MEDIATION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY OF THE MODERN MUSEUM

The purpose of this article is to reveal and generalise the essence of museum mediation under the conditions of modern museum space; to examine the mediation as a form of educational activity of the museum. The research methodology involves the use of such methods as analysis, systematisation and generalisation to identify the concept of museum mediation in the context of the educational activity of the museum institution. Taking into account the current state of museum studies in Ukraine where mediation as a form of educational activity is on the initial stage of development in museums and museum-type institutions, this research systematises and generalises the basic theoretical achievements; it is demonstrated that at the present stage the topic of research has not yet been comprehensively displayed in the national scientific literature. The mediation is defined and characterized as an innovative form of educational activity in museums in Ukraine. Conclusions. It has been found that today for the museum as one of the centres of communication in the cultural space the important result of its activity is the establishment of the stable and constructive dialogue with its audience. It is determined that modern museology regards the mediation as a specific form of communication at the intersection of the main directions of activity: scientific-stock, research, exposition and education. The study has confirmed that a field for positive understanding of the parties (exposition space, museum expert, visitor), for search of the new options acceptable for all participants of communication is created in the process of museum mediation. Mediation as a form of educational activity of the museum facilitates the mobilization of different methods, means and technologies for updating a museum item and presenting it to a visitor. The result is the formation of personal attitude towards the historical context, which can inspire the process of self-knowledge and give the reason to consider the museum as a unique cultural institution where through mediation self-knowledge and cognition of the surrounding reality are realised. The expediency of introducing mediation as a form of educational activity in domestic museums is justified.


Introduction
At the present stage of the society development the modification of the museum paradigm is taken place. Today, the museum is the space open for the social and cultural contacts, social and creative life. As museum experts say, important museum space transformations require reinterpretation of the notion of "museum", in particular, the formation of a fundamentally new concept of educational activity of the institution. If in the 20 th century the quality of the museum expositions traditionally was defined in accordance with scientific schemes focused on museum items and collections, and then at the beginning of the 21 st -century museum considers the valuable guiding lines in the originality of the interpretation of the museum collection; modern expositions and exhibitions, educational projects are the result of the scientific investigation as well as of the individual creative search. This is influenced by contemporary cultural and intercultural communication which transfers museum message from sphere of "declaration" and "monologue" to the sphere of "dialogue" and "polylogue". The diversity of interpretation forms of the accumulated museum information becomes important.
The following priority directions for the development of educational activity of modern museum can be defined: -management of the museum activity in accordance with the requirements of the time; -focus on the needs of the consumers of the museum service, taking into account changes in the target audience, search of the possibilities to engage different social groups and societies; -introduction of new forms of educational activity using non-standard and creative decisions; -the use of modern information and communication technologies, etc.

Purpose of the article
The purpose of this article is to reveal and generalise the essence of museum mediation under the conditions of modern museum space; to examine the mediation as a form of educational activity of museum and a part of museum communication.
During the study on the concept of museum mediation in the context of educational activity such research methods as analysis, systematisation and generalisation were used.
Museum communication space is a category that combines the characteristics of cultural and information space in the context of the activity of the museum or museum-type institution, includes the interior space of museum communication where cultural discourse is modelled at the level of comprehension, creation and demonstration of collections. Mediation encloses all communication processes of a museum, methods of their realisation and channels of information transmission. Scientific understanding of museum activity is carried out in the research works of scientists in different fields of humanitarian knowledge.
The monograph of American museum expert Nina Simon (2010) illustrates various aspects of the nature and essence of the museum as a social institution, in particular, considering mediation as a part of museum communication based on educational and behavioural positions between museum and society. The monograph explores the new forms of interaction in the museum space, the emergence of such a phenomenon as "The Participatory Museum". Fundamental contribution into the study of the new forms of educational activity of museum was done by English museum expert E. Hooper-Greenhill (1991). Special attention the author pays to the interpretation of visual culture in the context of art museum (Hooper-Greenhill, 2000). This interdisciplinary research examines the process of meaning construction; the vision of how the educational activity will develop in future is analysed. The researcher is convinced that not only the museum expert can provide items with meaning by grouping and representing them, but every visitor may widen the limits of already existing interpretations. Developing this theory E. Hooper-Greenhill (1991) states that museums should be analysed as artificial communicative systems which purposefully use signs and signals that can be both the subject of social research and the subject of social education. Considering the museum as a space for education (Hooper-Greenhill, 1991), the author notes that the formation of a fundamentally new concept of educational activity of institution became an important step on the way of interaction between museum and visitor. The researcher underlines that such a change of direction requires the museum to focus on visitors' needs. Carmen Mörsch, the Head of the Research Institute for Art Education at the University of Arts (Zurich, Switzerland), expert in cultural mediation, also emphasizes that modern museum must constantly develop, focus on the needs of consumers of museum services involving them in co-creation using non-standard, creative decisions (Mörsch et al, 2017).
Considering the fact that mediation as a form of educational activity is on the initial stage of development in domestic museums and museum-type institutions, there are actually no scientific publications on this issue in the Ukrainian museum study. In our view, museum mediation as an innovative educational form requires specification, analysis and introduction into educational activity of modern museums in Ukraine.

