It is important to consider some of the ways museums can unlock the stories held within collections and find the most relevant parts of information to interpret. Taking a co-production or participatory approach is the best way to do this.
Co-production is a method of working WITH our communities, in this context on collections based projects. It is a method of working that can provide a wider variety of experience to contextualise collections and associated information. By co-producing exhibitions and interpretation we can enable our spaces to be more welcoming and usable to a wider variety of people.
Co-production has benefits for both the museum and the participants. Before embarking upon a co-production project think about what you want these benefits to be and what you would like to achieve and ask partners to think about this too. It is critical that there is a two-way relationship between the museum and co-production partners.