The Democracy of Beings is the second of two programmes, following an initial research phase (DM1) that ran from June 2015 to March 2017. You can find details of DM1 here.

In this period of accelerated change, there is an urgent need for professionalism, shared vocabulary and a coherent conceptual framework that makes sense of the many different approaches to audience engagement.

In Dancing Museums – The Democracy of Beings, individuals and arts organisations share, improve, develop and transfer skills and knowledge needed to broaden and deepen connections and relationships with audiences. 

The practice-led research group, composed of artists, dance organisations, museums and universities from seven countries, looks at how the presence of dance can offer new ways of experiencing art and heritage and help audiences and visitors engage both intellectually and viscerally with artworks. The knowledge and experience generated throughout the project will empower the organisations and artists involved with the skills needed to implement meaningful audience development projects beyond the duration of the project. 

These practices will be shared and documented in each location to build evidence and ensure consistency of data and anecdotal information. 

Coronavirus update:

These are extraordinary times and we recognise they are difficult for many, including our artistic community. Everyone involved in Dancing Museums is responding by focusing on what and how we can build differently. We have decided to use this time as a phase of experimentation. We are exploring how to find new ways of working together, how to continue our collective research and how to make certain events public. We are also working to make the next residency happen in June and will update the website as plans progress, so please do check back or follow us on social media for further information. In the meantime, stay safe.