Capacity-Building Workshop in Rome: Exploring Participatory Practices and Decolonial Dialogues

On October 24 and 25, 2024, the first Capacity-Building Workshop of the Contested Desires: Constructive Dialogues project took place at the Museo delle Civiltà in Rome.

Over two days, project partners, artists, members of the ethics committee, evaluators, and invited experts came together to reflect, exchange ideas, and explore participatory methodologies through both theory and practice.

The workshop featured valuable contributions from Anna Chiara Cimoli, Cecilia Guida, Angelica Pesarini, and Kwanza Musi Do Santos, whose insights inspired deep reflection and critical discussion. Nontantoprecisi and Andreas Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos further enriched the sessions with performative experiments and explorations of how bodies and space interact with heritage and cultural participation.

The event concluded with a public conference, where project participants shared their research and experiences. Suzanne MacLeod, Richard Sandell, Sarah Plumb, and Katy Bunning from the Research Centre for Museums and Galleries at the University of Leicester presented the project’s background research, highlighting arts-led and arts-centred decolonising practices related to collections.

Additionally, Paula Solimano from the Museum of Memory and Human Rights (Santiago, Chile) and Maria Elena Colombo from the Museo Egizio (Turin, Italy) offered powerful insights into how their institutions are fostering community participation and engagement.

Contested Desires: Constructive Dialogues is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union and implemented in partnership with: D6:EU, Xarkis, La Bonne – Centre de Cultura de Dones Francesca Bonnemaison, Herengracht401, Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência, Museo delle Civiltà, Pro Progressione, BJCEM – Association Biennale des Jeunes Créateurs de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, Museo Egizio (Turin), Creative Court, and La Fabrique Art Studio.

Associated Partners: D6: Culture in Transit, Larnaka 2030 – European Capital of Culture Candidate City, Cyprus University of Technology, Fondazione Scuola dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali, Casa Árabe.

In collaboration with: Nubuke Foundation, Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos, and the Research Centre for Museums and Galleries – University of Leicester.