Musei, territori, comunità interpretative: le nuove sfide della partecipazione/Museums, territories, interpretative communities: the new challenges of participation

The following article focuses on the challenges of cultural participation within the context defined by the Covid-19 pandemic. While a background noise characterized by a sort of forced, compulsive digital interaction has been accompanying the months of lockdown, making many express a renewed optimism towards the massive interest in heritage as a form of resistance, the impoverishment of the sector is casting new light on the possibilities of its agency and social impact in the next future. Still, in confused times it is paramount to isolate a few sustainable and innovative practices and to observe them throughout time, much as in a scientific lab. The article concentrates on two issues pertaining to the umbrella-concept of “participation”, and articulates each of them through a selection of recent case-studies from within the museum field: the role and agency of museums as mirrors in times of crisis and their capability of a “rapid response”, and heritage interpretation communities as a means for strengthening the social and cultural tissue through an intergenerational approach. While the focus is on the Italian context, a few international experiences are also described as potential sources of inspiration in terms of strategy and methodology.