Overview

"A series of over 40 essays written by well-known leaders in the museum sector and related fields contribute to our understanding of the word ""museum"" in the United States and internationally. Members of the International Council of Museums provide overviews of topics"

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9781538167809

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In provocative, thoughtful, and probing essays, practitioners from around the world explore the potential for museums, as guardians of our shared human heritage, to be agents of transformation. While perspectives vary, the common thread is a passionate call for museums to use their platforms as safe and trustworthy spaces to inspire learning - and motivate action - about the most critical issues of our time: social equity, economic justice, and the future of our planet. As stewards of global memory (to borrow a phrase from author Morien Rees), museums are uniquely positioned to deliver meaningful encounters with the authenticity of human experience. They are communal places for discovery (and reminders) of the essence of what makes us human - in all its variety and complexity - so that we can better understand ourselves and our potential, indeed our obligation, to create a better and truly sustainable future for the generations that will follow us.--Alice Greenwaldt, President and CEO, National 9/11 Memorial and Museum Only a decade ago, few would have questioned the legitimacy of museums. Today few would unhesitatingly rush to their defense. This seismic shift in opinion emanates from a dissipation of trust in institutions generally, exacerbated by tone-deafness among cultural leaders. This volume of thoughtful essays distills the obligations facing museum leaders in the present and future, from implementing fair labor practices to embracing surrounding communities, to combating climate change. It will serve as an essential primer to understand museums--and, we may hope, stimulate more enlightened attitudes and behaviors on the part of those in charge.--Maxwell L. Anderson, President, Souls Grown Deep Foundation & Community Partnership The outset of 2020's dual pandemics - a global public health pandemic, and U.S. racial equity and justice pandemic that has seen reverberations across the globe - remain unresolved in 2022. These revealing essays highlight immediate urgencies across the museum field - urgencies that both historically and still continue to unequally burden our colleagues, stakeholders, conventional audiences/communities as well as those who have historically been ignored. But contributors equally inform this volume with their experiential 'long view', making it clear that these issues are not new at all, that the cultural and financial dominance of a single museum model cannot reflect 21st century realities. What IS new at present is the depth and the globalized breadth of a demand for change, from both within the field and from broad sectors of our publics.--Deborah Mack, Ph.D., Associate Director for Strategic Partnerships, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian What is a Museum? is an essential read for both emerging and seasoned museum professionals alike. At once scholarly and accessible, it provides a range of thoughtful essays that capture the breadth and depth of current thinking in this field. Driven by ICOM's United States National Committee, and written primarily for an American audience, this work nevertheless pulls together a broad geographic range of authors, from ICOM's deep pool of thought leaders. Its response to conversations about the definition of museums is timely. In a world that increasingly needs the kind of positive influence that museums can provide, considerations of topics such as repatriation, sustainably and social justice are particularly relevant. As Lonnie Bunch (Chapter 25) says in his final remarks '...museums of all kinds have the obligation to use our expertise and platforms for the greater good. We can and must reach more people, be more relevant to their lives, and have a more profound impact.' This book is an important contributor to that vision.--Eric Dorfman, Director and CEO, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

In provocative, thoughtful, and probing essays, practitioners from around the world explore the potential for museums, as guardians of our shared human heritage, to be agents of transformation.--Alice Greenwaldt, President and CEO, National 9/11 Memorial and Museum These revealing essays highlight immediate urgencies across the museum field--urgencies that both historically and still continue to unequally burden our colleagues, stakeholders, conventional audiences/communities as well as those who have historically been ignored.--Deborah Mack, Ph.D., Associate Director for Strategic Partnerships, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian This volume... will serve as an essential primer to understand museums--and, we may hope, stimulate more enlightened attitudes and behaviors on the part of those in charge.--Maxwell L. Anderson, President, Souls Grown Deep Foundation & Community Partnership

Author Information

Kate Quinn has been working and teaching in the museum field for close to two decades. As Director of Exhibitions and Special Programs at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, she directed more than 100 special exhibitions and gallery projects, most with an international focus. In 2020 she was appointed the Executive Director of the Michener Art Museum. She is a Master Lecturer in the Museum Studies program at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and is Co-Chair of the Programming Committee for the United States National Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM-US). Alejandra Peña Gutiérrez has been working for 30 years as a visual arts and museum professional. Her career started in Mexico City where she worked at various museums before she became director of the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes. She was General Deputy Director of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes in Mexico; Director of the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico. In 2021 she was appointed Director of the Weisman Art Museum of the University of Minnesota. Peña Gutiérrez is Co-Chair of the Programming Committee for ICOM-US, she is also a member of the Risk Management Standing Committee of ICOM General Created in 1946, the International Council of Museums (ICOM) is a non-governmental organization maintaining formal relations with UNESCO and having a consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. ICOM also partners with entities such as the World Intellectual Property Organization, Interpol, and the World Customs Organization in order to carry out its international public service missions, which include fighting illicit traffic in cultural goods and promoting risk management and emergency preparedness to protect world cultural heritage in the event of natural or man-made disasters.

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