THE PANDEMIC AND THE FUTURE OF MUSEUMS: CONSTRAINTS, OPPORTUNITIES AND CURRENT APPROACHES TO PARTICIPATION*

Covid-19 pandemic, which changed the entire functioning of life on a global scale, also deeply affected participation in cultural life. Accordingly, museums as an important part of cultural life have also developed new strategies appropriate to pandemic precautions that necessitate physical and social distance measures. These strategies have also brought up many discussions on the structural transformation and future of museums. ICOM determined 2021-year theme as " The Future of Museums: Healing and Re-imagining" and organized webinar series. In these webinars, topics such as the sustainability of museums, redesign of digital environments, participation models during the pandemic, health and safety of employees and visitors were discussed. The theme for International Museum Day in 2022 is "The Power of Museums". In addition, many museums continued to interact with other museums and professional organizations involved in arts and cultural life at the global and local level. While trying to preserve their existence in cultural life and to keep in touch with their stakeholders, museums carried their activities to different environments.