On 17 and 18 March 2017, the third annual conference of the Maastricht Centre for Arts and Culture, Conservation and Heritage (MACCH) took place. The event, entitled ‘Participatory Practices in Arts and Heritage’, was attended by 150 international researchers and professionals from a diverse set of backgrounds, including academics, policy makers, legal and museum professionals.
The first day of the MACCH conference took place at the Jan van Eyck Academie and was opened by mister H. Teunissen . Regional Minister of the Province of Limburg, Spatial Planning and Education. The programme consisted of lectures and a roundtable discussion on the topic of ‘Digital Participations’. In her keynote speech, Prof. dr. Gabriella Giannachi (University of Exeter) presented a survey of the rise of the phenomenon of participation in a range of fields and disciplines, including the arts, sciences, politics and economics as well as touching upon the problematic nature of the term ´participation´. On the second day, the discussions and panel sessions were continued at the Bonnefantenmuseum. Lively debates continued during the day on topics varying from community art, to urban participation, and local heritage and the role and responsibilities of inhabitants, municipalities, and cultural institutions.
The conference brought together interesting insights and perspectives from a wide variety of professional and academic backgrounds, and offered a platform for discussion on the opportunities and complexities of participation in arts and heritage worlds.
The conference was organised in a collaboration between the Maastricht Centre for Arts and Culture, Conservation and Heritage (MACCH), the Jan van Eyck Academie, and the Research Centre for Arts, Autonomy and the Public Sphere, Zuyd University. The conference was subsidized by the University Fund Limburg.