Main research material
Contemporary social and economic features of society's development demand some changes in both economic and communication strategy of museums. For the museum as one of the centres of communication in the cultural space, the important result of the activity is to establish steady and constructive dialogue with its audience. Communication in the space of the museum using its expositions or territories has its own specificity, because the topics, style and methods of communication are determined by its type, information contained in the museum items, etc. The museum's development vector determines the directions and forms of work with visitors. Managers of modern museums want to create wide possibilities for the interpretation of collection which is presented by different forms according to the level and type of people's education (in particular, the expositions that create an impression of multilayer, multilevel, which allows the visitor to move from one level to another). In fact, rejecting the paternalistic model, the museum becomes a mediator, which feels the mood and needs of society; from the institution that determines the achieved level of social consciousness the museum becomes the cultural phenomenon that gives progressive dynamic to this consciousness.
Let's consider in details the concepts of "mediation", "cultural mediation", "museum mediation". The profession of a mediator was born in ancient Greece. Etymologically, the word "mediation" is from the notion "middle". Today this term is used in different contexts. For example, from the legal point of view, "mediation" is the method of pre-trial investigation of the conflict, where the mediator acts as a third neutral party. "Mediation" is the central notion in hermeneutic and reflective philosophy of Paul Ricoeur: it is through the mediation of one's culture that one perceives and understands the world and its own identity (Ricoeur, 2008). In the field of culture the concept "mediation" as a rule is used in the analysis of forms of spreading of ideas and cultural products, that is, in the media activities. According to the researchers, the term "cultural mediation" was first used in Quebec in 2000 to define the strategy of cultural activity directed at the exchange and acquaintance between people and cultural objects (Sinicyna, 2017, p. 68). The main purpose of the cultural mediation is the cultural democratization of the society, its inclusion into the dialogue with the culture. Cultural mediation may be a component of cultural policy as, for example, in Montreal in 2005 it became the main method of cultural development. The philosophy of cultural mediation in Montreal was as follows: -close, direct and personal contact of the public with an expert in culture and also the forms of cultural expression (discussions, collective creative work, excursions, animations, etc.); -special attention to the level of knowledge and ability of the public in order to adapt mediation to the specificity of different social groups (age, social status, the system of values, way of life, traditions, physical condition, etc.); -experiments with forms of participation in mediation, innovative forms of communication of information through partnership and interaction, which provide communication between different groups of population, experts in culture (Chaumier & Mairesse, 2017).
In our opinion, the main purpose of this approach is to work with different groups of people, which promotes informal acquaintance with cultural institutions and provides for the development of cultural education and social integration.
Today mediation is highly used in the work of European museums, galleries and is an example of museum or gallery education for the audience. For the first time in the UNESCO dictionary the term "mediation" considers contiguous museum notions of communication and museum public relations, correlates mediation and interpretation as synonyms (Desvallées & Mairesse, 2010). Modern museology defines mediation as a specific form of communication at the intersection of the main activities: -scientific-stock; -research work; -expositional and educational activity. A field for positive understanding of the parties (exposition space, museum expert, visitor), for search of the new options acceptable for all participants of communication is created in the process of museum mediation. This specific communication strategy mobilizes different methods, means and technologies for updating a museum item and presenting it to a visitor. The result is the formation of personal attitude towards the historical context, which can inspire the process of self-knowledge and give the reason to consider the museum as unique cultural institution where through mediation self-knowledge and cognition of the surrounding reality are realized.
Mediation as a form of educational activity of the museum assumes that the visitors who participate in the dialogue are equal, and the museum worker with the help of questions directs their activity, that is to say works as navigator. It should be noted that the mediator does not position himself as an expert, does not give a pre-formed evaluation of the exhibits, but takes part in the process of its formation with the visitors. Thus, in the process of discussing a common, partly unexpected result appears. The work of mediator involves improvisation, the ability to take critical position as to the audience statements and to correct the course of the discussion.
