Institution Is People
Institution is people. If institutions want to change, people need to change.
I’ve made this statement many times and believe it! Before reading further, a note on my positionality: I am a Black, able bodied, cisgender woman, art historian, and equity practitioner who works in an academic art and design museum in New England. I’m also a Christian who leans on biblical principles, one of which is CHANGE. This is my perspective…
When it comes to institutions like museums, the belief is that they are entrenched, therefore they cannot change. A belief also that museums are immovable, like the Greco-Roman columns that support their facades or too old to change like the objects displayed inside them. What I know, from my experience, is that institutions are made up of people. I believe that people can, in fact, change. Therefore, institutions can change.
According to Dictionary.com (keeping this accessible) Institution (noun) is defined as:
an organization, establishment, foundation, society, or the like, devoted to the promotion of a particular cause or program, especially one of a public, educational, or charitable character.
a well-established and structured pattern of behavior or of relationships that is accepted as a fundamental part of a culture, as marriage:
any established law, custom, etc.
any familiar, long-established person, thing, or practice; fixture.
Organizations, foundations, societies, and museums are made up of people. Museums are a byproduct of imperialism and colonialism; come see where we’ve been and who we’ve conquered along with their stuff. The continuation of these exclusionary systems persists in museums today. These systems of oppression and harm are established and perpetrated by people. There are nuances to this; architecture can perpetuate exclusion too, but for the sake of argument, let’s focus on humans who make decisions in museums. Who are these humans? According to the 2022 Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey, museum leadership is 80% white and 20% people of color. And museum directors are mostly white women. So, people making decisions are white. Facts. What then can we do about this? How can we diversify the museum field? First, remove barriers to accessing a degree in art history, public humanities and the like. Then offer people exposure to museums and museum work early. From field trips in grade school to internships and apprenticeships in high school and college. When there’s more and more diverse representation in museum leadership, less biases will occur. Furthermore, diversity of thought will lead to equitable, inclusive and creative decision making.
While the colonial foundations of museums cannot be wiped away, hopefully, with people representing the global majority in power, remediation of the past can happen. Museums can become civic spaces for telling the truth of the past through the objects in their collections. In my institution, I’ve seen people change. White people change. They’re acknowledging their privilege, questioning curatorial practices, seeking expertise from specific cultural knowledge beares, expanding partnerships, increasing transparency and accountability, repatriating objects and reimagining collections.
It is much easier to believe people and old institutions cannot or will not change. Change is risky, messy and a lot of work. But IF the people in institutions like museums change: new, fresh, diverse talent as well as those who are overrepresented growing, unlearning, and relearning, the future of museums is bright.
I’m hopeful.
Signed,
Your friendly neighborhood Black girl who loves museums
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Can museums change? Sound off in the comments.
