Author: Ann Wettrich

Leslie and I want to thank each and every one of you for an enriching semester.  Your contributions of knowledge, ideas, questions, resources, productive critiques, creative energies and insights made for a particularly lively Museum Studies learning community this semester. We very much enjoyed and were inspired by your creative final project presentations and thoughtful reflections examining museum engagement approaches and proposing your own innovative strategies.

Hoping you will continue to explore museums.  Would love to see you and/or your ideas at play in museums in the future!

Wonderful experience at MOAD for our last field trip of the semester.  Our visit was hosted by Demetri Broxton, Senior Education Direction, with a tour led by Sedey Gebreyes, MOAD new Education Program Manager, followed by observations, class meeting, and finally a discussion Demetri and Sedey, along with Nia McAllistor, Visitor Experience Manager, and Azha Simmons, Development Associate.

Overview of MOAD

 “MoAD, a contemporary art museum, celebrates Black cultures, ignites challenging conversations, and inspires learning through the global lens of the African Diaspora.” (MOAD website)  The museum’s current emphasis on contemporary art is a shift from MOAD’s earlier mission. Opening in 2005 as a “modern museum designed to showcase art and culture through the lens of the African Diaspora” MOAD emphasized the history of the diaspora, defined as the migration of people and culture away from their homeland. The content was organized around four themes:  Origin, Movement, Adaptation and Transformation. Some Bay Area educators are dismayed by this shift of focus to contemporary art, as they were accustomed to using MOAD as a resource for teaching African diasporic histories.  Some of this content can still be found through museum’s website portals, such as the Wells Fargo Heritage Center, and the Slavery Narratives.  The website also includes information on its street-facing, staircase photomosaic The Face of the African Diaspora, made up of over 2,000 individual photos submitted by people across the world and ascends three floors.  It is based around an original photo portrait by Chester Higgins, Jr. and has a musical component– the MoAD Suite.  This piece, composed by Babatude Lea working with producers Greg Landau and John Greenham to “take listeners on a musical journey through time, demonstrating the ways music has evolved as it has traveled across the diaspora.”

MOAD has no permanent collection and now focuses on mounting changing contemporary art exhibitions, featuring the work of African artists throughout the diaspora.  MOAD is a Smithsonian affiliate. This means that MOAD has access to training, library and archive.  This arrangement does not include generally include funding, although occasionally the Smithsonian may provide a small amount of support for a particular short-term project.

Tour of Galleries

Sedey walked us through the exhibition on the third floor Black is Beautiful, a show organized by the Aperture Foundation, featuring the photographs of Kwame Braithwaite and exploring the Pan African movement of the 50’s and 60’s in Harlem.  She explained the overarching perspective in play of “nothing about us, for us, without us.”

Stopping in front of a few select works, she shared information about the artist and pointed out specific imagery, his graphic design and aesthetic sensibilities, as well as his interest in generating and circulating resources and creativity within the Black community. Sedey also asked us questions to provoke individual observations, collective reflective, thinking and discussion. We paused together to look and consider possible meanings. We spent a bit of time in each section of this show–African Jazz Art Society; Think Black, Buy Black; The Gradassa Models.  Curatorial text for each of these sections is included in the Educator’s Resource Guide, available for download online and includes a handy list of themes and guiding questions that can be used to stimulate thinking and conversation.

Sedey walked us briefly through the second floor exhibitions.  Don’t Shoot: An Opus of the Opulence of Blackness features the work of local artists (co-curated by Melanie Green and Melorra Green who are co-directors of the African American Art & Culture Complex in San Francisco) and includes some participatory engagement opportunities–i.e. photo opportunity within an art installation.  She also walked us through Chanelle Stone’s exhibition Natura Negra / Black Nature exploring the re-naturing of the black body in the American landscape.

Individual Observations

We explored the museum and exhibitions on view individually and in pairs, as a class on our own, using the following guiding prompts:

1. Global Observation. How do the curators open space for the contest of ideas in the museum?  What questions and thoughts are being upended and explored?  Are the artists and/or the exhibitions functioning as catalysts?  Are the artists and/or the exhibition addressing and/or rewriting history? If so, what strategies are in play?
2. Intimate Observation. Artist as catalyst…. Find a work of art that you find challenging or don’t fully understand.  Spend 10 minutes or more with it, observing, reading labels or contextual text. What strategies is the artist employing to engage thinking and challenge assumptions? What happens? Does this experience shift, unravel or expand your thinking?
3. Community Engagement. How can exhibitions be a catalyst for community learning and dialogue? Spend time with one exhibition at the museum? What relevant issues are addressed?  What visions, thoughts, or questions are evoked?  How could this exhibition be used to advance meaningful community dialogue or engagement?

Class Meeting

We gathered in MOAD’s classroom and while we were settling in, we noticed the poster on the MOAD classroom wall depicting the Transatlantic Slave Routes, adding another contextual layer to our experience.

We spent a little time discussing the final assignment and clarifying all lingering questions before jumping into a conversation about video homework assignment–Thelma Golden’s Ted Talk, How Art Gives Shape to Cultural Change and your observation experiences in the gallery.

A rich conversation…a very few highlights:

• Appreciation for the arts capacity to open up the world to new thoughts and ideas.
• “The more things change, the more they stay the same” an appropriate catch all for our dialogue about aesthetic styles and fashions from the sixties to the present day. Several of you felt there were noticeable differences; others saw similarities; someone commented that today’s styles make the sixties look tame.
• Curatorial vision and strategy of Golden, where an exhibition serves as a sort of think tank engaging a series of questions she’s curious about–in her case African American artists and communities and how they can help us shape and understand the world.
• Several discussed images they studied and found powerful, or were perplexed by and curious about. A few examples: Mothers of the Church – five women all dressed in white, bringing to mind the power of spirit and maturity; Stone’s Fruitvale 2019 – woman under a fig tree within a bleak landscape, would this be referencing the Garden of Eden and being cast out as a metaphor? ALSO naked imagery in Stone’s work–different speculations on its impact and what her intention might be.

