Adult Education Museums And Art Galleries

This is a book about adult education in the sphere of public museums and art galleries. It aims to enrich and expand dialogue and understanding amongst adult and community educators, curators, artists, directors, and cultural activists who work within and beyond the walls of these institutions. The various chapters take up the complex and interconnected pedagogics of subjectivity, identity, meaning making and interpretation, knowledge, authority, prescription, innovation, and creativity. The contributors are a combination of scholars, professors, graduate students, heritage and cultural adult educators, artists, curators and researchers from Canada, United States, Iceland, England, Scotland, Denmark, Portugal, Italy and Malta. Collectively, they challenge us to think about the dialectics of passivity and engagement, didactics and learning, gender neutrality and radicality, and neutrality and risk-taking amongst a collage of artworks and artefacts, poetry and installations, collections and exhibits, illusion and reality, curatorial practice and learning, argument and narrative, and struggle and possibility that define and shape modern day art and culture institutions. The chapters, set amongst the discursive politics of neoliberalism and patriarchy, racism and religious intolerance, institutional neutrality and tradition, capitalism and neo-colonialism, ecological devastation and social injustice, take up the spirit and ideals of the radical and feminist traditions of adult education and their emphases on cultural participation and knowledge democracy, agency and empowerment, justice and equity, intellectual growth and transformation, critical social and self reflection, activism and risk-taking, and a fundamental belief in the power of art, dialogue, reflection, ideological and social critique and imaginative learning.

This book contains 28 papers presenting perspectives from Europe on museums and adult learning. The papers, each of which is devoted to a specific country, examine topics such as the following: further education and inservice training; programs for unemployed individuals; lectures and open days; elderly visitors; immigrants; refugees; disabled visitors; cooperative programs; the Internet; training and staff development; cultural policy; museum education; modern trends; museums and promotion of adult education; museums as advisors and organizers; workshops; belief in the value of education; innovations; assessing educational needs; local community programs; museum education as cultural politics; outreach; public and private sponsors of adult education; structural models; and case studies. The following papers are included: "Preface" (Elizabeth Esteve-Coll); "Introduction" (Alan Chadwick, Annette Stannett); "Conceptual Framework" (David Anderson); "Norway" (Eva Maehre Lauritzen); "Sweden" (Helena Friman); "Latvia" (Aija Fleija); "Croatia" (Ivo Maroevic, Toncika Cukrov); "The Czech Republic" (Radka Schusterova, Pavel Hartl); "Hungary" (Laszlo Harangi); "Poland" (Daniel Artymowski); "Romania" (Virgil Stefan Nitulescu); "Russia" (Irina Mikhailovna Kossova); "Slovenia" (Tatjana Dolzan-Erzen); "Cyprus" (Loukia Loizou Hadjigavriel); "Italy" (Edi Fanti, Lida Branchesi, Paolo Orefice, Gianni Maria Filippi); "Malta" (Carmel Borg, Peter Mayo); "Portugal" (Ana Duarte); "Austria" (Gabriele Rath); "France" (Jean Galard); "Germany" (Dorothee Dennert, Helena von Wersebe);"Switzerland" (Flavia Krogh Loser); "Belgium" (Willem Elias); "Luxembourg" (Bettina Heldenstein, Herbert Maly); "The Netherlands" (Bastiaan van Gent); "Ireland" (Ann Davoren, Ted Fleming); "The United Kingdom" (John Reeve); "European Initiatives" (Alan Chadwick, Annette Stannett); "Israel" (Nina Rodin); and "Conclusions" (Nicole Gesche). Some papers include substantial bibliographies. (MN)

This book, which is intended for individuals involved in the education of adults and museum education, explores the potential role of museums in creation of a learning society, possibilities for collaboration between museums and adult education providers, access to museum resources by adult learners, and training and staff development. The following papers are included: "Museums Association" (Mark Taylor); "NIACE [National Institute of Adult Continuing Education]: The National Organisation for Adult Learning" (Alan Tuckett); "Introduction" (Alan Chadwick, Annette Stannett); "Gradgrind Driving Queen Mab's Chariot: What Museums Have (and Have Not) Learnt from Adult Education" (David Anderson); "An Adult Educator's Perspective" (Lalage Bown); "A Museum Educator's Perspective" (Eilean Hooper-Greenhill); "The Adult Learner" (David Jones); "Adult Programmes at the King's Lynn Museums"" (Faye Kalloniatis); "Community-Based Adult Education Programmes at the Geffrye Museum" (Steve Hemming); "Multicultural Education: The Mughal Tent Project at the Victoria and Albert Museum" (Shireen Akbar); "Age Exchange: The Potential of Reminiscence" (Pam Schweitzer); "Museums, Means and Motivation: Adult Learning in a Family Context" (Richard Wood); "Access to Museums by Adult Learners with Disabilities" (William Kirby); "Welcoming Adults with Learning Disabilities at Wakefield Museums and Galleries" (Sarah Scaife); "Programmes for Disadvantaged People at Dulwich Picture Gallery" (Gillian Wolfe); "The Open Museum: A Case Study in Co-operation" (Diana Coben, Margarette Lincoln);"Museum Training Institute" (David Wear) (which includes an appendix titled "A Guide to Underpinning Knowledge and Evidence Requirements"); "City and Guilds of London Institute" (Fiona Longmore); "Work Placements at the National Trust" (Suzanne Whitehead); and "Prospects for Future Collaboration" (Hazel Moffat). The book contains 28 references. (MN)

Enlivened with many examples and the words of program planners, instructors, and participants, this book can show you a whole new world for your museum programs, and help you design programs that will allow your adult learners to enter that exciting and potentially life-changing world. Visit our website for sample chapters!