On the imaginaries surrounding participatory digital tools in museums

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This paper proposes to question a participatory digital project aimed at enhancing the culture of the community of gypsy women in Arles, through the analysis of the web documentary: Gypsy women of the plane tree quay, set up by the Museon Arlaten, the ethnographic museum of Arles. This reflection questions the way in which a museum sets up a digital system to promote a culture based on the initiatives of this same community. The movement towards participatory mediation through digital technology reflects a desire to update the conditions of cultural democracy. However, the undifferentiated use of the adjective participatory prevents us from thinking about the degree of involvement of individuals and the work of the institution in opening up to its audiences. After an attempt to classify these types of participatory devices, the proposed field study highlights a hybrid project between top-down and bottom-up logics, within a participatory device that really benefits the participants.