Theory and Practice
How Are Museums Changing?
How are museums changing from institutions of the elite to places that ‘promote humanity?’
KELLY MOFFITT | ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO
Activating Diversity and Inclusion: A Blueprint
ACTIVATING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION: A BLUEPRINT FOR MUSEUM EDUCATORS AS ALLIES AND CHANGEMAKERS
“In this article, the authors Wendy Ng, Syrus Marcus Ware, and Alyssa Greenberg provide a blueprint for a rigorous approach to how museum educators can activate diversity and inclusion to create social change. The authors critically analyze the problematic power dynamics that maintain white supremacy in museum work, and introduce guiding principles of allyship and practical reflection strategies for enacting equitable relationships with visitors and staff across lines of social difference. This guide is designed to help you develop a critical practice that is conscious and constant, and engage in anti-oppressive museum work internally and externally.”
Akron Art Museum Discovers Relevance Takes More Than A New Building
“What we learned is that we created a pretty fantastic infrastructure with this new expansion, and I think we captured a lot of people’s imagination about the Akron Art Museum and its architecture, and definitely pointed people toward our collection at the museum,” says Akron Art Museum Executive Director and CEO Mark Masuoka.
“But what we forgot to do was continue this conversation about who we are, what the value of this museum is to this community,” he says. “We took for granted that if we built this museum, people would just come and they would just keep coming. Well, they came because they were curious, but at some point they stopped coming, and it became a concern for the museum that we have to continue to make the case for people to (keep coming) as we go forward.”
Akron Art Museum discovers relevance takes more than a new building
Kress Interpretive Fellow at the Spencer Museum of Art
Apply now to join the Spencer team as our Kress Interpretive Fellow to help us develop educational content for visitors of all backgrounds and abilities. The application deadline is July 26:
https://sjobs.brassring.com/TGWEbHost/jobdetails.aspx?partnerid=25752&siteid=5541&AReq=9354BR
Why I am Consciously Uncoupling from Academia
A powerful and eloquent read, particularly as I endeavor to begin my own career as a professor. I empathize with Dr. Powers even as I lived, for the last seven years, the “alt-ac” side of this equation (btw, that term drives me bonkers, non-academic work is not “less than” and it’s hard to argue that academia is not the gold standard when employing a term that does just that). Missing from this article is a discussion of the need to conduct research, write, and participate in the complex interplay of theory and practice—a fundamental necessity for the growth and development of any discipline or field.
“Committed teachers and scholars are walking away, and they’re not doing it silently. Silence will not pave the way for someone else, or make the environment more just. This is why I write this, because, like Audre Lorde, I believe that “what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal, and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood”. I add my voice to the choir of voices. I am consciously uncoupling from academia.” ~Jill Powers
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/why-i-am-consciously-uncoupling-academia
GEMM: Gender Equity in Museums Movement
“The Gender Equity in Museums Movement (GEMM) is a coalition of individuals (and organizations) committed to raising awareness about gender inequity in the museum workplace and offering resources for change. GEMM focuses on challenges and opportunities in the museum workplace for ALL women, regardless of race, ethnicity or orientation and gender identity or any other attribute.”
https://www.genderequitymuseums.com/
“The GEMM Committee has written a platform paper addressing the need for action around gender equity in museums. You can download a PDF of the paper here, or read on below:
Forty-three years ago a group of women gathered at the American Association of Museums annual meeting, now the Alliance, (AAM). Calling themselves the Women’s Caucus, they asked for numerous reforms to end gender-based discriminatory hiring and promotion practices in the museum profession. At the time, women held fewer than 16-percent of museum directorships, a number that declined before it increased. The Caucus also called for a legal guide to help women challenge discrimination, for support for open salary information, and guidelines for fair employment practices. That was then.
Today, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), women make up 46.7-percent of the museum field, working in every job title and every museum discipline.”
Women in the Museum: Lessons from the Workplace
ISBN-10: 1629582352
https://www.amazon.com/Women-Museum-Workplace-Joan-Baldwin/dp/1629582352/ref=mt_paperback?_encoding=UTF8&me=
“The number of women working in museum settings has grown exponentially since the start of the twentieth century. Women in the Museum explores the professional lives of the sector’s female workforce today and examines the challenges they face working in what was, until recently, a male-dominated field.
Drawing on testimony gathered from surveys, focus groups, and interviews with female museum professionals, the book examines the nature of gender bias in the profession, as well as women’s varied responses to it. In doing so, it clarifies how women’s work in museums differs from men’s and reveals the entrenched nature of gender bias in the museum workplace. Offering a clear argument as to why museums must create, foster, and protect an equitable playing field, the authors incorporate a gender equity agenda for individuals, institutions, graduate programs, and professional associations.
Written by experienced museum professionals, Women in the Museum is the first book to examine the topic in depth. It is useful reading for students and academics in the fields of museum studies and gender studies, as well as museum professionals and gender equality advocates.”
Excellence & Equity at 25: Then, Now, Next
Greg Stevens of the American Alliance of Museums interviews Elaine Heuman Gurian, Ellen Hirzy, Bonnie Pitman, Gail Anderson, and Sonnet Takahisa to mark the 25th anniversary of the publication of Excellence & Equity: Education and the Public Dimension of Museums.
http://labs.aam-us.org/blog/excellence-equity-at-25-then-now-next/amp/
Queering Education: Pedagogy, Curriculum, Policy
Bank Street’s Occasional Paper Series #37, Queering Education: Pedagogy, Curriculum, Policy is available in its entirety online:
https://www.bankstreet.edu/occasional-paper-series/37/?mc_cid=2fbd5a7182&mc_eid=2126e00828