Reframing museum-based research: Exploring participatory practices
In this second panel of our series, we move beyond museum-university partnerships to explore community-based, participatory research practices which reconsider the kinds of knowledge and experiences that museums prioritise.
Participatory approaches in museums have taken many forms, including co-creating exhibitions, co-curating public programs, and conducting community-based research.
While co-creation and co-curation have received considerable attention, less focus has been placed on understanding the knowledge generated through participatory research. How does this knowledge connect to more institutionalised research practice? How can experimental and open-ended methods of inquiry be integrated into museum structures?
Participatory research challenges traditional notions of knowledge creation by involving a diverse range of collaborators – people with lived experience, academics, curators, museum professionals, and artists. This approach prompts critical reflection on what qualifies as "research" and who has the authority to participate in it.
Yet, it also exposes underlying tensions and power dynamics. Who determines the research agenda? Whose voices are amplified, and whose are overlooked? How can museums ensure that participatory research is authentic and not merely tokenistic?
The inclusion of diverse stakeholders enriches research by introducing multiple perspectives, but it can also lead to conflicting priorities and friction. These challenges, however, create space for interdisciplinary approaches essential to understanding museum collections and addressing complex issues. Participatory research demands flexibility, negotiation, and an intentional effort to address power imbalances.
As museums embrace more inclusive, anti-racist, and outward-facing practices, practical questions emerge about the benefits and responsibilities of participatory research. Increasing scrutiny on museums’ responses to political and cultural issues often brings high expectations for rapid, meaningful action.
Can museum research genuinely serve communities? Who benefits most – museums, academics, or the communities themselves? What does equitable collaboration with communities look like?
This event will delve into these critical questions, emphasising the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to reimagine the role of research in museums. It will also consider how funding structures, institutional priorities and academic frameworks shape participatory research and explore ways to build more ethical, sustainable and impactful collaborations.
About the panel
Dr Aleema Gray is a Jamaican-born curator, researcher and public historian based in London. She was awarded the Yesu Persaud Scholarship for her PhD entitled 'Bun Babylon; A Community-engaged History of Rastafari in Britain'. Aleema’s work focuses on documenting Black history in Britain through the perspective of lived experiences. Her practice is driven by a concern for more historically contingent ways of understanding the present, especially in relation to notions of belonging, memory, and contested heritage. She is the Lead Curator for 'Beyond the Bassline: 500 years of Black British Music' at the British Library and the founder of HOUSE OF DREAD, an anti-disciplinary heritage studio.
Dr Claire Jerry is a curator in the Division of Political History at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History where she specialises in political rhetoric, the material culture of 20th- and 21st-century campaigning, and the history of the presidency. She has curatorial responsibility for the exhibit The American Presidency, was team lead for the 2020 digital campaign #votehistory, and plays a central role in the museum’s contemporary collecting of presidential and campaign material culture. She has also served as chief curator at two college museums and as Guest Curator at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum.
Debbie Watson is Professor of Child and Family Welfare at the University of Bristol and academic Director of the Brigstow Institute. The Institute fosters radical interdisciplinary research across and beyond the university through co-produced and creative research practices. Since establishing in 2016, the Institute has funded over 250 new research collaborations of which most involve an artist and engage with diverse community groups. The Institute works directly with the university’s cultural collections supporting participatory archival research and has supported four innovative projects working with the Welfare State International collection held at the university.
Dr Domenico Sergi is a working-class scholar and curator. He is Senior Research Lead at the London Museum, responsible for establishing a new research centre focused on inclusive research practice. Previously, he was senior curator for the museum’s contemporary collecting programme and curator and CE oordinator at the Horniman Museum and Gardens. His interdisciplinary practice examines the social justice role of museums and the transformative impact of collaborative research and curatorial engagement with minoritised communities. Domenico has published on refugee studies, museum anthropology, and contemporary museum practice.
