Teeny-tiny participation: Opportunities and challenges of participatory practices at small cultural institutions.

This thesis investigates opportunities and challenges of the implementation of participatory practices by small cultural institutions. Participatory practices are considered a part of the managerial strategies that should include participation as one of their goals. With the use of a Value-Based Approach, managerial practices were examined through the lens of values shared by the stakeholders. VBA helps to bridge the disciplines of management and cultural participation. Based on a case study of A Tale of A Tub (Rotterdam) — a small non-profit cultural organization, the research takes a look at how small cultural organizations include participation in their programming. During the research, 8 in-depth interviews were conducted with management and the volunteers of the museum. Empirical findings signal people working and volunteering for A Tale of A Tub share the values of community, care, and solidarity, which are realized through the management strategies of the organization. Pared with the organization’s reports and the researcher’s observation, it was found that even though participation and serving the audience are well articulated within the organization’s values, their realization is quite intuitive. Here, the scarcity of resources plays a big role. Bearing in mind this obstacle, the paper presents recommendations for the organization and the policymakers, as well as concludes with the limitations and further suggestions for the research.