Abstract
Tensions and violence associated with racism and other forms of oppression are on the rise, deeply affecting individuals from equity-deserving groups. Within this divisive and increasingly oppressive social climate, museums and galleries have the potential to become spaces for care, transformative action, and healing. The research at the centre of this study is exploring how contemporary artists working with anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices that encourage social participation can promote shifts in cultural and social attitudes and behaviours. Three racialized artists working with anti-racist and anti-oppressive artistic practices were invited to engage in artist residencies in a university art gallery. Data collection processes included visitor and artist interviews, observations, and participatory action research with university students. Analysis of this data revealed how each artist utilized distinct strategies to engage publics in social participation to critically examine, dismantle, and prevent racism and other forms of oppression. They created spaces for visitors to join them in reflecting on and engaging in reciprocity, relationality, and well-being practices, generating a gallery space for healing and growth. As a storyteller, facilitator of rest, and nurturer, each artist created the conditions for visitors to collectively participate in artistic actions that promoted care, renewal, and reimagined futures, aligning with maternal gift economy principles. The artists’ participatory practices provide creative pedagogical methods for critiquing, disrupting, and transforming oppressive narratives and practices within and beyond museums and galleries. This study highlights artistic methods for supporting social participation, care, transformative action, and healing in museum and gallery education.
Presenters
Natasha S. ReidAssistant Professor, Art Education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
GALLERY EDUCATION, ANTI-RACISM, ARTIST RESIDENCIES, SOCIAL PARTICIPATION, MATERNAL GIFT ECONOMY