During the direct contact with museum visitors, mediator uses the following approaches: -informational (reasoned presentation of information to certain audience); -scientific (neutral that allows analyzing, describing, predicting, comparing, experimenting, etc.); -sensitive (allows the participant of mediation to feel, try something); kinesthetic (mobilizes body and movement in space); -playing (allows building the process of education during the play); -emotional, etc. (Sinicyna, 2017, p. 72). The role of the mediator in the museum is the further promotion of the dialogue and knowledge exchange.
In domestic museums and museum-type institutions mediation as a form of educational activity is on the initial stage of the development. In particular, in 2013 the position of mediator was introduced at "Pinchuk Art Centre". Mediators are the employees of the art institution who work directly in the exhibition and are ready to tell visitors what they see in front of them (painting, sculpture, installation, performance). As a rule, these are students of humanities, beginners in art studies and young artists. The Pinchuk Art Centre mediators need to have a good knowledge of the arts (history from ancient times to the present, different genres, theory of art, philosophic directions and schools, hundreds of names that need to be instantly compared with their creative achievements). After all, the mediator should speak about it on different levels of "immersion" into the topic: from basic to professional. Considering the fact that there are many foreigners among visitors of the museum, it is desirable to know foreign language (mainly English). Mediator should easily maintain the contact with visitor, if necessary conduct a mini-excursion, know the peculiarities of the institution's work, resolve conflict situations, organise people, answer small questions. It is also a duty of the mediator to comply with the rules of the museum: do not touch or approach the exhibits, carry backpacks and bags in your hands, do not get liquid in showrooms, etc. ("Komanda mediatoriv", 2013). In line with European museum trends, National Art and Culture Museum Complex "Mystetskyi Arsenal" regularly invites mediators to its exhibition projects and organises their training. The communication strategy used in the process of museum mediation reveals new methods and means of attracting attention to museum items, presenting their unique peculiarities.
It should be noted that in the modern world museum mediation as a form of educational activity goes far beyond the borders of the museum space. One of the examples is that museums are creating internet portals and groups in social networks. This approach appears to be very effective as it provides information for a large audience of subscribers interested in the life of museum and possibilities to get feedback. The fact of museum's existence in media space, as a rule, contributes to its popularity and positively influences on the development of cultural space as a whole. Museum education experts John H. Falk and Lynn Dierking state that this facilitates the open dialogue between an individual and museum space; such dialogue is influenced by social relations, socio-cultural and personal factors (Falk & Dierking, 2012). Thus, in the museum space mediation as a form of educational activity opens the ways for the representation of historic and cultural values in those forms which are most acceptable to the visitor.
As to the museums of Ukraine, in our opinion, significant is the experience of the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts, National Art Museum of Ukraine, Odesa Art Museum. These museum institutions, when communicating with the audience successfully combine communication in real life and online (rebranding, visitor area, storytelling, refusal from official style of communication, flexibility tactics, etc.).

Conclusions
Thus, it has been found that today for the museum as one of the centres of communication in the cultural space the important result of its activity is the establishment of the stable and constructive dialogue with its audience. In fact, by refusing the paternalistic model, the museum becomes a mediator who feels the mood and demands of the society. It is determined that modern museology regards the mediation as a specific form of communication at the intersection of the main directions of activity: scientific-stock, research, exposition and education. The study has confirmed that a field for positive understanding of the parties (exposition space, museum expert, visitor), for search of the new options acceptable for all participants of communication is created in the process of museum mediation. Mediation as a form of educational activity of the museum facilitates the mobilization of different methods, means and technologies for updating a museum item and presenting it to a visitor. The result is the formation of personal attitude towards the historical context, which can inspire the process of self-knowledge and give the reason to consider the museum as a unique cultural institution where through mediation self-knowledge and cognition of the surrounding reality are realised.
In the course of the research, it was found that in Ukraine, there are almost no scientific publications that would cover this issue. In our view, the issue of museum mediation as an educational form requires further research and introduction into the educational activity of modern museums in Ukraine.