News Story

Power to the people: How Citizen Curators are rewriting museum stories

Monday 16 Mar 2026

This article is part of a special series celebrating KMi’s 30 years. Over the past three decades, KMi has been at the forefront of pioneering research and innovation in knowledge technologies, shaping the way information is created, shared, and understood. In this series, we revisit some of the most impactful projects that have influenced academia, industry, and society, highlighting their significance and legacy.

Museums have long been places where experts tell the stories, but what happens when visitors take the lead? Citizen Curation flips the traditional model, inviting people from all walks of life to interpret artworks and share their own perspectives. At its heart is a simple but powerful idea: Slow Looking. Instead of rushing through galleries, participants focus on one or two pieces, asking questions like “What do you see?” and “How does it make you feel?” The result? Rich, personal interpretations that challenge and complement curatorial narratives.

To make this possible, KMi developed Deep Viewpoints, a web app that lets participants create and share their responses in the museum or online. First trialled with the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) as part of the EU-funded SPICE project, the approach has reached diverse communities, from recent migrants and LGBTQ+ groups to young men in custody. For some, it’s been a way to connect with culture; for others, a chance to see their voices reflected in museum spaces.

Citizen Curation isn’t just about art, it’s about inclusion. Museums often struggle to represent society’s full diversity. By inviting minoritised communities to co-curate, projects like this broaden participation and make collections more relevant. Recent workshops in Edinburgh explored how these practices can boost wellbeing and even teach skills for everyday life.

As museums look to the future, Citizen Curation shows that technology and creativity can work hand in hand to democratise culture. It’s not just about what’s on the walls, it’s about who gets to tell the story.