Assessing “cultural dialogue”: Public programs at the quai Branly museum

Résumé 0

‪This article explores the conceptions of “cultural dialogue” apparent in the public program developed by the quai Branly museum, in the context of its showing in 2011 of the “E tu Ake-Standing Strong” touring exhibition dedicated to māori culture. We carried out interviews with museum mediators and participant observations in order to study the ways in which representations of self and other are negotiated in the public program. How do program activities allow for enactment of cultural exchange and for appropriation of another culture? Three models of mediation emerge from the study of interactions. Each model is characterized by a type of museum animator and a specific conception of “cultural dialogue.” Depending on the nature of interactions with audiences, these three models offer various paths, which are often relevant but sometimes narrow in scope, through which “dialogue” with the other takes place.‪