Refocusing Museums on People

Or, my dreams for museums in a post-COVID world As I watch museums lay off thousands of highly qualified underpaid staff during this pandemic, I have been asking myself why I keep investing in museums.  Museum staff are overwhelmingly white, straight, and able-bodied and museum leaders are overwhelmingly male. For centuries museums have told stories...

What’s a Museum?

On September 9, 2019, The International Council of Museums (ICOM) will vote on whether to adopt a new definition of “museum.” With 40,000 professionals in over 141 countries, ICOM is well positioned to foster a new international consensus on the definition of a museum.

LGBTQ+ Inclusion for Chicagoland’s Museum Professionals

An interview with leaders of Chicagoland Alliance of Museums with Pride (CAMP) When I first moved to Chicago and started pursuing a career in museums, I questioned whether I would be embraced for my whole identity in my workplace. The more I engaged with the Chicagoland Alliance of Museums with Pride (CAMP), the more I...

The Activist Museum vs. The Activist

In the past few years, I have observed an increasing number of museums reinvent themselves as activist museums. Activist museums espouse an explicit agenda and offer visitors concrete ways to create social change. While I am heartened by the trend of activist museums, museums still have a long way to go to gain the trust...

Making Museums Welcoming, Inclusive, Accessible

Have you ever overheard a museum professional make a statement like, “while I know it's important to make sure wheelchair users can get around, the wide aisles really interrupt the flow of the space.” However well-intentioned, statements like these miss the power and importance of making museums welcoming, inclusive, and accessible. At the most recent...

Funding is Not Neutral

Given the content and design of Hope to Nope, I could not have imagined the controversy that would erupt over the exhibit just a few weeks later.