Conversation with MOAD Staff

Career Pathways – Each person introduced themselves and talked about their specific job and career trajectory.

Demetri – He is also an exhibiting artist with an undergraduate degree in painting and a minor in education.  He received a graduate degree in museum studies from SFSU. He began working at MOAD in 2007 as an education coordinator.  Due to a philosophical difference with MOAD leadership at the time, he left this position and went to work in the area of nonprofit and educational policy, working for 6.5 years with Americorps at a middle school.  In 2016 he came back to MOAD and was hired onto his current position, Senior Education Director.

He discussed how his education philosophy has evolved from earlier days to his current work.  He has a new lens on the transformative aspects of education that he has applied at MOAD.  For example, his predecessor started the MOAD in the Classroom Program serving third- graders at Title 1 Schools (where 50% or more of the students are eligible for free/reduced lunch).  When he came to MOAD, rather than imposing his own ideas, he held a teacher focus group and asked teachers what they needed and wanted.  The program grew to provide more wrap around services–involving schools, families and communities, growing from 300 – 1,300 students served annually–especially important given the lack of art education in schools.

Sedey – New to MOAD as the Education Program Manager.  She has less than two weeks on the job, but feels like she’s come home.  She studied art in college but found work in the corporate world until she realized her passion was in art and education.  She worked in education in schools as a teaching artist, as well as after-school programs, and museums (DeYoung and SF MOMA).

Nia – Visitor Experience Manager, is a writer who majored in Environmental Justice.  Her job includes managing the bookstore and focusing on visitor engagement by developing programming around specific exhibitions, i.e. films, theatre, readings, music performances, etc.  She is passionate about being a resource for the community and cultivating meaningful connections with curators and artists.  She is an avid reader and loves the part of her job where she selects books for the bookstore–the only Black bookstore in SF.

Azha – Development Associate.  She focused on African Studies at SFSU and worked as an intern at MOAD.  She got her graduate degree in museum studies and education interpretation from JFK University and during this time worked as an intern at a variety of museums.  Once she completed her MA degree, she returned to MOAD and was hired into her current position.  Responding to a question on her vision for museums in the future, Azha commented that she would like to see more hands-on participatory engagement–going beyond the role of traditional museums in exhibiting and preserving objects.  “Like the Exploratorium but not so loud.”

Open Dialogue & Exchange – Introductory remarks were followed by a question and answer exchange with the staff.  A few highlights:

• Collections – Demetri explained that MOAD does not have a collection and that young culturally specific museums (MOAD is only 15 years old) prefer not to have collections so that they do not have to get involved with identifying the provenance of objects and addressing repatriation issues–giving back objects that were originally stolen, changed hands, and then eventually donated to museums. He mentioned that donating objects to HBCU’s (historically Black colleges and universities) is an established practice.
• Traveling Exhibitions – MOAD has partnered with other museums and exhibited their traveling shows. The museum is also interested in organizing exhibits that travel but has not yet done so.
• Beyond exhibitions, MOAD has a variety of programs to engage a diversity of visitors.  At least two or three programs a week are held. A few examples:  Chef in Residence events (talks, panels, discussions, symposia) on topics like food justice; Poets in Residence readings; Hosting the African American Bookclub.

NEXT WEEK (December 19th):  Meet in our CCSF downtown classroom.  We will harvest learning across the semester through presentations, dialogue and celebration in our last class together.  Leslie & Ann will bring healthy snacks to share. You are welcome to add to the mix–but definitely NOT required.

HOMEWORK

1. Final Assignments Due: Final Project (students taking class for a letter grade):  5-7 minute oral presentation; turn in cover sheet and worksheet; or Final Reflection Paper (students taking the class P/NP) . NOTE:  Bring self-addressed, stamped envelope if you would like us to return your assignment with grade and comments.
2. Blog Posts for MOAD field trip.
3. Finish up any blogs or outstanding missing assignments to turn in.

Good to step back into class and spend time in our CCSF eighth floor classroom with you digging into museum engagement in preparation for the final assignment.

Blog Posts Conversation

We discussed a few highlights from recent blog posts, thinking more about the CJM, the values conflict several of you pointed out–contrasting immigration/emigration experiences with their exhibits and their financial relationship with Salesforce, ICE collaborator.

We also discussed the need several mentioned for more interpretive signage as a way to better understand the abstract work in Annabeth Rosen’s exhibit “Fired, Broken, Gathered, Heaped.”  We also talked about the Exploratorium and its website and rich content along with the need mentioned for better organization and a wish for a stronger statement of Oppenheimer’s exceptional vision as founder.

Finally, we discussed concerns and Beverly’s post about the abrupt and disturbing class cuts at CCSF on the eve of registration–actions to take and efforts underway to restore classes. Museum studies is one of the over 300 classes that has been cancelled.

Engagement Workshop

To develop a deeper understanding of this topic, I presented a powerpoint and brought in some sample engagement artifacts.  We watched again discussed Nina Simon’s video talk Visitor as Participant and reviewed the Museum Engagement Frameworks handout (also sometimes referred to as Guideposts), all in preparation for the final assignment–see Final Project Review Sheet.  All final project guidelines and documents can be found in the Class Documents section of this site.

We talked about what engagement means (active participation vs. passive consumption) and why it is of value–listing a few things, i.e. making museums accessible to all, increasing visitor rates and meaningful encounters, helping a diversity of people connect with each other for the sake of enjoyment, learning and meaning making OR as the Oakland Museum puts it, to “increase our reach and impact in the community and become a more sustainable organization.”

We discussed Simon’s definitions of the traditional and participatory museum structures.  She distinguishes the traditional model as “content provider” (centering the museum as voice of authority, providing highly vetted, accurate and high quality content) and the participatory model as “platform providers” (with museum focus on visitor engagement and connection with content, sharing stories and diverse, unique perspectives).  Museum are not all embracing participatory practices. Many successfully employ a blend of traditional and participatory strategies. What will work best can be determined by context and aims. Appropriateness of activities and assessment of success is based on the specific museum’s vision, exhibition and target audience goals. We wrangled with the fact that there is no one right way, yet some strategies work better than others. Museums are experimenting and learning what works best for them.

