On June 1, 2023, the Museum of Humor and Satire in Gabrovo hosted the first training on Community Curation in Bulgaria. The event was part of the project BGCULTURE-1.001-0039-C01 “The Address of Satire – Creating an Exhibition from the Fund of the Museum ‘House of Humor and Satire’ – Gabrovo and accompanying program on the role and boundaries of satire and its exhibition in renovated spaces in the Museum,” funded under Program RA14 “Cultural Entrepreneurship, Heritage, and Cooperation,” co-financed by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area 2014-2021.
The seminar was led by Rhys Evans and Johan Barstad, instructors at the Norwegian University for Green Development, Hogskulen for Grøn Utvikling Stiftelse, a partner of the Museum in the project.
The seminar marked the beginning of a series of training sessions (named See One, Do One, Teach One), prepared based on the methodology of the Norwegian University.
The focus of the training was to acquire skills for conducting the process of Community Curation.
Thirty participants joined the training, representing REMO “Etar,” the Natural History Museum “Cherni Osam,” HG “Hristo Tsokev,” RIM Gabrovo, the Interactive Museum of Industry – Gabrovo, the Youth Center – Gabrovo, external designers, curators, and part of the team at the Museum of Humor and Satire.
Community Curation is a process supported by the professional teams of museums and galleries, where, through mobilization, participation, and empowerment of specific communities, they bring forth and present their understandings of societal development through art and cultural heritage.
The training program included both theoretical and practical components, covering key topics such as:
- What is/are community/ies?
- Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) – a model for community development based on assets.
- Introduction to Participatory Action Research (PAR) – empowering participation.
- Community mapping.
- The Dugnad method – how to make a community meeting successful.
Working with communities is of great importance for any cultural institution. The rich experience of the Norwegian partners of the Museum will provide a solid foundation for transforming citizens from recipients of museum stories into creators of more diverse and community-inspired museum narratives.
Project № BGCULTURE-1.001-0039 “The Address of Satire – Creating an Exhibition from the Fund of the Museum House of Humor and Satire – Gabrovo and accompanying program on the role and boundaries of satire and its exhibition in renovated spaces in the Museum,” funded under Program RA14 “Cultural Entrepreneurship, Heritage, and Cooperation,” co-financed by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area 2014-2021.
