Page - 50 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 03/02

50 | Celica Fitz and Anna Matter www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/2, 37–51 Participation in the creation of meaning in an exhibition is most fully present in the constructed vacancies.22 We assumed that within the reception process the participatory elements would aid the visitor in identifying similarities and differences across the religious models presented, and that the case studies would lead them to the realization that different religious spatial concepts and objects exist. inherent to the exhibition is an understanding of scholarship as discursive- ly defined, based on working definitions. The exhibition therefore provides a methodological tool for a study of religion that approaches its object discur- sively. this experimental aspect is one of the most important features of our re- search. The reflective modules and participatory elements in this experimental approach were designed to open a window on the nature of empirical religious studies as well. the exhibition deliberately uses presentation methods to generate meaning. Walking through the exhibition architecture and the depicted spaces, the visitor experiences the contents and message of the exhibition as visible and compre- hensible. this presentation concept drew on the demands of the new museol- ogy of the 1980s and the concept of experience-centered mediation that had emerged in the 1970s.23 this association-rich spatial architecture not only serves the presentation of objects but is also particularly appropriate if the goal is to present superordinate theories and abstract ideas on the basis of material ob- jects.24 the central challenge of the SinnRäume project was how best to present the abstract concepts of religion and space in a museological context. this challenge of mediating an actor-oriented concept of religion that includ- ed individualized and institutional religion(s) was met by using case studies to exemplify various definitions of religion. The role of objects in these definitions was shown by direct quotations, while the spatial concepts were traced by pho- tographs. in order to arouse the curiosity of the visitor and to create a certain experience, visual habits and presentation expectations were deliberately chal- lenged and everyday behaviors (such as looking into drawers or opening flaps) were harnessed for didactical purposes. this experience of the constructed space of the exhibition architecture prefaces and guides the encounter with the core exhibition theme.25 Vacancies were used deliberately to involve the visitor in the process of generating meaning. in the SinnRäume exhibit, spatial immer- sion into concepts of various spaces was made possible. at the same time, the construction was intended to convey that the issue was not that of staging reli- gion but that of reflecting on religion. As a result, our empirical findings on the 22 scholze 2004, 24, 136; Buschmann 2010, 151. 23 scholze 2004, 263. 24 scholze 2004, 28. 25 scholze 2004, 258.