TAKE PART – research network on cultural participation

TAKE PART is a network of researchers and professionals engaged in the investigation of contemporary forms of cultural participation. The ideal of turning citizens and users into “participants” currently play an important role in the arts, in cultural institutions and in society in general. In TAKE PART we investigate different forms of participation. We compare the various motivations, practices, outcomes and models of cultural participation. And we explore if and how cultural, social and political participation interact.
Our key questions are if and how
1) new (ideas of) communities are created in artistic and cultural participation
2) cultural participation is influenced by the dwindling political and institutional legitimacy of the welfare state
3) the cultural sphere functions as an arena in which participants have influence on issues affecting their everyday lives
4) we can examine the values and outcomes ​​of various forms of participation
In TAKE PART we advance the investigation of these issues by promoting exchange and collaboration between separated research environments and between theoretical and practice-oriented research. The network has around 80 members from seven universities and 25 cultural institutions.