Mobilizing the Collection

With the decentering of the discipline of art history, museums in this century are working to transcend the values that shaped their collections. A panel discussion among curators and directors will explore how western-centric collections can engage contemporary audiences in a multicultural society. Panelists will also give short presentations outlining projects that have attempted to address this issue through loans, exhibitions, and programming.

Questions to be addressed include: How are we to mobilize our collections, using our works of art as a starting point for conversations that promote inclusiveness and connection to our audiences? What are the potential challenges that face museum professionals who move outside their areas of specialty in order to speak reach new audiences? How can museums can work across boundaries established by institutions, established canons, and audiences? The panel will address the inherent challenges of decentering the history of art while working with objects and collections that affirm the Western European canon. We will also explore the negative tropes associated with race, gender, and class that are reflected in museum collections and will discuss how museums can approach these difficult and ugly aspects of our shared history.

Mobilizing the Collection is an affiliated society session for AAMC (the Association of Art Museum Curators) and is taking place on Saturday 2/24 4-5:30 pm.