Children's cultural policy in a changed world

Beskrivelse

The panel will include 4 small presentations from participants in or members of the advisory board of the research project BØV – Children as cultural citizens. The research project is a collaboration between Aarhus University, The Royal Danish Theatre, The National Museum of Denmark and the National Gallery of Denmark. The overall research question of the project is:

What strategies and initiatives do the three national cultural institutions employ to ensure children's right to encounter cultural heritage, and how is this experienced from a child's perspective?

From a cultural policy perspective, the project is both interested in the role of these three major cultural institutions in the national cultural policy for children and the value(s) underlying this policy.

In relation to the theme of NCCPR, the notion of crisis in cultural policy is relevant to discuss in relation to children’s cultural policy. New forms of cultural participation and decrease in other forms of participation are amplified when it comes to children. The Nordic countries have since mid-twentieth century been characterized by an approach to children recognizing them as beings, having the ability to create and experience arts and culture (Mouritsen 1996, Juncker 2006, Skot-Hansen 2014, Balling 2012, Christensen 2022). This has led to the development of strong artistic practices and cultural institutions specialized in children’s culture. This approach has been co-existing with an approach seeing children as becomings needing learning, protection and socialization (Bjørnsen 2012).

But how is this tradition challenged by technological changes and the notion of crisis prevailing in the current cultural policy discourse? The idea that children are vulnerable and should be protected has been strengthened due to the growth in digital media used by children despite age limits and due to the mental health crisis especially amongst young people (Dowlen 2021, Ottosen et al. 2022). On the other hand, children have perhaps more eagerly taken part in the changing – potentially democratized – conditions for cultural production and consumption, being active prod-users (Leadbeater & Miller 2004, Hansen 2020) and been given the opportunity to be independent cultural users escaping adult curation and control.

In the panel we present and discuss 4 perspectives on the new children’s cultural policy, how the cultural and technological changes the traditional view on children and how cultural institutions (and policy makers) can navigate in this changed landscape of children’s culture.

Perspective 1: The complex dynamics of children, adults and institutions (Nanna Holdgaard):

Much research on children and museums treats children as 'becomings', prioritizing learning over experience. Consequently, the complex dynamics between children, accompanying adults, and the museum environment are often overlooked. With point of departure in examples from the National Museum of Denmark, this presentation discusses how these intergenerational interactions shape both the decision to visit and the museum experience itself, revealing complexities in family engagement with cultural institutions.

Perspective 2: Play or Purpose? The Dual Nature of Danish Cultural Policy for Children (Gitte Balling)

In recent years, we've observed a growing emphasis on children's play and participation as key strategies to foster engagement and motivation in cultural activities. However, these initiatives often remain tethered to more traditional, instrumental goals such as inclusion and education. The balance between play and instrumentality in cultural policy can be seen as a new form of instrumentalism.

Perspective 3: Youth Engagement – oscillations between digital and physical (Dagny Stuedahl)

Youth and children are handling the different logics of the physical and the digital worlds at the same time as these worlds are increasingly interwoven. Youth and child engagement and participation are highly related to the cumulative dynamics of the digital, and research shows new formats of participation and engagement. How does this influence the ways in which youth and cultural institutions interact and how does this challenge cultural policy?

Perspective 4: Giving children a voice (Christiane Særkjær)

Whilst children have traditionally been the target of both cultural policy as well as activities in cultural institutions, they have rarely held formal influence over decision-making processes. This raises the question: What happens when children are given agency to influence cultural policy and institutional practices? Drawing upon the methodological approach to children as co-researchers in BØV, this presentation examines both the challenges and opportunities of giving children decision-making power in cultural policy, including questions of representation, power dynamics and cultural citizenship.

At the end of the panel, the presenters will invite audiences to contribute to formulating recommendations for a New Nordic children’s cultural policy

Periode	26 aug. 2025
Begivenhedstitel	Nordic Conference on Cultural Policy Research
Begivenhedstype	Konference
Placering	Oslo, NorgeVis på kort