After a long discussion and analysis of specific engagement examples, we worked in groups to brainstorm ideas for final projects–listing strategies and using the frameworks to generate thinking and analysis.   Excited by what you’re cooking up and am looking forward to seeing the results of your work on December 19th!

Classmate Recommendations

The Oakland Museum is celebrating its 50th anniversary…lots of exciting events and activities coming up.

REMINDERS FOR NEXT WEEK – December 12th

MEET UP:  2:10 at MOAD in the lobby / 685 Mission (near 3rd) – $4 fee to reimburse me.  THEME for class:  Art/Museums/Exhibits as catalyst for change.

 HOMEWORK

– Review Museum of the African Diaspora (MOAD)and write notes on mission and related programs/resources in journal.

– View How Art Gives Shape to Cultural Change– Thelma Golden video.

– Research & Development – on going work for final project (letter grade students)or final reflection paper (P/NP students)

– REMINDER:  Turn in late assignments, catch up on missing blogs, and don’t forget about the option turn in make-up assignments for missed classes.

Enlightening class visit to the Asian Art Museum. Thanks for your preparation and participation that enabled a lively conversation with the museum Public & Community Programs team.

Located in the civic center neighborhood, the museum’s stated mission is to connect art to life and “inspire new ways of thinking by connecting diverse communities to historical and contemporary Asian art and culture through our world-class collection, exhibitions and programs.”  

We found out more about how this mission plays out on the ground through our talks with Alison Wyckoff, Associate Director of Public & Community Programs; Triana Patel, Educator / Youth & Family Programs; Indra Mungal, Senior Educator/Public Programs; Margaret Yee, Manager of School/Teacher Programs; Natasha Reichle, Curator of South East Asian Art, and Andrew Lau, Head of Digital. We learned a bit about the museum’s history, programming,  and inner-workings, along with decolonizing and engagement issues and strategies.

Part I:  Staff Presentation & Discussion Highlights

Museum Overview

First established to house the donated Avery Brundage collection (about 1/3 of the current overall collection of 1,800 objects), the museum was originally part of the de Young in Golden Gate Park. In 2003 it moved to its current location.  Located in the old SFPL library, the building was renovated to house the museum. The museum is currently growing its footprint, Architect Kulapat Yantrasast designed the new additions and renovated galleries to widen appeal, engagement and exhibition capacity.  The new wing, housing more contemporary and Asian American art, will open April 24th with free weekend activities.

What is Asia? The museum has a broad definition of Asia with artifacts from Southeast Asia, the Persian World and West Asia, the Himalayas, Mongolia, China, Korea, Japan, and the Diaspora.

Staffing –  The museum has grown considerably over the years and has about 180 staff members.  Each staff member described their position and pathway into museum work.  Hope you all have good notes on this as I do not!

Governance – The museum is operated as a public/private partnership–with a city commission and a foundation board.  At the time the museum was formed, the City and County of SF Asian Art Commission was responsible for the determination of policy and for the administration and the Asian Art Museum Foundation was established as the fundraising arm of the museum.  Over the year’s the City’s share of the operational support declined, and the Foundation has taken on more of the costs.

Decolonization and Engagement Issues & Approaches

Brundage, a Nazi sympathizer, racist and advocate of America First policies in the 1930s, donated his collection of Asian art to the city of SF because of its location on the Pacific Rim as a bridge to Asia.  The Asian, along with many other US museums, has to grapple with its problematic legacy and is struggling to redefine its identity in the 21st century.  This involves difficult, emotional conversations and dialogues on how to decolonize museum spaces.

We discussed the Mother Jones article The Whitewashing of  “#WhitePeopleDoingYoga” by Chiraag Bhakta critiquing the Asian Art Museum and revealing disturbing racists and imperialist practices. The public and community programs team we spoke with welcomed the article  as “a gift” bolstering advocacy efforts for museum transparency and open dialogue about the issues raised and are hoping that upper level museum decision-makers will also take it as a serious call to action and opportunity for reflection, discussion and change.

Andrew spoke about the museum’s Access & Inclusion Task Force and its efforts–a work in progress.   In the past the museum has worked on disability access issues primarily and is now growing beyond ADA to consider intersectional approaches that also address diversity and broader issues connected to LGBT, race and ethnicity.  This led to a conversation about the hierarchical and top-down management structure of the museum, where people of color are employed at the lower rung and are doing more of the menial work.  There is a need to democratize the museum, shift hiring practices and provide opportunities for people of color to break into upper levels of the field. He recommended the book Emergent Strategies 

Provenance – The museum observes the UN 1970 convention designed to curb the export of stolen artifacts and enable countries to issue repatriation claims.  The museum has interpreted the convention to mean that if they can prove an object left its country of origin before 1970, they are in the clear.   Given the history of colonialism, plunder and the practice of art being taken during conflict, it is difficult to know the origin of many of the objects in their collection that came through wealthy people’s estates.  Since most of the museum’s collection was received prior to 1970, the issue of repatriation is not mush at issue for them.  Currently, the museum adheres to the convention and spends time determining the provenance before accepting objects into its collection.

Engagement – Indra discussed her job shift from community engagement in the marketing department where she developed the museum’s strategic plan with an access component.  She discussed the tension over the museum’s focus on four ethnic specific groups and her desire take a broader  and more comprehensive intersectional approach. She now works as senior educator in public programs where she is able to put these ideas into play.

She emphasized the importance of community partnerships and discussed her efforts that move away from a marketing-driven approaches on a show-by-show basis to developing meaningful long-term relationships connected to on-going programming.  This practice aligns with the ideas Nina Simon presented in her video talk about relevance.

