Collaboration and Co-Creation in Museums, Heritage, and the Arts

Collaboration and Co-Creation in Museums, Heritage, and the Arts examines collaborative practices in museums, heritage and the arts. It offers an interdisciplinary approach combining both practical and theoretical perspectives from leading scholars and practitioners to better understand and support co-creation and collaboration in the cultural sector.

The volume is divided into five parts, offering contemporary perspectives on core topics and their interconnections. Themes include the politics of engagement, sharing and recentring authority, decolonising research and practice, facilitating partnerships, and structuring cocreation, and community empowerment. Through global case studies and theoretical analyses, contributors explore the challenges and opportunities of collaborative practices, exploring intersecting dynamics, motivations and constraints. The book examines various scales of co-creation, from interpersonal dynamics to community contexts and institutional transformations. The work contributes to ongoing discussions about the future of cultural institutions and the role of culture work in fostering perspectives and practices informed by diverse perspectives and generating multiple values. It emphasizes co-production as a crucial capability for the sector moving forward.

Collaboration and Co-Creation in Museums, Heritage, and the Arts is essential for students, academics, communities and cultural practitioners interested in the complexities and rewards of collaborative work. It offers valuable insights into the theories and practices that shape collaborative projects across different cultural contexts and disciplines, making it an indispensable guide for anyone engaged in or studying the cultural sector.

Anna Edmundson is Curator, Public Programs, Access & Engagement at the National Archives of Australia (NAA) and an Honorary Lecturer in the Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies at the Australian National University (ANU).

Maya Haviland is Translational Fellow and Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies in the College of Arts and Social Sciences at the ANU.