Musées Gadagne-Musées des arts de la marionnette

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Les musées Gadagne are a double museum in the same building: the city historical museum and the museum of puppetry arts. Our museums holds numerous historical collections about the city of Lyon and about puppetry arts, but since two years, we have launched importants projects to renew our permanent exhibitions. These projects are base on a new positioning of the museum which will give a much more important role to the intangible cultural heritage. This concerns especially the know-how heritage. From now on, for example, we are building strong relationships with the artists (puppeteers), who can give us, not only their puppets and other objects, but also their histories, experiences and skills. Thus, the recordings, together with the physical objetcs will constitute the collections, and a very complete heritage both tangible and intangible.

New permanent exhibition of Musées Gadagne-Musées des arts de la marionnette

Description of the project / practice / program

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The museum of puppetry arts is working on the complete renewal of its permanent exhibition. We have engaged a deep reflexion about the puppetry art as a popular art, and the relationships between the puppet and people. This reflexion is at the heart of the process and the scenographic design. This lead us to integrate mediation tools inside the exhibition and also participatory initiative outside the museum. We have organized several operations in the streets and public squares to meet the public and ask the inhabitants of the city about their ideas on puppetry arts.

How were practitioners of intangible cultural heritage involved?

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In the methodology for preparing the project of renewing the permanent exhibition, we have introduced particpatory itiniatives to collect ideas and proposals from the citizens. Several special operations are organized in public areas (streets and public squares) to ask the inhabitants and discuss wth them about the puppets and their representation of this art.

Besides, the museum is working with the 'Guignol Theater' to highlight the intangible heritage of the theatrical practice of the very famous Guignol puppet.

CV of the author

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Xavier de la Selle is the director of Gadagne museum since two years. He was formely the director of an original cultural center (le Rize), in Villeurbanne a city near Lyon. De la Selle is working onthe link between cultural heritage, participatory initiative and cultural diversity.