Discussion followed about thematic ideas as a strategy to engage people across difference.  We discussed tea ceremony as a generative topic.  Thinking about the 3C’s levels of engagement, Indra (who previously worked at the Oakland Museum) responded that the museum doesn’t do much at the co-creative curatorial level and explained that most of their engagement work comes through programs that are connected to exhibitions.  Natasha, reiterated this point, saying that curatorial has not done much in the area of community engagement and relies on the education department for this.  They did one show at the contributory level of engagement, where they had the community write labels for objects on exhibit. There is a fair amount of resistance to these ideas from curators who value deep knowledge about obscure artifacts and often find a meaningful level of depth missing from most community responses.

Education Programs – Triana and Margaret spoke about the work they are doing.

Triana runs an internship program, where a diverse group of 10 teen interns are selected for participation each year.  Interns learn about Asian arts and culture through a curricular approach that engages a social justice lens.  Triana brings in a wide range of artists and people to work with the teens, to provide a broad array of expertise and perspectives.  Interns are paid $15.75 an hour.  Internship criteria is developed in collaboration with the teens and the current interns select new interns from the applicant pool. Internship opportunities are widely advertised through social media, libraries, school, youth and community groups, as well as peer networks.

Margaret develops programs for schools–both going out to school and having schools come to the museum.  She discussed the difficulty in getting students to the museum due to the costs of transportation.  Exhibits of student work from these programs are being displayed in the windows of the Koret Education Center where we met.  Margaret said her aim is for “students to see themselves here.”

Technology – Andrew spoke about his work that he sees as “amplifying the voices of the education and curatorial teams.”  Currently his focus is to bring more screens into the museum–putting ipads everywhere AND to providing disability access tools like screen readers that he feels need improving.  We asked about the website and putting the collection online.  No efforts in this direction are currently underway. His long-term goal is to unify disparate pieces…provide training and engage digital citizenship.

Part II:  Museum Exploration

Highlights given for exploration included the current exhibition on view Changing and Unchanging Things:  Naguchi and Hasegawa in Postwar Japan and the recently renovated and reopened third floor.  The following prompts were provided to guide your observations:

1. Preparation for Reflection Paper: Multi-cultural Voices/Visions. Explore a specific part of the gallery that focuses on a culture that is not one you identify with personally.  What can you learn about from your observations and support materials (cultural traditions, philosophies, aesthetic strategies, etc.)? Take notes on what you can find out in the time allotted.
2. Creative Play: Using Museum Hack strategies develop a tour for a specific audience (i.e. millennials, children or other demographic of your choice).  Develop an idea for an inventive tour (i.e. favorite objects with fun backstory), a game (i.e. an animal scavenger hunt).  Take notes on your plan: artifacts you’d want to engage with; audience, etc.
3. Intimate Observation: Find a part of the museum or an artwork that particularly engages you.  Take notes on what attracts you to it and what you discover/learn by spending at least 15 minutes with it.
4. Global Observation / Relevance. Explore the museum as a whole and jot down notes.  What makes it unique?  Does it feel welcoming and engaging to you?  Why or why not?   Thinking of Nina Simon talk on relevance: Who do you think the museum is welcoming in and who might feel left out?  Can you find OR invent strategies that would draw outsiders in and help them feel welcome and find meaning? If you were a staffer at the museum, what ideas would you like to try out or suggest.

Part III:  Class Discussion

1. Blog from the Mission Field Trip. We briefly considered commentary from the blog, highlighting the following:

• Inspiration and Overwhelm. So much to see and think about…hopefully motivating a deeper dive on your own.  The strategy of focusing discussion on a few works helped to deepen experience and amplified issues of gentrification, immigration and socio/political/economic issues.  Recommend Precita Eyes or City Guide mural tours to learn more.
• Appreciation of free, inclusive, open-to-all public art murals.
• Thoughtful critique and reflection about engagement in context of museums (quiet reflection vs. active participation) and the class (lecture style vs. inquiry approach). We considered the issue of good design in eliciting thoughtful responses, as well as the responsibility placed on participants to actively construct knowledge and contribute meaningfully to class or museum prompts.

2. Asian Art Museum Website – Some felt the site was not engaging, had a dull and outdated look and found it difficult to understand and find information. Others noted that the site was designed for searching and that it had a good filter for selecting content. Also to the positive side, the wealth of educational resources with curricular resources and videos was lauded.

3. Class Exploration Debrief Highlight

Many discoveries, appreciations, curiosities, critiques and questions arose from explorations.  We discussed Hinduism, modernism, accessibility of text (readability), etc.  Ideas for engagement emerged and included intriguing stories connected to objects, audio versions of ipads in gallery and wood rubbings for tactile experiences.

4. Discussion of Nina Simon’s Art of Relevance and Museum Hack video.

We began by considering the whys of engagement.  Sustainability–the financial benefits and increased audiences–were mentioned, noting how the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History tripled its membership and took its budget from a deficit to 1.6 million in five years.  Also, Museum Hack founder Nick Gray mentioned the power of art to communicate across time–noting how being exposed to creative work across 5,000 years of human history can inspire us to become better creators.

We discussed overarching engagement strategies.

• Simon’s beyond marketing idea–not selling the museum, but talking to and developing partnerships with outsiders (community members who are not museum goers), learning about their interests and adding exhibits, programs and activities to welcome, engage and motivate them to come to the museum.
• Museum Hack’s guides, games and gossip that focus on engaging and brining millennials into museums.

Nat who has worked as a contractor with Museum Hack and Cynthia who had been on a Museum Hack tour provided their personal perspectives.  We discussed the upsides of fun, light-hearted and playful, irreverent style and downsides of a more corporate approach with tours that cost up to $35 a person on top of the museum entry fee and the company’s poor compensation to tour guides that develop the content but have to give up their intellectual property ownership rights.

5. Last but not least…a great set of recommendations from classmates…

•  Day of the Dead festivities coming up!
• Article: Inside the Louve’s Secret Negotiations to Mount the Biggest Leonardo da Vinci Show Ever – the museum’s 10 year quest provides a rare glimpse into the bargaining between museums over artwork loans.
• Alley Cat Books / 3036 24th St., SF – Back to Back: The Art of Juan R. Fuentes & Leon Sun, Nov 2-30.

