Cultural participation of citizens has been an important dimension of contemporary cultural policies since the 1960s and 1970s. In a narrow sense, the term refers to the different ways and forms in which citizens access or create cultural goods and experiences. Alternative terms describing the same phenomenon include ‘arts participation’, ‘involvement in arts and culture’, ‘participation in cultural activities’, ‘participation in cultural life’, and ‘attendance and cultural consumption’. Their usage depends on the different foci of various cultural policies and research agendas, as well as on different linguistic and cultural traditions. However, what most cultural policy makers have in common is the belief that without participation of citizens in cultural life, cultural and artistic events and processes have very little public value.
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