Events

This study day seeks to explore how we might create critical visitorship tools and technologies that animate the museum’s “shadow archive”. The problem is rarely that “there’s nothing about X topic” – but rather how the museum frames its collections, what the visitor’s gaze is directed to, and what is thus seeable. How can we activate, teach, support, and assess critical visitor-ship that reveals hidden stories present in museums?

Representatives from the Lummi and their partner The Natural History Museum will share videos, visuals, and stories of how their recent collaborations came together, and how they are part of a larger effort to transform museums—which are highly trusted, widely visited, and a $50 billion industry—into champions for environmental progress and science for the public good.

What does it mean to be relevant in this time of environmental crisis, and how can museums address and support the needs of frontline and fence-line communities that are struggling for a more just and sustainable world for all? This panel at the American Alliance of Museums’ 2019 convention brings museum professionals and community activists together to explore these questions.

Embedded in a political landscape that is increasingly fueled by “fake news” and distorted facts, museums are being challenged to ditch “neutral” positions on polarizing topics and embrace advocacy positions. This panel at the 2019 American Alliance of Museums convention explores the emerging interface between public discourse and the changing roles of museums through the topic of climate change.