NEXT CLASS REMINDERS:  November 7th

 WHERE WILL WE MEET:  SF MOMA, 151 Third Street, SF

Check large bags and coats as you like near the front entrance.

We will meet one flight up the stairs in the ticket lobby at 2:10 and I will have free tickets for you.  If you arrive a little late– come into the Koret Education Center to find us (no ticket is required for this space)–it’s a room between the ticket desk and elevator.

HOMEWORK: Due November 7th

• Blog: Asian Art Museum — Highlights/Reflections.
• Reflection Paper # 2 / Multicultural Voices / Visions
• Review SF MOMA website and write notes on your discoveries in your journal.

Long Term Notes

• MISSING CLASS/LATE ASSIGNMENTS NOTE:  Don’t forget you can earn back points for up to three missed classes, by completing a field trip make up form.
• MISSING ASSIGNMENTS: If this applies, please see me about turning in ASAP

Sunny skies, sweltering heat, for our Mission excursion!  But first we gathered in the classroom on the Mission campus, welcoming our honored co-instructor for the day–Beatriz Escobar, (museum studies alum) a wonderful artist and educator who works with community organizations and museums–including the Oakland Museum where she organized the Dia de los Muertos celebration last weekend.  Beatriz described her career trajectory underlining the important role of artists in museums.

Before setting out for our Mission explorations, we jumped into a series of discussions about the homework blog, videos and reading.  A few highlights are summarized below.

Oakland Museum blog and debrief. Our discussion touched on co-creative engagement/decolonizing strategies employed by the museum, including:  advisory councils; reframing narratives from Native American perspectives; tactile experiences; videos that emphasized living communities juxtaposed with artifacts –bridging past and present; low lighting in history gallery–considering values (calm/reflective atmosphere and protective of artifacts) and challenges (difficulty in reading the text); intriguing Black Panther exhibit with music, video testimonies, take-away postcards, etc.  We thought about the need for on-going discussion of genocidal and historical atrocities in the US and to connect them to current day practices and on-going struggles.

Mural tour video review & Precita Eyes.  We discussed regulations for public mural and the anti-tagging StreetSmarts abatement program that is a partnership between the SF Arts Commission and the Department of Public Works and provides financial incentives, guidelines and resources for private property owners to commission murals on their buildings.  We thought about artists how artists earn “street creds” by considering community aesthetics and building relationships with those in the neighborhood, to prevent tagging on their murals.  Constance mentioned that often muralists are also teachers and engage youth as a strategy for empowerment and community building. Also we considered that adults need to be involved if spray paint is needed, because it is not legal for youth to purchase.  Here’s a handy link for what to do if you want to create a mural in SF.

We thought about:  the commercial and aesthetic approaches of artists and range of  graphic, grafitti and fine art styles; wide-ranging content from cultural celebration and tributes to religious iconography, social and political narratives; and notable mural sites featured in the video–the Women’s Building, Clarion and Balmy Allies.

Finally we considered Precita Eyes and the role it plays in supporting, producing and protecting murals in the city, as well as providing community workshops, youth education programs and tours.  We discussed their website — some found it confusing and hard to sort out its mission and programming, noting the need to dig around for content, as the landing page emphasis seemed to be fundraising.  Others noted its rich content, videos, archives, workshops, tours and volunteer opportunities.  At the very end of class, we walked by their storefront, where by luck we found and had a chance to chat with Susan Cervantes, Precita Eyes founder and celebrated muralist.

Eco-museums and Calle 24.  Beatriz facilitated this discussion, as we thought about the components that make up traditional museums–building, collections, exhibits and audience–in contrast with the concept of an eco-museum, stretching our thinking of what a museum is and can be.

This idea of eco-museums was represented in our homework reading Redefining Value: Projecto  Eco-museum, describing a project in Campos de Sao Jose, Brazil.  Beatriz introduced this reading as a jumping off place for talking about the concept of eco-museums: focused on the identity of a place, largely based on local participation and aiming to enhance the welfare and development of local communities.  She also helped us better understand the context of the community described in the article as she talked with a friend who lives nearby.  There is a wealthy, tech hub, community about an hour’s bus ride away, where many of the people in Campus de Sao Jose, immigrants in precarious situations and struggling with survival jobs, work and spend several hours a day commuting. Seniors and children, who spend their days in the Campos de Sao Jose neighborhood, are take the lead in the eco-museum project — shaping, enriching, creating activities and highlighting the value of their community, where neighbors enjoy getting to know and connect with each other.  Similar place-making initiatives were mentioned–a hillside garden at the end of a street in SF, Watts Towers, etc.  This led to a conversation about art as an cultural and economic boost to a community that often times, down-the-line, leads to gentrification, as we have witnessed in the Mission. 

This led into our conversation of Calle 24 (from your research of its website), its history and designation as a Latino Cultural District–could this district be likened to an eco-museum?   Calle 24: Latino Cultural District, recently incorporated as a nonprofit dedicated to advancing “an economically vibrant community that is inclusive of diverse income households and businesses that together compassionately embrace the unique Latino heritage and cultures of 24th Street and that celebrate Latino cultural events, foods, business, activities, art and music.” 

Eager to explore lingering questions, we set out to holistically observe, at micro and macro levels, the neighborhood streets, businesses, gathering places, cultural and community organizations, murals, people, sights, sounds, aromas, textures, colors, etc.

