As part of a broader evolution of our K-12 programming, the Art Institute of Chicago transitioned our docent program into a newly designed Volunteer Program, a process that was informed by rigorous research, reflection, and evaluation of our engagements with students and teachers. This case study offers a perspective on designing a new structure…

Motivated by the discussion of modern and contemporary art in Dr. Seuss's (2019) "Horse Museum," the authors sought to determine if children's picture books about visiting the art museum include contemporary art. Moreover, if so, what messages about contemporary art are sent by these books? How can teachers who rely on picture books as…

This article examines how community art centers of the Federal Art Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration served as a third space, one that was explicitly designed to be different from art museums at that time. Created to employ artists during the Great Depression under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, goals of FAP programs included…

Upon entering the gallery, we are met with directives, narratives, and impositions set forth by an authoritative presence. Please remove your backpack. Do not run. Do not speak too loudly. Do not touch. Do not stand too close to the artworks. The presence of security guards or invigilators enforce these instructions on how it is assumed we are to…

"Communities of practice" is a concept employed by Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner (2015) to refer to "groups of people who share a… passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly" (p. 1). In the museum context, a community-of-practice model provides educators the opportunity to…

In 1903, Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840-1924) opened a most personal museum in which the building, the collection and installations are the vision of one woman, at a time when few opportunities were available to her gender in America. In its 2019-2024 strategic plan, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum committed to becoming a more visitor-centric…

Museums and galleries have long welcomed, and long valued, visiting family groups, and many offer 'family workshops'. In practice, most workshops are primarily directed at children, and accompanying adults are left to observe. However, we suggest that in actively observing and also pitching in, adults too are engaged in learning. Using the…

Art museums around the world play an integral role in the formation and preservation of collective identity and national belonging. As part of wider efforts for social change, these institutions are being challenged to decolonize and confront racism with renewed and sustained focus. As such, they are thinking more deeply about how they engage…

Increasingly scholarship reveals art museums, their exhibitions, and collections, are instrumental in shaping visitors' larger social and cultural values (Hooper-Greenhill, 2000; Luke, 2002; Sandell, 2002) and identity (Leong, 2005; Rounds, 2006). My qualitative study aimed to understand Black students' experiences within a Historically Black…

This article engages crip theory and concepts from Critical Disability Studies to frame museum education through critical access and disability justice to center disabled, Mad, and neurodiverse audiences in public practice. The authors introduce and define key concepts and ask questions to cultivate "liberatory access" for museum…

The COVID-19 pandemic cause global social and cultural disruptions that caused institutions like museums to suddenly close. Stay-at-home orders forced organizations to restructure their now-remote staff, laying off, furloughing, or firing entire departments like museum education. The literature in the field suggests museum educators were fired or…

When the pandemic temporarily closed U.S. museums in March 2020, it also halted on-site museum tours. Some museums responded by developing or expanding their virtual programs, including online tours. The author, an in-gallery docent at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, trained during the pandemic to give virtual tours. Comparing in-person with…

This article explores how the examination of museum objects is fostering productive conversations in the field of civilian police accountability. As part of their new hire onboarding process, civilian oversight staff visit the Art Institute of Chicago to participate in a civic wellness program where topics of bias, community, social justice, and…

The authors conducted a workshop on video creation using artworks from a museum collection as materials. The aim of the study was to examine how video creation can involve a variety of people, organizations, concepts, themes, and politics and sustain interest in art. The project was developed in collaboration with a university, an art museum, a…

Changes to the New Zealand Ministry of Education's funding for access to specialist education services in museums and art galleries in Aotearoa New Zealand (enriching local curriculum) has created the potential for an increase in visits to these institutions by young learners, and particularly those in the early childhood education (ECE) sector. A…