From an art perspective as well as from the perspective of political critique, certain types of participation arouse the suspicion of merely simulating participation, while at the same time promoting neoliberal concepts of governance and self-discipline. Participation can be misused as an instrument of power instead of being used to distribute knowledge, resources and control. It is precisely the artistic experimentation with new forms of assemblies and participation that opens up a field in which art and academia can differentiate between different types of participation and discuss them using concrete examples, while also proposing other forms of (political) participation (Burri/Evert/Peters/Pilkington/Ziemer 2014).
Ref:
Burri, Regula V./Evert, Kerstin/Peters, Sibylle/Pilkington, Esther/Ziemer, Gesa (2014): “Versammlung, Teilhabe und performative Künste – Perspektiven eines wissenschaftlich-künstlerischen Graduiertenkollegs”, in: Burri, Regula V./Evert, Kerstin/Peters, Sibylle/Pilkington, Esther/Ziemer, Gesa (eds): Versammlung und Teilhabe: Urbane Öffentlichkeiten und performative Künste. Bielefeld: transcript, pp. 7–21.