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META-MUSEUM

FRANÇOIS MAIRESSE​

    Professor François Mairesse teaches museology and cultural economics and holds the UNESCO Chair on the study of museum diversity and its evolution, Museum Prospect, at the Université Sorbonne nouvelle (Paris 3). He also teaches museology at the Ecole du Louvre. He was formerly President of the International Committee for Museology of ICOM (ICOFOM) and Director of the Musée royal de Mariemont (Morlanwelz), in Belgium. He is the author of several articles and books on museology.

    His reflections on the META-MUSEUM:
     
    “In the 1980s, Babelon and Chastel wrote: ‘Heritage can be recognized by the fact that its loss is a sacrifice, and its preservation involves sacrifice.’ The role of empathy, co-creation, and individual interpretation in the creation of heritage, at the heart of META-MUSEUM’s issues, presents another way of better understanding its profound nature. This approach can also be associated with research on heritage in the making, which must include all stakeholders – institutions, scientists, the public and activists – if it is to be fully understood.”