Marketplace / Vernissage / Gallery Walk
Marketplace / Vernissage / Gallery Walk animates passers-by or invited participants to inform themselves and exchange about public matters or offers in an arranged physical or digital temporary space.
Level of participation
Information
Consultation
Duration of participation process
Preparation: ½-2 months for invitation of the participants etc.
Implementation: 1-6 hours
Follow-up: ½ -1 days for documentation and forwarding
Target group size
<15 people
15-30 people
30-100 people
Costs
$
$$
Resources for ‘market booths’
Human resources needed
The method: what is it, when to use it and what outcome to expect
Marketplaces comprise several stands, (usually separate areas equipped with a poster or flipchart) to inform oneself about various topics, leave written comments and/or exchange with different people that one meets there in a relaxed atmosphere – analogue to an exhibition opening.
Marketplaces are useful after input sessions to (re-)activate participants, at the start of an event or conference to help participants dive into topics, to collect input from different persons on multiple topics, to let attendees of a participative process present their results from their working groups to other attendees, or to simply let passers-by inform themselves.
Marketplaces activate participants through exchanging and networking with others and provide attendees as well as organizers with an overview of discussions.
The process: how to conduct it in an in-person setting or online using a PC/laptop with video option
The method follows three steps:
1. Preparation: Book the venue and equipment (bar tables, flipcharts, sticky notes & pens for participants to leave comments etc). Decide on whether to provide stands with or without topic host and organize the information that is relevant to present as well as hosts if desired. Set up the space; for a virtual setting, set up a digital public space and/or different break-out rooms, one per topic, and provide participants access to it.
2. Conduction: Topic hosts are at their respective booth. The moderation explains the process, tasks and timing to the audience. Participants enter the gallery area and walk through it (in a virtual setting: Hopping through different break-out rooms) and engage at each ‘stand’ as per their own liking – conversating with others and/or leaving comments and questions. Topic hosts may capture the dialogue.
3. Wrap up: Usually after a break in which the moderation gathered the top insights from all booths, a summary of each booth is provided to the audience in plenum.
Blended participation
Interactive bulletin boards are helpful to visualize in-person and remote contributions simultaneously. If conducted online, tools like www.miro.com or MS Whiteboard can be helpful. However, it is recommended to keep participants rather small in this case, as this requires some coordination work and explanation.
Digital communication
Good to know
- Sometimes also applied as a match-making between corporate, public and non-profit organizations to create new co-operations: https://www.social-marketplace-international.org
- Ensure accessibility of the stands for participants with special needs
- Consider to brief topic hosts with questions to make involvement easier for reserved participants
- Consider setting up a marketplace/gallery at a local, public event or festivity
- Read further:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galeriemethode (German)
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markt_der_Möglichkeiten (German)