More Than Meets the Eye: Pluri-perspective Dialogues and ‘Seeing’ in Museum Spaces

• In Event: Advances in Learning Environments Research

Abstract

Historically, museums have served as authoritative institutions, guiding visitors toward singular, sanctioned ways of seeing and interpreting art and cultural artifacts. This conventional approach frequently marginalized diverse social groups whose perspectives were overlooked or excluded from institutional narratives, thereby limiting cultural understanding and interpretive richness. However, contemporary shifts have repositioned museums as dynamic spaces of cultural exchange and dialogue. Inspired by a vision of museums as ‘cultural contact zones’, this interdisciplinary study aims to explore how brief but meaningful artistic encounters in museum spaces can significantly influence civic ‘seeing’ and creative agency. Specifically, this study examines interactions between actors, audiences, affordances, and actions aiming to explore what facilitates meaningful multimodal dialogues within museum spaces.

Author

• Agni Stylianou-Georgiou, University of Nicosia