Museion is a project dedicated to cultural education: the formation of theory and the study of practice. It focuses in particular on the issue of memory and tradition, the impact of art on younger generations, the confrontation of different cultural models.
The name refers to the Greek tradition, and its etymology recalls the reference inscribed in the word museion to the Muses, guardians of all arts and crafts, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. It reminds us that the relationship mediated by memory between the individual and the collective constitutes the basis of thinking about culture and education. The term is worth reclaiming nowadays, as it unifies reflection on the cultural, scientific and educational activities of various institutions. In the project, it is used metaphorically. It is not used to indicate a specific place, but to name the common space in which cultural education is carried out by museums and schools. At the same time, cultural education is considered not only in the relationship present – past, but also present – future, as learning about the tradition and heritage of past times intends to help understand the present and go beyond hic et nunc.
The subjects of research include the concepts of the new museology, permanent and temporary exhibitions that implement the ideas of the narrative and participatory museum – and their possible influence on school didactics. On the one hand, new approaches to cultural heritage are explored, which is not conceived as a transmission of a closed message, but as a legacy given to successive generations to be explored. On the other hand, the use of multimodal transmission, including the role of sensory experiences in the formation of collective memory and collective imagination, as well as ways of influencing the reception attitude and behaviour of young people are of interest.
The postulate of a metamorphosis in thinking about cultural education at school and the identification of concrete, practical solutions lies at the heart of the conducted research. The project continues the ideas inscribed in the collective publication Contemporary Museion. Cultural education from the perspective of the university, museum, school, which was published in 2019, edited by Anna Pilch and Marta Rusek.