Walking the Walk Personal Activism in Professional Context
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Danielle Linzer, Director of Learning and Public Engagement, The Andy Warhol Museum Kate Livingston, Founder & Principal, Expose Your Museum LLC
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Walking the Walk Personal Activism in Professional Context
- 2. Photo by Gage Skidmore - Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License https://www.flickr.com/photos/22007612@N05
- 3. Photo by Vlad Tchompalov - Creative Commons No known copyright restrictions https://unsplash.com/@tchompalov?utm_source=haikudeck&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=api-
- 4. Photo by Jonathan Bachman © Reuters https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/taking-a-stand-in-baton-rouge
- 5. Photo by Duffernutter - Creative Commons Attribution License https://www.flickr.com/photos/56990343@N08
- 6. Photo by Adam Anderson © Reuters http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-shooting-south-carolina/activist-takes-down-confederate-flag-outside-south-carolina-capitol-idUSKBN0P70MJ20150627
- 8. Photo by Contemporary Jewish Museum https://www.thecjm.org/programs/184
- 9. Photo by afagen - Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License https://www.flickr.com/photos/51035749109@N01
- 10. Photo by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/articles/142894/culture-lab-manifesto
- 11. Photo by Philbrook Museum https://twitter.com/Philbrook
- 12. Photo by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts https://www.instagram.com/ybca/
- 13. Photos by New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/08/style/transgender-restroom-all-gender.html
- 14. Website of States of Incarceration http://statesofincarceration.org/
- 15. Photo by New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/03/arts/design/moma-protests-trump-entry-ban-with-work-by-artists-from-muslim-nations.html?mcubz=1
- 17. Photo credited to LaTanya Autry and Mike Murawski via Bonfire https://www.bonfire.com/museums-are-not-neutral/
- 18. Photo credits linked to each individual pictured; see https://www.museumnext.com/events/north-american-museum-conference/speakers/
- 19. Photo by davide ragusa - Creative Commons No known copyright restrictions https://unsplash.com/@davideragusa?utm_source=haikudeck&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=api-
- 21. Photo credit Monica O. Montgomery
- 22. Website of Cultura Conscious http://www.culturaconscious.com/
- 24. Image credit Margaret Middleton via The Incluseum https://incluseum.com/
- 26. Website of The Warhol https://www.warhol.org/
- 28. Website of ExposeYourMuseum http://exposeyourmuseum.com/
Editor's Notes
- DANIELLE: Hi. We’re Danielle Linzer [insert brief bio/role] KATE: …and Kate Livingston, an independent consultant working with museums on strategy, visitor and community evaluation, and organizational change. We’re here to talk about how values can propel, and are propelling, museums— and museum workers– into action. DANIELLE: We want to talk about the risks and rewards of “living our values” in museums, and ask each other and all of you what it means to be a museum agent of change.
- KATE: Change affects museums. And we’ve had a lot of change this past year, right?
- DANIELLE: Change affects museums. When immigrants, refugees, people of color, Muslims, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, and others are openly marginalized and vilified… it affects us.
- KATE: Change affects museums. When police murder innocent Black folks in our communities and there’s no justice… it affects us.
- DANIELLE: Change affects museums. When power, greed, and corruption are put ahead of natural resources, climate, the environment, and human lives… it affects us.
- KATE: Change affects museums. When flags and monuments fall by force and we see the power of symbols and objects as tools of racism and hate… it affects us.
- DANIELLE: And sometimes museums respond. We found so many beautiful examples of museums responding that we couldn’t fit them into this presentation. You have been hearing this week at MuseumNext about all the amazing, inspiring ways museums are responding. We thank you for your work, and we know you’re just getting started.
- KATE: Museums are marching, protesting, and celebrating alongside their communities. What’s more, they’re making sure they’re visible– carrying banners that make it clear that museums are present too. This has been seen most often at Pride parades, like what you see here in San Francisco, but museums have been showing up-- visible and active-- at the Peoples’ Climate March and at women’s marches around the country. One notable example is The Field Museum in Chicago. Not only have they been an active presence during Pride through their staff-led “Out Fielders” group, but their President and CEO openly and unapologetically made a statement about The Field Museum’s active support of and role in the March for Climate Justice. How many of you work at or with a museum that has joined parades, marches, or protests? If not, why not?
- DANIELLE: From Morris J. Vogel at the Tenement Museum: The Tenement Museum has always been about how people from many nations brought their dreams to this country; and about how Americans became a people… Those of us who are longer-settled Americans need to be accepting of newcomers bringing their hopes to a new land and dedicating their individual and family struggles to the common future that all of us continue to build together. We know that many voters yesterday sought to distance themselves from what we at the Museum regard as this nation’s foundational principle—that immigration allows us to become more than we already are as a people. From the Getty: The recent executive order barring entry into the United States from citizens of seven nations is antithetical to the values of the Getty, and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms. Curiosity, diversity, and tolerance are the core values of the humanities, values that require the free movement of people and ideas. Some even went beyond words-- the Guggenheim Museum initiated a nationwide effort to produce amicus briefs in support of legal challenges to Trump’s immigration bans. AAMD, AAM, CAA, and 100+ art museums signed on in support. How many of you work at or with a museum that has made a values-based public statement? If not, why not?
