[COLLECTIVE LIBERATION] DISRUPT, DISMANTLE, MANIFEST

UPDATE: Call for proposals extended to end of day April 20.

2021 Equity Coalition Convening

JUNE 2-4, 2021

The legacies of colonial and racialized violence, and white supremacy broadly, express themselves in myriad ways in contemporary museum practice. Internal and external transformation is required for shifting systems of power; interrupting the cycle of abusive museum culture; and healing from traumatic histories. 

Yet, despite decades of advocacy,  we keep repeating the same patterns. Why? What keeps us from taking necessary actions?

We must face individual and institutional unwillingness in museums to self-educate and the resistance to embed racial equity. We must name the lack of transparency, accountability, and serious commitment to make this work foundational. We must move our field away from performative, so-called DEAI measures that center whiteness towards models that break historical patterns of inequity and harm.

We are calling for a radical reimagining of possibilities around what a museum can be for its publics when racial justice is at its center. 

Call for proposals closes April 16, 2021.
Selections will be confirmed by May 1, 2021.

PRESENT A CYPHER

Complete this form to propose your idea for a session, dialog, or poster presentation or send us a video or audio recording answering the questions.

JOIN US IN JUNE

Stay tuned for registration details. Follow:

@MuseumsAndRace
@MuseumAction 
@MuseumWorkers
@EmpatheticMuse
@incluseum
@VisitorsOfColor 
#MuseumsAreNotNeutral

WHO WE ARE:

This Coalition represents the change-making movements Museums and Race, MASS Action, Museum Workers Speak, The Incluseum, Museums Are Not Neutral, Empathetic Museum, and Visitors of Color. Collectively, we believe there is inherent inequity in the existing systems alive in our institutions, and that we must address this foundationally through the lens of racial justice and anti-white supremacy. We are committed to effecting real, substantive, and transformative change in the museum field and seeing the manifestations of this work happen in our lifetime.

Contact MuseumsRace@gmail.com for more information. 

Although we will be working virtually, we commit to share resources, build accountability partners, and organize within our community, particularly with colleagues across cultural, racial, and ideological spectra.


Download 2021 Equity Coalition Convention one-sheet

SEE YOU IN NOLA! Museums & Race at AAM 2019

This year WE ALL GET FREE! 

We can’t wait to see you at this year’s American Alliance of Museums conference in New Orleans. We’ve got so much planned and cannot wait to share it with you. If you need a break, a lift, a moment of inspiration, we’ve got you. (Expo Hall – Booth 1112)

Follow @museumsandrace and #museumsandrace to stay in the know!

Co-sponsored by our friends at MASS Action:

CoSponsor MASS Action logo - Elisabeth Callihan


All the Things:

WE ALL GET FREE – A RESTORATIVE RETREAT & WORKSHOPWorkshop ms logo change - brileyanne@mac.com.jpeg
Join Museums and Race, the Empathetic Museum, MASS Action and The National WWII Museum for We All Get Free, a restorative retreat for museum practitioners who seek to build network and meaningful connections with other professionals who share a deeper understanding of museum practice as it relates to social justice. This 4-hour workshop consists of five components: Self-Care, Restorative Justice, a Dialogic component, Wellness, and an Interactive Creative component.
Co-Sponsored by our friends at University of Florida Museum Studies Program


COMMUNITY CYPHER DIALOGS

Cypher Feature POW NO BACKGROUND - Paul OrselliJoin round table hosts to discuss a range of contemporary issues around race, image, representation, access, and identity. Grab coffee or lunch and join us for some real talk. Monday 1-2pm, 3-4pm; Tuesday 10-11am, Noon-1pm, 1-2pm, 3:15-4:15pm, Wednesday, 8:30-9:30am (schedule details below)
Sponsored by our friends at POW!

