ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Educ.

Sec. Special Educational Needs

Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1595816

This article is part of the Research TopicInclusion in Non-formal Education Places for Children and Adults with Disabilities Vol. IIView all articles

Opening the Doors: Inclusive Creative projects and Community Engagement in Spanish Museums

Provisionally accepted
Susana  Rojas-PerniaSusana Rojas-Pernia1Josep Maria  Sanahuja-GavaldàJosep Maria Sanahuja-Gavaldà2*Isabel  Macho de CosIsabel Macho de Cos1Mario  Montero-CamachoMario Montero-Camacho2
  • 1Universidad De Cantabria, Santander, Spain
  • 2Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Participation in culture is a human right. Close collaboration between social, educational and cultural institutions can facilitate access for all members of the community and open new social and educational spaces for those whose right to participate in cultural life has been violated. As part of a European project to promote social inclusion through the arts, this article describes and analyzes two Inclusive Creative Projects (ICP) carried out by social, educational and cultural centers. These collaborative projects were created with the objective of analyzing the key elements to promote inclusion through art and artistic creation in museums. Students from primary and special education schools (n=74) and adults with intellectual disabilities (n=12) participated in the two projects. Additionally, staff from arts institutions (n=12) and socio-educational centers (n=10), creating spaces for dialogue, reflection and learning in an inclusive context. Qualitative and ethnographic techniques were used to document the process of designing and implementing the projects. Through the field diaries, which included field notes and photographs, the set of visual and creative techniques used to explore personal experiences and the development of the ICPs were recorded. The findings underscore the need to create projects that recognize diversity as an intrinsic characteristic of any human group. They also open avenues for collaboration based on respect and recognition of different skills, experiences and professional trajectories. The projects created spaces for dialogue and learning from and with personal experience, emphasizing processes rather than outcomes. They highlight the need to promote the use of different artistic languages in the creation of inclusive artistic projects, as well as real accessibility. Although implementing the project was complex, collaboration between institutions facilitated the creation of networks that promote professional development and contribute to the development of fairer and more equitable communities.

Keywords: inclusive museums1, disabilities2, artistic languages3, colaboration4, community participation5 Con formato: reference__surname, Fuente: 12 pto, Color de fuente: Texto 1, Español Con formato: Normal

Received: 18 Mar 2025; Accepted: 26 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Rojas-Pernia, Sanahuja-Gavaldà, Macho de Cos and Montero-Camacho. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Josep Maria Sanahuja-Gavaldà, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

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