- KATE: While it’s relatively infrequent that museums use explicit words like social justice, equity, or anti-racism in their missions, some do. And it’s happening more and more. The Museum of Liverpool, part of the National Museums of Liverpool network, specifically states in their mission: “We do not avoid contemporary issues or controversy…. Museums help promote good citizenship, and act as agents of social change. National Museums Liverpool believes in the concept of, and campaigns for, social justice.” The Culture Lab Manifesto, recently released by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, while not a mission per se is an gorgeous, inspiring extension of their incredible Culture Lab work– which you’re seeing on this slide-- over the past couple of years. Here’s part of it: “We at the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center believe that museums engaging communities should be built upon: A culture of representation. Prioritize local artists, participants, and organizers. Nothing about communities without those communities. A culture of equity. Pay artists. Pay artists fairly. Dismantle hierarchies. Everyone shares in the work. A culture of intersectionality. Step outside the silos that constrain our narratives. Allow yourself to think, feel, and remember in the same complex ways that we live. A culture of belonging. Forge brave space. Extend welcome and safety to all peoples and communities. Make room for the marginalized, especially by questioning what marginalizes them. A culture of action. Stay woke. We have a social contract with one another to protect the vulnerable and ensure human rights for everyone.” While a mission, some might argue, is “just words,” it’s a start. It’s also a concrete way to state your values publicly and ensure museum staff, visitors, stakeholders, and publics know where– and for what-- you stand. How many of you work at or with a museum that has explicitly put anti-oppression, social justice, or equity, in their mission? If not, why not?
- DANIELLE: Within 2 weeks of the election the Philbrook Museum in Tulsa OK announced that it would donate a free membership to every Pre-K-12 grade teacher in the state of Oklahoma. How many of you work at or with a museum that has opened their doors in new ways? If not, why not?
- KATE: Social media provides an avenue for museums to be responsive to political and social changes in real-time. The first time I saw an outpouring of this was when the Supreme Court ruled on marriage equality in June of 2015. Museums lit up in rainbow colors and celebrated with their communities, showing publicly that they wanted to be seen as welcoming, inclusive spaces. Images of colorful museums lit up Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You’re looking at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, who regularly use their building to send messages to passersby, indicating where they stand on issues– like protecting DACA and healthcare. How many of you work at or with a museum that has used social media or their physical buildings to take a stand? If not, why not?
- DANIELLE: All gender restrooms in museums across the country (the Whitney, the Walker, the Worcester Art Museum, Westmoreland Museum of Art, etc.) Posted Welcome signs and equity statements (OMSI) How many of you work at or with a museum with has changed signage to be more inclusive? If not, why not?
- KATE: Programs are another way to extend a museum’s message and reach, both onsite and off. The Whitney in New York City hosted a free, open-to-the-public event called, “Speak Out on Inauguration Day” in solidarity with the J20 Art Strike which included artists, writers, and activists coming together to affirm their values to resist and reimagine the current political climate. The program you see here is one of the many programs across the country organized in partnership with local community organizers and activists as part of the Humanities Action Lab’s collaborative, traveling exhibition, “States of Incarceration.” The Humanities Action Lab is a coalition of universities, issue organizations, and public spaces that collaborate to produce community-curated public humanities projects on urgent social issues. Students and stakeholders in each city develop local chapters of national traveling exhibits, web projects, public programs, and other platforms for civic engagement. Also related to mass incarceration, Eastern State Penitentiary hosts frequent talks and events to discuss and dispel myths around the prison industrial complex. How many of you work at or with a museum that has created new programs to respond to social and political changes? If not, why not?
- DANIELLE: MOMA rehung its collection galleries with works by artists who come from the seven Muslim-majority nations included in Trump’s travel ban. MoMA labels: “This work is by an artist from a nation whose citizens are being denied entry into the United States, according to a presidential executive order issued on Jan. 27, 2017. This is one of several such artworks from the Museum’s collection installed throughout the fifth-floor galleries to affirm the ideals of welcome and freedom as vital to this Museum as they are to the United States.” How many of you work at or with a museum that has re-examined or reconsidered their exhibits or collections– either to prevent harm or to cultivate inclusion? If not, why not?
- DANIELLE: Museums respond. But sometimes they don’t.
- KATE: Some museums choose to stay quiet, not speak up, or even silence their staff. I am aware of a science museum whose CEO, instead of supporting the Climate March, made it clear that staff were welcome to participate but not as official museum representatives. In fact, staff were discouraged from wearing clothes with the museum’s logo. Not only did this create an internal culture of distrust and confusion for many staff, many community members and even the local paper questioned why a museum with science in its title wouldn’t be a leading voice at such an event. Oh– and a big shout out to LaTanya Autry and Mike Murawski, Mike-- from this very art museum, for creating these amazing t-shirts to, in Mike’s words, “erase the myth of museum neutrality & demand that our institutions act as agents of change.” I would be wearing mine right now, but it arrived seriously 2 hours after I got on a plane to come here!