Mission Murals & Explorations Walk

Beatriz led off the walk, observation/discussion at our first stop–the Aztec Calendar tile mural on the front of the CCSF Mission campus.  Using the see-think-wonder protocol, we named materials, shapes, colors, images we saw and speculated as to symbolic meanings and uses.  Drawing on individual and group knowledge and perception, we deciphered the Aztec notion of circular time.  A few added their knowledge of its two interdependent calendars–the solar and the sacred. Many wonders were shared, sparking our collective curiosity–opening opportunities for further research. According to Wikipedia, The Aztec or Mexica calendar is the calendar system that was used by the Aztecs as well as other Pre-Columbian peoples of central Mexico. It is one of the Mesoamerican calendars, sharing the basic structure of calendars from throughout ancient Mesoamerica. The calendar consisted of a 365-day calendar cycle called xiuhpōhualli (year count) and a 260-day ritual cycle called tōnalpōhualli (day count). These two cycles together formed a 52-year “century”, sometimes called the “calendar round“. The xiuhpōhualli is considered to be the agricultural calendar, since it is based on the sun, and the tōnalpōhualli is considered to be the sacred calendar.

From here we headed out on our tour, stopping at a few places along the way to observe and discuss specific murals, including La Lucha Continual, El Immigrante, The Silent Languages of the Soul (on Ceasar Chavez School).

Eventually, we arrived at Balmy Alley where we talked about the early and evolving history of the murals here–going back to the 70’s  to contemporary murals.  (See handout packet for details.) Beatriz led a focused observation and discussion of two of the more recent murals–Mission Makeover, address gentrification in the Mission and Women of Resistance.  Here’s are a few handy links Beatriz provided for Women of Resistance mural, Name Key and Poster Portfolio. We spent time responding to the themes, identifying symbols and people we recognized in the murals, as well as thinking about the colorful street life we oberved in relation to the eco-museum concept.

Our collective encounters, shared discoveries, individual stories and knowledge here and along our route made for an extraordinary journey and learning experience. A few of us stayed a bit after five to continue a bit further down 24th to see Discolandia sign and visit Precita Eyes.  We were rewarded by our after-hour foray, by running into founder/director/master muralists, Susan Cervantes at Precita Eyes where we enjoyed the opportunity to talk with her informally and get a quick peek into the store as they were closing up.

Closing now with much gratitude to Beatriz for her guidance, contributions and insight!!  Thank you all for a generative class. Enjoy the rich reflections that will be popping up in this week’s blog posts and don’t forget to add your own.

NEXT CLASS REMINDERS:  October 31st

WHERE WILL WE MEET:  ASIAN ART MUSEUM in the lobby.  Free Tickets (do not purchase any tickets) – 200 Larkin Street in the lobby at 2:10.  Please be on time!  However, if you arrive late, will leave a ticket for you at the ticket desk.  Transportation:  The museum is near the Civic Center and walkable from BART & MUNI Civic Center Stops.

HOMEWORK:  Due on October 31st; unless otherwise noted.

• Blog Post:  Mission Field Trip highlights & reflections
• Review Asian Museum Website – Take notes on:  What is unique about it?  Mission, exhibits, programming.  Questions.
• Watch:  Nina Simon video:  The Art of Relevance – Ted Talk and Museum Hack Video.
• Digging Deeper Reading Link:  https://www.motherjones.com/media/2019/10/white-people-yoga-sf-asian-art-museum

• Reflection Paper #2:  Due November 7th
• MISSING CLASS/LATE ASSIGNMENTS NOTE:  Don’t forget you can earn back points for up to three missed classes, by completing a class-make-up-assignment-form
• MISSING ASSIGNMENTS: If this applies, please see me about turning in ASAP

Thanks all for an engaging class at the Oakland Museum (OMCA) that included a talk and tour with Experience Developer, Christine Lashaw in the history gallery, as well as a class meeting and exploratory quest.

PART 1 – WALK & TALK WITH CHRISTINE LASHAW

History and Development

We learned a bit about the mission and origin story of the museum — formed from three separate museums with their own collections that merged to become the California focused Oakland Museum in 1969 with the intention of being a community-centered  “people’s museum” with three galleries under one roof–art, history and science.   In recent years the museum upgraded and redesigned its facilities with the founders’ original multidisciplinary and civic-minded aims in mind, improving the integration of its collections and programming, strengthening its role as a public forum, and creating new opportunities for visitor engagement and participation.  As their website describes and we discovered in our explorations:  “The collections are animated by innovative interpretive tools and interactive features; and new gathering spaces and program areas engage visitors and encourage them to share their own perspectives, questions, and stories.

The museum celebrated its 50th Anniversary this year and Christine discussed how its structure and relationship with the city of Oakland has evolved over time.  When the museum began, it was funded by the city and then shifted to a relationship where 60% was city funded and 40% came from the private sector.  In 2011 the museum made a full separation from the city with its own foundation.  The city no longer funds the museum, but a public-private partnership still stands, as the city owns the building and the museum collection.

Exhibition Curation and Teams

Christine explained that the museum has restructured departments and job titles as it separated from city administration to the museum foundation administration.  The new structure and renovation in 2010 led to greater interdisciplinary team work and evolved a new way of working.   Formerly in the Education Department, Christine’s new title is Experience Developer in the Curatorial Department.   She usually works in a team with a curator, exhibit designer and project manager to plan an exhibition. Team members are equal in their power and authority.  Different from most museums where the curator is at the top of a hierarchy. The team also often includes or works with community partners or advisory group members.  Christine’s role is in spearheading the collaboration with community partners and in being a communication liaison and coordinator.  She explained the “Three C’s of Community Engagement”:  Contribution, Collaboration and Co-Creation that provide a useful framework for thinking about the spectrum of community involvement.

You can learn more about this framework from Museums as Sites for Social Action, Chapter 6 – Sharing Authority: Creating Content and Experiences by Christine Lashaw and Evelyn Orantes.  An excerpt from this article below provides a useful summary:

CONTRIBUTION:  VISITORS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS “CONTRIBUTE” BY ADVISING, LOANING SOMETHING, WRITING A RESPONSE, ATTENDING A SINGLE MEETING/CONVENING OR ANSWERING INTERVIEW QUESTIONS.  THE INTERNAL TEAM CONCEIVES OF AND DRIVES THE VISION AND GOALS FOR THE PROJECT.  COMMUNITY VOICE MAY OR MAY NOT BE INCORPORATED.

