Authenticity and interpretation for the personal appropriation of heritage in museums

Abstract

The paper discusses the theoretical approach to accessibility and transition to the broader topic of inclusion, specifically referring to museums. The paper stresses the knowledge of audiences to include all of them and overcome the "dedicated" mediation tools and activities, aiming at (re)conquering disaffected and unused publics, and identifies some misunderstandings ("cultural accessibility" and "person with difficulties"). Constraints and opportunities in access to cultural content and communication are underlined: Authenticity and interpretation (message and messages, mistakenly considered as elaborations of the same content adapted to the target); interpretation as a hermeneutic circle involving different combinations of sender-receiver-context; Importance of the spatial context of communication as the first interpretative/mediation element; Process of accessibility to cultural contents (importance of the physical, social and economic context; role of cognitive processes; importance of the individual's cultural background; emotional involvement; references to recent neurophysiological research led by the authors). Authors intend Cultural accessibility as a self-appropriation process, both intellectual and emotional: exquisitely individual but closely interconnected with relations processes. Cultural appropriation intended in this way has nothing to do with a process of a political and social claim but, rather, it should be the ultimate goal of any action related to heritage communication. Finally, the paper highlights possible perspectives that require: dedicated professional paths; updated composition of the staff (the figure of architects-museographers as a permanent presence, since communication cannot be separated from the space in which it takes place); new good practices.