Contemporary art needs not only artists, but also intermediate persons, who can help to percept and interpret things of art, as philosophers A. Danto, J. Rancier in the second part of the XX century asserted. An intermediary is necessary for both the author and the viewer. The article pays attention to such participatory museum methods: free discussion (A. Hausen, P. Yenawine, N. V. Ievleva and M. V. Potapova), TABULA method (O. Ward) and art mediation. The authors of the article share their experience of using these participatory methods with students. V. V. Kandinsky‘s work «Gray Oval» was the material for discussion. The experience demonstrated a deepening in the understanding of the work of art as well as the activation of creative thinking among design students.