Innovations in Inclusive Community Exhibits

Abstract

This study illustrates changes to calls for participation in major exhibits, selection processes, supply chain management issues, and a major redesign of the traditional exhibit label to illustrate ways to create more inclusive environments for exhibit. We created ways to reach out to artists who were selected for the exhibits that honored the multilingualism of our participants; we worked with DisArt and STQRY, two organizations that share our value of pushing accessibility past compliance; we worked with community partners to be sure that some art appeared in the homes of organizations that serve those disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in our community; we supported one another through the challenges we faced while working on the exhibit project. We worked with Capital City Film Festival to help guarantee an audience for our work. These changes have been impactful because they created a way to contribute to a more inclusive story of the COVID-19 pandemic, and they do so in a way that honors the role of creativity as an expression of the need for innovative paths to equity and social justice. Through these collaborations, we mobilized people, organizations, and ideas for a common purpose.

Presenters

Nancy C DeJoy
Associate Professor, Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures, Michigan State University, Michigan, United States

Fatima Konare
Student, M.A Writing and Rhetoric, Michigan State University, Michigan, United States

Kelsey Abner
Student/Research Assistant, Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures, Michigan State University, Michigan, United States

Benjamin Lash
Program Coordinator, Education, Kidzeum of Health and Science, Illinois, United States

Details

Presentation Type

Workshop Presentation

Theme

2023 Special Focus—Images Do Not Represent Us, They Create Us: The Image and its Transforming Power

KEYWORDS

Communities, Galleries, Viewers, Interpretation