In response to the Harvard Art Museums' ReFrame Initiative and the publication of the "Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery" report, the author reevaluates the display and discussion of images of enslaved people in ancient Greek art in the museum gallery. Ancient Greece relied heavily on the labor and crafts produced by enslaved people,…

How do you make art history and art museum library research exciting and relevant to an undergraduate studio art student? And, how can an innovative learning experiment lay the groundwork for future utilization of the acquired course knowledge and the art museum library resources? One answer, as we discovered, lies in creatively utilizing a…

This article offers insights from an on-going research project titled, "Experimenting Interpretation," which explores pedagogical approaches to guided visits that enable visitors to encounter and interpret multi-sensory contemporary art through attunement to embodied knowledge and affective responses. The case study discussed here was…

This case study of an art education program for medical students examines the efficacy of different types of content and modes of delivery. Through the delivery of art analysis, art history, sculpting, and life drawing seminars, art educators were able to teach empathy, observation, and flexible thinking to first-year medical students. This…

As museums strive to become more welcoming and accessible, house museums occupy complex positions. The Frick Collection's scale is more intimate than that of many art museums; the general stability of the installation renders the collection more familiar, and the taste on display is personal and idiosyncratic rather than authoritative. As…

This essay explores two canonical installations at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Cloisters and African galleries in the Rockefeller wing. After providing a brief history of the formation of these collections and their display strategies, I analyze the effect of exhibition design for a visitor's judgments and impressions of the works of art.…

Arts & Minds programs aim to promote well-being for people with dementia and their care partners. Educators must balance the needs of participants with the given conditions of display in the museum. While connection to the art historical canon is a consideration for program planning, the choice of artworks for contemplation and dialogue…

How can museum educators create dialogical experiences with European decorative arts? This question frames my essay and stems from the challenges I have faced introducing objects whose original functions seem to overshadow their aesthetic and interpretive value. Repeated efforts to spark rich dialogue and collective interpretation around pieces of…