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RELAXATION NOOKS 

Need a moment to catch your breath, close your eyes, and prepare for your next networking challenge? Check out our colorful relaxation pods and take a moment to clear your head and nourish your soul! Open during all Expo Hall hours.
Sponsored by our friends at Quatrefoil


PARTICIPATORY ARTIST INSTALLATIONS Artists Feature HRA_logo2 - Dawn Vogel

We’ve partnered with local Level Artist Collective to engage loungers in exploring these mediums for personal expression and building community identity. Come get your hands dirty — we’ll provide the wet wipes.
Sponsored by our friends at Historical Research Associates 


WORK THAT NETWORK HAPPY HOUR & POETRY SLAMBalboa Park Cultural Partnership Logo (RGB) - Kristen Mihalko

Drop by Tuesday from 4:30-5:30 for a Networking Happy Hour.  Take a moment, connect with colleagues, and build a strong network of industry professional committed to challenging and re-imagining institutional policies and systems that perpetuate oppressions in museums.
Sponsored by our friends at Balboa Park Cultural partnership


MUSEUMS & RACE REPORT CARD

Join us Monday 1-2 pm for a frank conversation about Museums and Race. As the museum industry comes under increased scrutiny about policies surrounding race, diversity, inclusion, and representation, we take this opportunity to reflect on events from the past year to celebrate excellence, challenge mistakes, and identify opportunities for continued growth and forward momentum. From exhibition, to programming, to governance, to funding, issues of equity will continue to challenge us personally and professionally. How will we meet these challenges and grow our capacity to serve our communities?


Schedule:

SATURDAY, MAY 18 | Noon – 4pm
WE ALL GET FREE Pre-conference Workshop
The National WW II Museum

MONDAY, MAY 20 | Noon – 5:30pm
Museums & Race Lounge
Interactive Artist Installation

Community Cypher | 1-2pm
AAM Museums & Race Talk Back

Community Cypher | 3-4pm
Inclusive Leadership: The Rise of DEAI Officers

TUESDAY, MAY 21 | 10am – 5:30pm
Museums & Race Lounge
Interactive Artist Installation

Community Cypher | 10-11am
Naming and Subverting Whiteness in Museum Education

Community Cypher | Noon-1pm
Insisting on Equity: Collaborative Strategies through MASS Action

Community Cypher | 1-2pm
We Have a Place Here: Mixed Race and Museums

Community Cypher | 3:15-4:15pm
Is That Hung White: Representation in Exhibition Design

“HAPPY HOUR” and MR Poetry Slam | 4:30 – 5:30pm

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22 | 8:30am – Noon
Museums & Race Lounge

Community Cypher | 8:30-9:30am
Empathy: Core vs Cosmetic


Special Thanks to:

WC_logo_RGB - Susie Wilkening

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1_auut-studio  web-CCM


Laissez les bons temps rouller!


Looking forward to 2020

If you’re interested in serving on the 2019-2020 Museums & Race Steering Committee, let us know! 

WE ALL GET FREE retreat + restorative experience (AAM 2019)

SEE FINAL MUSEUMS & RACE LOUNGE SCHEDULE HERE

 


This year, WE ALL GET FREE!

We hope you’ll join us at the American Alliance of Museums conference (May 18-22)

The 4th Annual Transformation and Justice Lounge engages Local Artists to tell the unique stories of New Orleans; hosts Community Cyphers to dialog about pressing issues of museums, race, and practice; and invites weary conference travelers to recharge in our Relaxation Pod.
(Expo Hall Booth #1112)

For updates, follow: @MuseumsandRace #MuseumsandRace


SCHEDULE
Laissez les bons temps rouller!

Saturday, May 18 | Noon – 4pm
WE ALL GET FREE Pre-conference Workshop
The National WW II Museum

Monday, May 20 | Noon – 5:30pm
Museums & Race Lounge
Interactive Artist Installation

Community Cypher | 1-2pm
AAM Museums & Race Talk Back

Community Cypher | 3-4pm
Inclusive Leadership: The Rise of DEAI Officers

Tuesday, May 21 | 10am – 5:30pm
Museums & Race Lounge
Interactive Artist Installation

Community Cypher | 10-11am
Naming and Subverting Whiteness in Museum Education

Community Cypher | Noon-1pm
Insisting on Equity: Collaborative Strategies through MASS Action

