DIVERSITY IS NOT INCLUSION: MUSEUM INNOVATIONS THAT FACILITATE CHANGE

Museum Innovations | Jaime Meier

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When I think about the history of museums and their place in the future, I think about Audre Lorde. She once said, "The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. They may allow us to temporarily beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change. And this fact is only threatening to those women who still define the master's house as their only source of support." Museums have already led campaigns of "diversity" to meet quotas and appease the public, but what is needed is a complete restructuring demonstrated through hiring and purchasing practices that will dismantle the museum as we know it and create something new.

The Bronx Museum (Source)

The Bronx Museum has recently hired Jasmine Wahi as the Holly Block Social Justice Curator to "prompt dialogue and subsequent change towards a more socially equitable and just society." A huge part of her job as curator is to consider who the exhibition is created for and how to bring in stories and discourses that are often suppressed and go beyond a single audience narrative. Wahi also encourages museums and galleries to not only purchase more art created by people of colour, but also provide investment through "respect, attention, and intellectual investment." Reconsidering who is hired and their intentions within the museum is at the heart of a museum's innovation and their capacity to change.

Museum Professionals of Colour Logo (Source)

Within the Master of Museum Studies program, Museum Professionals of Colour (MPOC) are starting within the educational institution to dismantle racial bias before Masters students officially enter the museum field. MPOC was created by students who realized that their lived experiences were not being adequately addressed in academic and professional settings and were willing to put in the emotional labour to ensure that the art, history, and other disciplines that permeate museums serve a wider audience, instead of privileging a white colonial one.

Jasmine Wahi (Source)

Some of the necessary changes, such as diversifying art collections or staff hiring, have been met with concerns over meritocracy. However, a true meritocracy has never existed. The racial, social, educational, and other boundaries have always been successful at rejecting people who do not serve the colonial project, no matter their ability. As Jasmine Wahi has said, "I can say with zero doubt that there are plenty of mediocre white men in positions of power who have not risen through the ranks based on their intellectual or creative prowess," not in attempt to discount many talented white men but rather dismiss the myth that good work means reward.

The problem is not the desire to witness and experience art and science, but rather how it is done through colonial institutions that I believe are capable of change if the right steps are taken. It is my hope that museums will cease to only show exhibitions and instead innovate to become a trusted centre for the local art community and general public, while still welcoming international audiences.