Mångfald på museerna : Arbetet med mångfald vid kommunala museer, länsmuseer och statliga museer ur ett kulturpolitiskt perspektiv

Sammanfattning: How do museums work with plurality in their organizations and in the production of exhibitions and other activities? This paper examines how civic museums, provincial museums and state museums work with plurality from a perspective of culture policies, particularly in relation to the government bill Tid för kultur, issued by the Swedish government in 2009. All together I examine 25 museums and their efforts to include marginalized groups in their activities and exhibitions. To do so I have studied four possible measures that are available for the museums. This includes the following: projects that pay attention to a marginalized group or their living conditions; projects that are specifically created for a marginalized group; projects that include a marginalized group in the museums preparations; and projects were museums give full responsibility to a marginalized group. I have also examined how plurality have been presented – as isolated cultures and cultural expressions or as hybrids and interchangeable phenomenons – and to what extent the museums are ready to involve marginalized groups in their physical environment and in their exhibition and activity programs. Based on three different levels of conduct I evaluate how far the museums have reached and what differences there are between civic museums, provincial museums and state museums. My research shows that Swedish museums in general are on their way to work successfully with plurality and establish a plurality perspective in the whole organization. The research also shows that there are differences between civic museums, provincial museums and state museums. In general, state museums are better to include marginalized groups in their productions and to firmly establish a perspective of plurality in their organization. On the contrary, the research shows that many museums lack certain features in their efforts to work towards a marginalized group. One of those features is the ability to make these efforts part of the museums permanent activities. Civic museums and provincial museums also have a greater freedom of strengthen their regional identity than compared to the state museums ability to strengthen the national identity. A circumstance that can have consequences for culture policies in Sweden and the future of plurality efforts at the museums.