Twenty-Third International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

This workshop will illustrate that educational theory and practice can and should be at the heart of an inclusive curatorial project. In summer 2024 The Bronx Museum’s (New York, NY, USA) Education Department curated an exhibition, Making Room: Museum as Space for Self-Expression, that was deeply rooted in the museum’s existent educational programs and pedagogical practice; featuring work and didactics from the museum’s collection and its educational programs, it provides an example of learner-informed curation. Making Room provided opportunities to both demonstrate and strengthen meaningful community relationships and give platform and agency to a variety of voices historically excluded from museum decision-making and institutional authority. Attendees will learn about the methodologies and approach used by The Bronx Museum in curating the exhibition Making Room and hear about the experiences of the artists featured as well as how curators considered interactive aspects and interpretation from the exhibition’s inception. By reviewing the process we used, participants will gain an understanding of how a learner-informed curatorial approach can expand avenues of communication, trust, and creativity within a museum space. They will consider both immediate and longer-term ways to use a community-based and learner-informed approach to strengthen their work. Finally, attendees will consider how to use their own personal and institutional definitions of inclusion to envision what a truly inclusive curatorial practice looks like and how to work toward this in their roles.