Diversity Equity Accessibility And Inclusion In Museums

Diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion in all aspects of museums’ structure and programming are top issues in the field today – and in the overall arts/culture sector. Much has been written, from various perspectives, over several decades. Yet, a lack of diversity remains and exclusive practices and inequities persist in all types of museums. A go-to resource for readers interested in learning about diversity and inclusion work in the field – past, present and future. This edited collection of the most important essays, speeches, and reports on these topics seeks to facilitate a much-needed intergenerational dialogue that builds on lessons from the past, broadens thinking about the many different facets of this complex work, and ignites inspiration for continuing to correct inequities across museums of all types, sizes, and locations. In this book compiled and edited by Dr. Johnnetta Betch Cole, who has served as both director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and as the president of both historically Black colleges for women in the United States, Spelman College and Bennett College (a distinction she alone holds) and Laura Lott, president and CEO of the American Alliance of Museums, (the first woman to the lead the organization), thought leaders in the museum field present their research, analysis and work to answer some of the most challenge questions facing the museum field. Why do these problems persist? How can a new generation of museum leaders champion change to better represent the communities that museums strive to serve and engage? What can we learn from those who have been observing, experiencing, and writing about these issues?

This book draws from the author's nearly three-decade career of being "the only one in the room". Cecile Shellman builds a process for individualizing, identifying, and prioritizing DEAI challenges; acknowledges key universal challenges in goal-setting and goal achieving; and shares resources and tools for making and charting progress.

The museum field is experiencing a critical gaze that is both “of the moment” and long overdue. Museums were built as colonial enterprises and are slow to awaken to the harm caused by their actions which are not limited to the capturing and keeping of Indigenous ancestors, the exclusion and erasure of Black voices, bodies, and creativity, and the positioning of white power in the C-suite and board rooms. For decades, the conversation about equity and inclusion in the museum field has become louder. It is no longer possible to ignore the systemic racism embedded in our society and our profession. The Inclusive Museum Leader offers insights and perspectives from two recognized museums leaders who have joined together to offer practical solutions and opportunities for today’s museum leaders. Authors share their journeys to becoming inclusive leaders, as well as decisions they have made and actions they have taken to build equitable practices within their organizations. Throughout the book are personal exercises and provocations the reader is invited to respond to, making the book a valuable tool for any museum leader looking to enhance their style and re-frame their decision-making process.

Only a decade ago, the notion that museums, galleries and heritage organisations might engage in activist practice, with explicit intent to act upon inequalities, injustices and environmental crises, was met with scepticism and often derision. Seeking to purposefully bring about social change was viewed by many within and beyond the museum community as inappropriately political and antithetical to fundamental professional values. Today, although the idea remains controversial, the way we think about the roles and responsibilities of museums as knowledge based, social institutions is changing. Museum Activism examines the increasing significance of this activist trend in thinking and practice. At this crucial time in the evolution of museum thinking and practice, this ground-breaking volume brings together more than fifty contributors working across six continents to explore, analyse and critically reflect upon the museum’s relationship to activism. Including contributions from practitioners, artists, activists and researchers, this wide-ranging examination of new and divergent expressions of the inherent power of museums as forces for good, and as activists in civil society, aims to encourage further experimentation and enrich the debate in this nascent and uncertain field of museum practice. Museum Activism elucidates the largely untapped potential for museums as key intellectual and civic resources to address inequalities, injustice and environmental challenges. This makes the book essential reading for scholars and students of museum and heritage studies, gallery studies, arts and heritage management, and politics. It will be a source of inspiration to museum practitioners and museum leaders around the globe.

Exhibitions for Social Justice assesses the state of curatorial work for social justice in the Americas and Europe today. Analyzing best practices and new curatorial work to support all those working on exhibitions, Gonzales expounds curatorial practices that lie at the nexus of contemporary museology and neurology. From sharing authority, to inspiring action and building solidarity, the book demonstrates how curators can make the most of visitors’ physical and mental experience of exhibitions. Drawing on ethnographic and archival work at over twenty institutions with nearly eighty museum professionals, as well as scholarship in the public humanities, visual culture, cultural studies, memory studies, and brain science, this project steps back from the detailed institutional histories of how exhibitions come to be. Instead, it builds a set of curatorial practices by examining the work behind the finished product in the gallery. Demonstrating that museums have the power to help our society become more hospitable, equitable, and sustainable, Exhibitions for Social Justice will be of interest to scholars and students of museum and heritage studies, gallery studies, arts and heritage management, and politics. It will also be valuable reading for museum professionals and anyone else working with exhibitions who is looking for guidance on how to ensure their work attains maximum impact.

Do museums need to be inclusive? How do we define inclusion? Understanding and Implementing Inclusion in Museums is the pioneer text to focus solely on the notion of inclusion for museums. This book is intended to demystify the much-debated idea of inclusion for museum professionals, theorists, professors, and researchers. The chapters within this book are intended to function as a guide for understanding, implementing, and evaluating inclusion in your museum. This insightful examination ofinclusion in museums features: An introductory definition of inclusion for museums. Guidelines for creating inclusion in your museum through partnerships with people and community organizations. Strategies for driving social change through inclusive museum practice. Tools for implementing inclusion in your museum. Mechanisms for evaluating the inclusiveness of your museum. An encyclopedic Who’s Who of museum professionals serving as advocates, agents, and architects of inclusion today. An extensive resource list to aid you and your museum. We have never had a book solely about inclusion for museums, and never with such a strong focus on American institutions. I invite you to join the conversation concerning inclusion armed with greater understanding and the tools to implement change through your museum.

The Art of Access: A Practical Guide for Museum Accessibility is a one-stop guide to the incremental ways your museum can build a comprehensive approach to accessibility that can be easily integrated into the fabric of your museum. Highlights include: Consultation with leaders in the field and calling on practitioners from across the disciplines (art, science, history, business, living collections) Concrete examples and specific resources Partnerships Physical/environmental access Sensory access Inclusive spaces, exhibitions, and programs Staff training and institutional buy-in Each chapter presents practical actions that any museum or cultural institution (regardless of the size, budget, or scope) can take to better engage and welcome visitors of all ages and abilities. This book will illuminate the incremental ways in which accessibility can be easily integrated into the fabric of museums, thus enabling institutions to better engage with audiences who would otherwise not visit the museum.