Reframing Access: The Turn Toward Participation and Art-Mediation
Abstract
The study examines the transformation of institutional strategies for engaging audiences with art in the context of contemporary Slovak and Central European cultural policy. Active support for participation and audience building covers a comprehensive set of strategies and practices that transform passive viewers into active co-creators of the meaning of a work of art. In a broader context, we are talking about an “educational shift” that builds on the principle of “from viewer to participant”. The goal of this trend is not to improve the accessibility of information to the audience, but to comprehensively transform organizational structures in institutions so that they can create conditions that facilitate engagement, interaction, and co-creation. The study analyses how the Slovak National Gallery (SNG) has redefined its approach to accessibility and public engagement through contextual, constructivist, and participatory pedagogical frameworks. The analysis is based on publicly available SNG Annual Reports (Slovenská národná galéria, n.d.a). Drawing on examples such as the interactive exhibition Take P(art) / Prečo (ume)nie? event, the Meetup SNG programme (2024 – 2025), the outreach project In the Display Window, and the digital platform Web umenia, the article demonstrates how mediation practices have evolved from traditional educational functions toward inclusive and dialogical models of audience interaction. These developments are interpreted in relation to European and national cultural policy documents (e.g., Koncepcia rozvoja kultúry SR 2030, Creative Europe Programme, UNESCO Culture 2030 Indicators), which emphasise participation, accessibility, and the democratisation of culture as key priorities. The paper argues that art mediation in the Slovak context operates not merely as an educational tool but as a socio-cultural practice that bridges artistic production, institutional communication, and civic engagement.
Key words
Art. Art Mediation. Cultural Participation. Culture. Slovak National Gallery.
Slušná, Z. (2025). Reframing Access: The Turn Toward Participation and Art-Mediation. European Journal of Media, Art & Photography, 13(2), 122-129. https://doi.org/10.34135/ejmap-25-02-08
Reframing Access: The Turn Toward Participation and Art-Mediation © 2025 by Zuzana Slušná is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
