2081-4488 Museums change lives. The role of museums in the creation of the democratic public sphere Nieroba Elżbieta author Institute of Sociology University of Opole Correspondence to: Elżbieta Nieroba enieroba@uni.opole.pl 08 11 2018 Nr 2 (168) 2018 (XLIV) 229 238 Copyright © 2018 2018 <p>My aim is to present the museum as an element of the public sphere as well as to present its opportunities and limitations in generating a public debate concerning migration. The problem of migration and multiculturalism is so important in the current social context that, despite its difficult political connotations, it cannot be omitted by museums, especially if we consider museums as an element of a public sphere.</p> <p>The concept of New Museology became a symbol of challenges which contemporary museums are facing. Adopting assumptions of the New Museology in the practice of museums is a visible marker of a public character of museums and it does not let them distance themselves from the politics. Museums are understood as public institutions which can include democratic principles and relations in their actions. In my opinion the museum can assure the space for inclusive forms of citizens’ activity, and the sheer co-participation in cultural practices supports democratic ideas. Museums have plenty of tools supporting the development of a dialogue between cultures, cultural and social integration, creating the atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding of different worldviews. Such actions can be an effective tool in the fight with the exclusion of certain communities from the possibility of taking part in benefits and resources offered by the society – in the cultural, economic, social and political dimensions. In this article I explore how everyday activity of the museum can support the civic culture in six different dimensions: knowledge, values, trust, space, practices and identity.</p> 1 Barrett J. (2011): Museum and the Public Sphere, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. 2 Better Together. The Report of the Saguaro Seminar Better Together. The Report of the Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement In America (2000), Cambridge: Harvard University. 3 Bourdieu P., Darbel A., Schnapper D. (1991), The Love of Art. European Art Museums and Their Public, Oxford: Polity Press. 4 Cimoli A.C (2013), Migration Museums in Europe. Narratives and their Visual Translations, in: Peressut L.B., Lanz F., Postiglione G. (eds), European Museums in the 21st Century: Setting the Framework, vol. 2, Milano: Politecnico di Milano. 5 Dahlgren P., Hermes J. (2015), The Democratic Horizons of the Museum. Citizenship and Culture, in: Witcomb A., Message K. (eds.), The International Handbooks of Museum Studies: Museum Theory, New York: John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd. Published. 6 Duncan C. (2006), Civilizing Rituals. Inside Public Art Museum, London–New York: Routledge. 7 Duncan C., Wallach A. (1980), The Universal Survey Museum, “Art History”, vol. 3, No 4. 8 Fraser N. (1992), Rethinking the Public Sphere: A Contribution to the Critique of Actually Existing Democracy, in: Calhoun C. (ed.), Habermas and Public Sphere, Cambridge: MIT Press. 9 Habermas J. (1993), The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society, Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. 10 Hooper-Greenhill E. (2003), Museum and the Shaping of Knowledge, London–New York: Taylor &amp; Francis e-Library. 11 Jenkins T. (2016), Politics Are on Exhibit at Migration Museums, Not History, “Foreign Policy Magazine”, October 2016, http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/10/19/can-curators-stop-marine-le-pen-migration-museums-europe/ [Accessed: 13.01.2017]. 12 Marstine J. (2011), The contingent nature of the museum ethics, in: Marstine J. (ed.), The Routledge Companion to Museum Ethics. Redefining Ethics for the Twenty-First-Century Museum, London, New York: Routledge. 13 Museum Change Lives, http://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-change-lives [Accessed: 13.01.2017]. 14 Museum Change Lives: Making Cardiff A Home, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT7rGjBEDck&amp;list=PLYOHZtySwPKS_sIDSSaCZ2HXD3J6vxbVq&amp;index=3 [Accessed: 13.01.2017]. 15 Oldenburg R. (1989), The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Community Centers, Beauty Parlors, General Stores, Bars, Hangouts, and How They Get You Through the Day, New York: Da Capo Press. 16 Oltermann P. (2016), Berlin museums’ refugee guides scheme fosters meeting of minds, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/27/berlin-museums-refugee-guides-scheme-fosters-meeting-of-minds [Accessed: 13.01.2017]. 17 Peressut L.B., Pozzi C. (2012), Introduction, in: Peressut L. B., Pozzi C. (eds.), Museums in an age of migrations. Questions, Challenges, Perspectives, Milano: Politecnico di Milano. 18 Putnam R.D. (2000), Bowling Alone. The Collapse and Revival of American Community, New York: Simon&amp;Schuster. 19 Sandell R. (2003), Museum and the combating of social inequality: roles, responsibilities, resistance, in: Sandell R. (ed.), Museums, Society, Inequality, London, New York: Routledge. 20 Santos P.A. dos (2008), Don’t we all have problems?, in: Voogt P. (ed.), Can we make a difference? Museums, society and development in North and South, Amsterdam: KIT Publishers. 21 The Ahlan Canada program, http://www.ahlancanada.ca/ [Accessed: 13.01.2017]. 22 Travelling with Art. A Learning Project for Refugee Children, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Chaydler L.A., Bodin E., Jørgensen L.R (eds.), Louisiana: Rosendhals, http://quickpaper.rosendahls.dk/louisiana/travelling_with_art/ [Accessed: 13.01.2017].