CULTURAL PARTICIPATION AND YOUTH WELLBEING: AN EXAMPLE OF THE MEMORIAL MUSEUM OF EDUARDS VEIDENBAUMS “KALĀČI”

In recent years, the field of social science research has increasingly sought to explain the role of cultural participation in promoting social and individual wellbeing. It has been studied in different cultural and artistic subsectors, including museums [Daykin et al. 2020]. The focus of this paper is on young people’s participation in cultural activities, specifically museum activities, and the impact of this participation on young people’s wellbeing. Fieldwork was carried out in the Memorial Museum of Eduards Veidenbaums “Kalāči” during the research project “Striving Towards Participatory Engagement in Museums: Inquiry into Museum Education Practice in Latvia (MEET), meeting young people (n=12) and finding out what their experience was of participating in the creation of the museum’s permanent exhibition and by organising events like “Veindenfest” (“Veidenfests”) and “More Light” (“Vairāk gaismas”). Paper reveals how participation in these activities has contributed to young people’s wellbeing.