- DANIELLE: Change affects museum workers. It affects all of us both within and beyond our individual roles, institutions, cities, and communities.
- KATE: Sometimes you work for the kinds of museums that “get it” and are working actively towards social change. But sometimes you don’t. And even in more progressive workplaces it’s likely that there are more changes you want to make. Whether you’re working from inside a museum, like Danielle, or alongside museums, like me, you’re working as part of a system. Sometimes your values beautifully align, and sometimes they don’t.
- DANIELLE: What are those values that are so deeply embedded in you, so critical to you, that they feed you with energy, passion, and motivation to keep going? To make change? We want to share some examples of activists, organizers, and change makers, fueled by their values, who inspire us.
- KATE: So, you just witnessed the powerhouse that is Monica O. Montgomery! Perhaps there’s little to add, but I am going to shout her out anyway! She is a dynamic, intentional change-maker and, importantly, she is calling us in to be Upstanders alongside her, reminding us we *can* make change on the issues we care most about. Monica was fired from her teaching job after talking about community care and Trayvon Martin’s tragedy in the classroom during the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement. That prompted her to start the first mobile social justice museum, Museum of Impact. Monica also teams with the amazing Stephanie Cunningham, who was our chair yesterday, on Museum Hue-- a multicultural platform for diversity working to advance people of color within arts, culture and museums. Monica did an amazing Tedx Talk last year, which you can find online. I have watched it about a dozen times!
- DANIELLE: Paula is the teacher and student programs coordinator at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. As part of POC community of practice in NYC, “We realized how our institutions could not be the place where we worked out our politics because of the power dynamics, colleagues who felt threatened, and also a complete lack of understanding of the issues themselves.” “In NYC I realized we could come together as professionals and create for ourselves without institutions and in Chicago I realized that *I* could create for myself and in fact, it was my responsibility to do so… It's an idea I've had for a long time and it wasn't until this year when I found the time, courage, AND enough professional freedom to do it.“
- KATE: Porchia Moore and nikhil trivedi– who was actually just on Museopunks talking about gender and masculinity-- are regular contributors and writers for The Incluseum, so you may have seen them there… but they have also started the Visitors of Color tumblr, which in their words is: “…a space for museum folks to be able to learn from the perspectives of marginalized people. We also see this as a form of activism--giving folks who may not feel safe or welcome in our institutions a little bit of agency in their relationships with museums.” If you haven’t checked out Visitors of Color, do! In addition to these gorgeous visitor profiles and quotes there’s a Visitors of Color Guide to the Resistance, which is a “how to” guide for “…using museums in times of oppression and social injustice for personal empowerment.” It lists ways that “visitors of color and folks from marginalized communities can use museums to raise their voices and spirits.” Porchia and nikhil are also both incredible activists and leaders in their communities and in the museum revolution for so many reasons. If you don’t know these two, check them out.
- DANIELLE: Designer/Developer/Consultant advocating for the inclusion of families of all kinds in museums.
- KATE: We want to end with sharing our own journeys with you. Our personal stories of how our values have led our personal activism within our professional contexts.
- DANIELLE:
- Examples from AWM
- KATE: When I was an internal museum worker I was one of those who generally felt my values aligned with my museum’s… But sometimes I felt like we weren’t centering our community enough, speaking up when it mattered enough, or moving fast enough toward change. When I started consulting I decided, “Hey! I’m my own boss! I can be totally, authentically me and promote my values clearly and unapologetically!” I remember when I first included my pronouns and terms like “inclusion” and “anti-racism” on my website. It felt exhilarating– and a little terrifying. Was I making a terrible mistake professionally? I had been told, many many times, that my politics were “a bit much” for some people. I’d been told that to move the needle I needed to “meet people where they’re at” and not always steer conversations toward equity, access, and inclusion. People warned me I’d lose clients. But guess what? Putting my values on paper and online, and– more importantly-- living them daily in my work has had an amazing result. I haven’t lost clients. Quite the opposite! I have gotten the *right* clients, who seek me out because our values align. If there are some museums that don’t “like my politics,” I am grateful to not have to bother saying no them! Finally watching and listening-- really listening-- to especially the Black, brown, and native women, femmes, and gender nonbinary folks in our field– and to all marginalized folks both inside and outside of museums– has inspired me to take greater and more direct action. At the beginning of this year I started Fund the Change, a fund that gives one-time gifts of $200 or more with no strings attached to activists and change-makers in our field. A percentage of my revenue is automatically allocated to the fund and, so far, 9 gifts have been made. Priority is given to people of color, Native and indigenous peoples, LGBTIQ folks, people with disabilities, those with financial disadvantages, and women. “Fund the Change” is my direct response to pervasive inaction in our sector. It is also an acknowledgement of my own privilege and a way to hold myself accountable, personally and professionally, to shifting the power dynamic.
- DANIELLE: Change doesn’t just affect us. We affect change. We have been so moved by what all you have shared with us this week here in Portland– and MuseumNext isn’t over yet! KATE: Thanks for being here, and for being on this journey with us. We’re happy to take comments and questions.