A Deeper Model of Community Co-Creation
Museums often talk about reaching out to communities, or co-creating with community members, for an exhibition or project. But often in these cases, the formula is lopsided in favor the museum; even though they may be eliciting feedback, …
How the Delaware Art Museum is Centering Community Voices in Interpretive Planning
In 2018, the Delaware Art Museum (DelArt) began a radically inclusive approach to reinstallation planning, integrating community voices at every stage through focus groups, iterative prototyping, and community-created content. But before …
It Is Time to Include AANHPIs In Museum Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion Efforts
Over the past year, we have all witnessed the increasing acts of hate and violence against Asian Americans, particularly against women and the elderly. Some have tried to cast these incidents as a new trend. Yet, for those of us who …
Virtual Internships Are Here to Stay—and That’s a Good Thing
Amid the challenges of 2020, one of the most successful learning experiences for me was pivoting to a 100 percent remote internship program at the National Gallery of Art. When I began planning to make the transition last March, I saw …
Rebuilding Pathways: How DEAI and Creative Aging Intersect at the Speed Art Museum
As museums work to become more diverse, equitable, accessible, and inclusive, one community is often left out of the discourse: people over the age of fifty-five. This may be because they already appear to be well-represented. After all, …
Hosting Remote Internships: Successes, Challenges, and Thoughts for the Future
When I posted our call for internship applications last December, I had a very different idea of what the summer would look like. A typical internship at the Chrysler Museum of Art involves current students or recent graduates gaining …
With Rapid Response Collecting, Who Are We Responding To?
After the start of protests over the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent looting of businesses, hundreds of plywood boards went up in Greensboro, North Carolina’s downtown. But these boards, which could have been an angry reminder …
The Hiring Practice That Stymies Equity in the Museum Workforce
The authenticity of an organization’s actions to advance diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI) is judged by two key factors: their consistency and comprehensiveness. Companies that have been commended on their approach to …
How the Cincinnati Museum Center Reinvented Itself after Racial Justice Protests in 2001
Watching people of all ages, races, religions, and nationalities stand up for equality in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, my thoughts have drifted back to my time at the Cincinnati Museum Center. In 2001, just after I joined the CMC as …
Black History in Our Own Backyard: Building Community in a COVID World
Lately, at the Neill-Cochran House Museum we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what community means, and the best way we can define it for our institution. This question has become even more critical since the COVID-19 pandemic …