Thirteenth International Conference on The Arts in Society

Abstract

The image of an art museum as an austere encyclopedic archive of fine art objects for audiences to observe is antiquated. Today museums are placing engagement and cooperation with audiences at the center of their mission, working to make programming directly relevant to the daily lives of neighboring communities. This connects community organizing to work established by social practice artists from Suzanne Lacy to Pedro Reyes who take art practices to the people to shift socio-political structures. This community engagement is place-based and operates outside of the confines of a typical museum setting, making public spaces from plazas to community centers the sites of cooperative art making and local social change. This paper uses the Queens Museum in New York City as the central case study. The Queens Museum’s community-driven programs are critical in surrounding Corona, a neighborhood exemplary for international diversity, rapidly changing demographics, and limited access to resources. The museum collaborates with residents to target local concerns from housing and sanitation to educational access and legal status. Additional global examples are referenced to suggest that emphasis on this place-based, community engaged programming is energizing museums worldwide.