COLLABORATION:  COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND MUSEUM STAFF WORK TOGETHER AS A TEAM TO DEVELOP IDEAS AND SHARE SOME DECISION-MAKING.  COMMUNITY VOICE IS VISIBLE IN KEY MOMENTS OF THE PROJECT/EXHIBITION.

CO-CREATION: COMMUNITY MEMBERS OR ARTISTS ARE PART OF THE KEY DECISION MAKING.  THIS COULD BE CREATIVE DIRECTION, DESIGNING ELEMENTS FOR THE EXHIBITION, CREATING AN ARTWORK, ADDING INTERPRETATION, PRODUCING A MEDIA EXPERIENCE, OR DESIGNING A WHOLE SECTION–DETERMINING THE “HOW” AN EXHIBIT EXPERIENCE IS IMPLEMENTED.  CO-CREATORS PAY A ROLE THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE PROJECT/EXHIBITION.  COMMUNITY VOICE IS A KEY PIECE OF THE NARRATIVE AND VISIBLE THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EXHIBITION.

We discussed how there is no one formula for partnering with community, but there is a spectrum of low to high engagement choices, depending on the purpose, context and resources available.  Co-creation is at the high end of engagement and is the most time consuming and expensive to implement.

Exhibit Walk & Talk – Before leaving the space where we were meeting, the entryway to the history gallery, Christine mentioned that this space is organized around the theme of Coming to California and includes participatory activities that exemplify the contributory level of the engagement.  A large map on the wall, enables visitors pin their origins.  A colorful post-it table is also provided, where visitors can post their story of coming to California.  Visitor stories are later archived, typed and projected in scrolling fashion on the wall by staff.  Christine then guided us through three exhibitions in the History Gallery and described a bit about their development.

• Before the Other People Came – Showing seven different geographic regions of California with contemporary native people, as the curatorial voice, describing the history of their ancestors, their relationships to the land and each other, and the innovative practices they crafted to live in each dynamic natural environment. The exhibit team included members of the Native Advisory Council working at the deepest co-creative level, an equal partnership with shared decision making.  Council members chose objects and their organization in the space.  Amplifying contemporary, living culture, native people were present throughout the exhibit, accomplished through videos placed in and among the objects on display.

• When Cultures Meet – Installed in a small room within the larger exhibition space, with dramatic lighting and audio and only two objects facing each other on display – a commissioned feathered Native headdress and a Spanish colonizer’s helmet. Christine explained that this is a way of using objects to theatricalize and tell a powerful story.  This is an example of the collaborative level of community engagement.

• Taking Native Lands and Lives – This redesigned and installed exhibit represents a small slice of time after the gold rush from 1848-1870 and examines the motivations and oppressive actions of the people who flooded into California seeking land, riches and resources.  The redesign demonstrates the co-creative level of engagement where the team worked with the Native Advisory Group to reframe the Manifest Destiny narrative to a Genocide narrative, using objects from the collection to tell this history in the context of contemporary scholarship and in agreement with the Native advisors perspective.  The exhibit is organized into three parts:  Broken Promises; Exterminate Them; and Revitalization and Activism.  Centered in the space is a large rectangular glass case with suspended rifles pointing at a map on the back wall depicting sites of massacres and flanked by first person accounts.  Etched on the glass case is a quote from a first-hand account by Jerry James, who describes how white men attacked his village and killed his mother when he was a baby. The surrounding walls include text with artifacts describing massacres, forced labor and removal of Native People. The exhibition team’s intent was to create an emotionally-charged impactful visitor experience. Christine also noted that their Native advisers wanted to make sure the exhibit emphasized that the genocide failed and to document their resilience and on-going work for justice.  The exhibit ends with photos, voices and quotes of contemporary, activist Native People. 

History Hang Out                 

We convened in the interactive space at the back of the history gallery called “History Hangout.” Breaking from the chronologically ordered exhibits in the history gallery, this area includes a gathering space with hands-on, playful and interactive lab-like activities.  We settled in on comfy couches and step-like padded wooden seating area to talk further with Christine.

Building on our tour experience, Christine emphasize the intentional shift the OMCA is making to  represent non-dominant historical narratives. She feels that museums are uniquely positioned and have a responsibility to take action in this way, especially given the limits of mainstream education curricula.

A question/answer period followed with a focus on Advisory Groups.  Advisory Groups collaborate with staff exhibition teams.  A time commitment is involved for advisors and they are they are paid for their work. Christine emphasized the importance of developing trust and building relationships as being key to the success of the team’s collaboration with the Advisory Group.

A question surfaced about how members are chosen and we learned that there is currently no official, written-down policy.  Often members come in through staff or current advisory member referrals.  There is an effort underway with staff and advisory group members to develop more specific guidelines, as they look at gaps and they aim for balanced representation.  She noted there is interest in greater Ohlone representation and more age diversity on the Native Advisory Group.

Other advisory groups include the LatinX Advisory Group that works with the team on the annual Dia de los Muertos Exhibit and Celebration.  The current celebration is set for this weekend and the exhibition is now up in the back of the art gallery.  This year’s theme is grounded in Chicano roots.

PART II: CLASS MEETING, CULMINATING IN MUSEUM EXPLORATIONS

We discussed homework readings and video.

Museum Engagement Frameworks handout.  We reviewed and discussed this document as a common language tool and handy outline that can help us better identify and understand the growing spectrum of engagement practices in museums we study and visit during the rest of the semester. This tool will support your preparation for the class’s final project–where you are asked to either analyze a museum’s engagement practice related to a specific exhibit (for P/NP student) or create an engagement plan drawing in a specific new audience to a museum exhibition (for graded students).

We discussed how museums are striving to be more democratic, relevant and sustainable in the 21st century, extending out from our discussion of evolving practices in our analysis of the Exhibitions Chapter from our textbook.  In general, the museum field is continually creating and experimenting with evolving strategies.  Some museum’s like the Oakland Museum (OMCA) and the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH) are leading practitioners, building on experiential practices first developed science and children’s museums. The Participatory Museum (available online for download online) by Nina Simon is an excellent resource for those wanting to learn more.  Simon is transitioning from her role as director at the MAH to lead a new global nonprofit initiative Of, By & For All working with public-serving organizations to amplify, develop and spread engagement practices.