Community Cypher | 1-2pm
We Have a Place Here: Mixed Race and Museums

Community Cypher | 3:15-4:15pm
Is That Hung White: Representation in Exhibition Design

“HAPPY HOUR” and MR Poetry Slam | 4:30 – 5:30pm

Wednesday, May 22 | 8:30am – Noon
Museums & Race Lounge

Community Cypher | 8:30-9:30am
Empathy: Core vs Cosmetic

AAM 2018 | Announcing >> Museums & Race Transformation and Justice Lounge: REFLECT, RECHARGE, RECLAIM

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Ready to challenge and transform industry values that perpetuate structural racism within our community? Join us in Phoenix!

REFLECT on current Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access issues via our round-table dialogs.

RECHARGE in our lounge area and relaxation nook.

RECLAIM a progressive vision for museums in collaboration with local artists and colleagues. Follow @MuseumsandRace #MuseumsandRace

Interested in volunteering for the Transformation and Justice Lounge?  Give us a shout on social media.  Core lounge staff will be eligible for FREE and/or reduced-cost access to the Expo Hall and AAM Conference.  CONTACT US >>

Museums and Race is looking for sponsors to support the critical dialog and work engaged in by our colleagues in this space.  LEARN MORE >> 

AAM 2017 | VISIT #MUSEUMSandRACE: SHARE AND BE INSPIRED!

Museums & Race

Community Center and Transformation Lounge

at the American Alliance of Museums 2017 Annual Meeting

May 8 & 9 2017 – in the MuseumExpo

 

Museums and Race is a movement to challenge and re-imagine institutional policies and systems that perpetuate oppressions in museums. We are a group of museum professionals who are interested in effecting radical change in our field. Our work is (1) to persuade our colleagues that it is necessary to adopt a new philosophical stance on the role of the museum that is both morally and culturally responsive and grounded in empathy, respect, and inclusion and (2) to build and grow a movement toward examining and ultimately transforming institutional policies. Museums & Race joins efforts with colleagues focused on this work.

 

The American Alliance of Museums has provided space at the annual meeting in St. Louis this May to support this movement. There Museums and Race will host a Community Center and Transformation Lounge – a space to recharge, engage in self-reflection, connect with others and share resources about justice and transformation across our professional field. The Community Center and Transformation Lounge will be a hybrid drop in space in the MuseumExpo that includes interactive activities and pop-up presentations that encourage connecting with others involved in justice-centered work and open dialog.

The Museums & Race Community Center and Transformation Lounge will be open on Monday, May 8 from 11:45 am to 5:30 pm and on Tuesday, May 9 from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm.

We have attempted to schedule programming during times when conference activities with a similar focus are not taking place to provide a platform for continued discourse and sharing of ideas and practice across the field.

Join us for:

  • Lightning Talks on Tuesday from 3-5 pm with speakers Ariana Curtis, Ranald Woodaman, Lisa Sasaki, Chris Taylor, Kai Frazier, Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko, and Nicole Ivy.

 The Lightning Talks are designed for museum professionals to speak truth to power on  intersectionality, privilege, systems of oppression, institutional legacies and other related topics. The talks will be informational, inspirational and conversational. Some of the topics that will be covered include decolonizing museums, Afro Latinx identity, community engagement and more!

  •  Open Mic opportunities throughout the afternoon for attendees to give short talks (sign-up sheet at the entrance).

 

  • Participants and visitors of the Community Center and Transformation Lounge will be able to record multimedia Testimonies as short videos or in writing.

 

  •  The Justice Fleet mobile museum that bridges art activism, intergroup dialogue, community education, and community healing will also be onsite.

Come to inspire and be inspired! ! For more details and additional announcements, follow us on Twitter & Instagram at @MuseumsandRace; follow us on Facebook. We invite everyone to use the #MuseumsandRace and #AAM2017 hashtags on social media to share justice and transformation related discussions, sessions, and presentations among ourselves and with our broader community online!