Paper short abstract:

Museum collections become a part of everyday life of museum visitors in their interpretations of exhibitions and activities in museum events. In this context, cultural heritage could serve as a multi-perspective tool in co-creative, transformative processes of everyday culture in the society.

Paper long abstract:

Culture is like an ever-changing stream (Ulf Hannerz 1992) which flows from person to person and from past to future intentionally and unintentionally. In the stream of culture, cultural change and resistance to change are constantly produced by human beings as cultural tangible and intangible traditions in everyday life. Thus, continuity defines traditions only partly, and they have also an implicit transformative power. Traditions defined as heritage in museums and in the society make always an impact and promote explicitly some changes in everyday life and in the society.

The role of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is stronger than ever in the current era of globalization. ICH is living actions, skills and thoughts of human beings. It is not possible to separate it from human beings. Thus it is not possible to collect living ICH in an ethical way in museum collections, or to keep living ICH unchanged and define it by authorities. The strengthening position of ICH has changed practices and power relationships in different heritage processes in the society and in museums.

Museum collections become a part of everyday life of museum visitors in their interpretations of exhibitions and activities in museum events. In heritage processes, different individuals and communities may sometimes lose their power to define what is important in their everyday traditions. In this context, cultural heritage could serve as a multi-perspective tool in co-creative, transformative processes of everyday culture in the society. In order to be ethical, this happens in participatory processes with museum visitors.