Museopunks

Museopunks Episode 45: Getting By With A Little Help

By Cecelia Walls

Mutual aid systems rely on forms of exchange, sharing support and resources, to enable communities to care for their members in the face of difficulty. In May this year, Museum Workers Speak started the Museum Workers Relief Fund, a form …
Museopunks Episode 44: A conversation among friends

By American Alliance of Museums

It’s been a few weeks since the world was upended in the wake of COVID-19. In this episode, we catch up with an old friend, Sharna Jackson, to hold space for some reflection, some mourning, and some laughter. Never miss an episode! …
Museopunks Episode 43: How do we live in turbulent times?

By Cecelia Walls

Even before a pandemic changed everything, we were living in turbulent times. Extreme partisanship defines politics in many countries, inequality grows even wealthy countries, and faith in institutions is diminishing. How do museums create …
Museopunks Episode 42: A #MuseumMeToo Moment

By Suse Anderson and Ed Rodley

Since the #MeToo movement began, many in the museum sector have wondered when members of our own community would be called to account. In this episode, the Punks are joined by Robin Pogrebin, Zachary Small and Anne-Marie Quigg to explore a …
Museopunks Episode 41: Digitization is not neutral

By Suse Anderson and Ed Rodley

Over the past decade, museums have increasingly shared high-resolution open access images of their collections. Yet there are significant legal and ethical complexities related to digital cultural heritage, particularly when blanket …
Museopunks Episode 40: A very human exhibition

By Suse Anderson and Ed Rodley

Being Human, the new permanent gallery at Wellcome Collection explores what it means to be human in the 21st century. In creating the exhibition, the Wellcome Collection worked with two advisory panels – one composed of scientists, …
Museopunks Episode 39: A new definition of “museum”?

By Suse Anderson and Ed Rodley

The season for existential crises continued this past month when the International Council of Museums (ICOM) announced that a working group had proposed a new definition for museums and that said definition would be voted on at the ICOM …
Museopunks Episode 38: Decolonization and its Discontents

By Suse Anderson and Ed Rodley

As decolonization moves more firmly onto the agenda in museums, so too does its critique. In this episode, we speak with Sumaya Kassim, author of the essay ‘The Museum Will Not Be Decolonised’, and Nathan “Mudyi” Sentance to …
Museopunks Episode 37: Experience doesn’t pay the rent

By Suse Anderson

Unpaid internships are commonplace in the museum world, supported by a culture that suggests “experience” and the chance to get “a foot in the door” are worth the sacrifice of time and lost earnings. This practice necessarily limits the …
Museopunks Episode 32: Changing the Canon

By Suse Anderson

Museum collections in established institutions come with long histories. So how do you change a museum’s canon? In this episode, we speak with Christopher Bedford, Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director of The Baltimore Museum of Art, about the …