ABSTRACT
Drawing on cross-national data from focus groups with representatives from diverse cultural organisations in Denmark, the Netherlands, Serbia, and Spain, this chapter explores how cultural institutions and practitioners throughout Europe approach audience development and the inclusion of “non-participants” in culture, such as less educated people, younger audiences, or migrants, to promote social inclusion and counter inequality. The analysis highlights that practitioners are committed to these goals but also face challenges and tensions in their efforts to achieve them. While focus group participants concurred on the importance of inclusion and participation, they differed in their strategies. Some preferred an approach described in the literature as “democratising culture” or cultivating a taste for institutionally recognised culture among non-participants. Others advocated a “cultural democracy” approach, which entails adapting cultural offerings to audience preferences and encouraging active participation. Many favoured hybrid approaches but also acknowledged the impossibility of complete inclusion, as the ideal of inclusion itself might be at odds with the beliefs of certain groups. This “inclusion paradox” has hitherto received insufficient attention from policymakers and academics, especially in view of rising right-wing populism and migration in Europe.
