Uncomfortable museum: towards safe, brave spaces
Main funder
Funds granted by main funder (€)
- 397 800,00
Project timetable
Project start date: 01/07/2023
Project end date: 30/06/2027
Summary
Uncomfortable museum studies the uncomfortable feelings provoked by attempts to deal with difficult societal topics. These uncomfortable emotions can range from anger, disgust, fear, shame, guilt and anxiety. Additionally, museum exhibitions can raise uncomfortable affective, embodied, hard-to-explain experiences. In the project, we engage these experiences through transformative pedagogy -- a form of learning designed to shake and challenge existing attitudes, thinking, and behavioural patterns. We approach uncomfortability hopefully. We build on feminist epistemologies and the so-called reparative turn, which seeks to stay open to unforeseen and unexpected breaks in norms, privileges, and power positions. By analysing ways to transform uncomfortable feelings into reparative action, the project opens a new frontier for the study of the societal impact of museums.
Principal Investigator
Other persons related to this project (JYU)
Primary responsible unit
Follow-up groups
Profiling area: School of Wellbeing (University of Jyväskylä JYU) JYU.Well
Related publications and other outputs
- Searching for brave spaces through decolonial heritage activism (2024) Turunen, Johanna; A3; 978-1-003-30098-4
- Uncomfortable Knowledges and Transformative Learning : Reimagining the Museum in the Art of Gustafsson&Haapoja (2024) Kosonen, Heidi; et al.; A1; OA
- Afrikka-näyttelyiden historiaa Gallen-Kallelan Museossa (2023) Turunen, Johanna; et al.; E1
- Epämukava, transformatiivinen ja rohkea museo? (2023) Viita-aho, Mari; et al.; B1; OA