Nina Simon’s TED Talk: Opening the Museum.

We examined the idea of participatory culture, its meaning and practices, reflecting on a few examples, like inviting viewers to hang a work of their own art in a museum or create a bottle of memories to go on display.  Participatory activities welcome visitors as contributors and creative agents.  Recognizing that not all participatory opportunities are successful and often elicit banal responses, we considered issues of good design. Simon documents how using quality tools and materials demonstrates respect for the participants and results in more relevant, specific and powerful responses.

We also talked about the idea of social bridging and engaging museum objects as a loci for conversation and connection.  Moving from Simon’s example of dogs as a way to connect with strangers at parks to her story about teenagers and adults with a baby interacting in a museum and eventually the adults handing over their baby to the teens to play as the adults continued with their meeting.  The big idea here begs the question:  How can museums create powerful experiences where strangers can build relationships of trust and connect with each other across difference?  This led to thinking about MAH’s collaboration with a Homeless Service Center inviting people to come together to restore the Evergreen Cemetery in Santa Cruz as an important historic site for the city.  This project foregrounds generative partnerships with community members and organizations that extend beyond museum walls.

OMCA Engagement Explorations

Using the following set of prompts, we set to explore the museum individually, in pairs or small groups:

• How are a wide diversity of viewers made to feel included, welcome, comfortable, and actively engaged? What strategies do you see at play (from signage, furnishings, opportunities for participation)?
• Observe other viewers in the museum– Who are they? How are they engaging with the museum? Are they taking advantage of opportunities for participation?
• What are you most drawn to and why? Spend time there to enjoy while considering this question. 

I look forward hearing your thoughts and learning about your discoveries this week via the blog.

REMINDERS FOR NEXT WEEK – October 24

WHERE WE ARE MEETING:  CCSF Mission Campus in Room 106  / 1125 Valencia Street (between 22^nd/23^rd)   Beatriz Escobar joining as guest co-instructor.  (Former MS student; artist who recently graduated with MFA from CCA; and who works with local arts organizations and museums–including Oakland Museum Day of the Dead Celebration this weekend (Oct 19/20).

• Wear comfortable walking attire and dress for the weather.
• Bring journals and something to write with

HOMEWORK – due next week unless otherwise stated

 1. Blog Reflection OMCA museum exploration – comment on the highlights of your discoveries via the exploratory exercise and Christine’s tour.

2. Video, Websites & Article. View and read at links below.  (will email/post live links) . Be sure to jot down notes in your journal:  Clarifying questions? What do you value? How was your thinking challenged or extended?

• Mission Murals Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaRqBfJU3l4
• Precita Eyes Mural Arts Center website: http://www.precitaeyes.org/ and Calle 24 Latino Cultural District.
• Redefining Value: ‘Projecto Ecomuseum‘ https://emergentartspace.org/forum/49064/

3. Ongoing research and development: Reflection Paper #2 [Due November 7]

Great to be back in the mix with the class.  Thanks everyone for the welcoming, rich class session and generative dialogue this week!  Wonderful to learn from your research about beloved and unknown museums from the Bay Area, across the continent and seas with your unique posters, presentations and valuable personal perspectives. Leslie and I are inspired by the high level of engagement and generous knowledge exchange.

Museums highlighted in your visual displays and oral presentations covered a wide swath of territory, from the well-trod traditional to alternative realms.  You traveled us from local to national and international sites; from parks to urban hubs, neighborhoods and out of the way places; from small and quirky to grand palaces with classical, modern/contemporary and outsider sensibilities; from museums with art, history, cultural and science missions, often including social justice, education and community focused agendas.

I enjoyed the variety of themes and areas of interest from taxidermy to the hula.  Much gratitude for your collective contributions, spanning 19 museums–expanding and deepening our learning as a class about museums, their histories, architecture, collections, programs, exhibition, cafes, gift shops and practices while identifying critical issues of access, diversity, power, provenance, funding, sustainability, community engagement, etc.  

• San Francisco Botanical Garden
• California Historical Society
• Asian Art Museum
• Grace Cathedral
• Haas-Lilienthal House Museum
• Pink Palace Museum (Memphis, TN)
• Oakland Museum of California
• Randall Museum
• Museum of Craft and Design
• Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum (Honolulu, Hawaii)
• Ethnic Heritage Museum (Rockford, Illinois)
• National Museum of African American History and Culture (Washington DC)
• Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
• The Exploratorium
• The Dali Museum (St. Petersburg, Florida)
• Froggyland (Split, Croatia)
• Villa San Francisco
• California Academy of Sciences
• Mumok – Museum of Modern Art (Vienna, Austria)

Very much looking forward to continuing discursive and immersive discussions on topics that surfaced in our poster session conversations, and in the first part of the semester, in the weeks ahead.

Enjoy the weekend.  Don’t forget about the Continuous Thread: Celebrating our Interwoven Histories, Identities and Contributions at SFAC Gallery at 401 Van Ness Avenue, opening Oct 4th with ten nights of projections of powerful and dignified portraits of members of the Bay Area American Indian community onto the walls of the Asian Art Museum and Main Library.  See details here.

NEXT WEEK (October 10) Meet in our CCSF Downtown Classroom.

We have an ambitious agenda.  We will dig into The Exhibition chapter together and examine the engagement frameworks that we will use as an analytical tool to better understand evolving museum practices over the second half of the semester.

HOMEWORK

• Read The Exhibition chapter from our text, Riches, Rivals & Radicals, page 121-170.  Take notes in your journal and come prepared to workshop and discuss.
• Blog – no blog entry is required this week. However, if you are behind on blogs this is a good time to catch up.
• Review Guidelines for Reflection Paper 2 (due Nov 7th), we will discuss any questions you have in class next week.