms of operation, i.e. a museum which is enterprising, involved in many different fields of activity, and engaged, one that is capable of acting as a partner for diverse communities.