Eleventh International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

“Rediscovering an American Community of Color: The Photographs of William Bullard, 1897-1917,” opened at the Worcester (Massachusetts) Art Museum in October 2017. Featuring over eighty recently-discovered portraits of African Americans and Native Americans, taken by a white photographer, this exhibition created numerous challenges and offers an especially valuable case study through which to explore issues of inclusivity. Co-curators Nancy Kathryn Burns and Janette Thomas Greenwood will discuss their experiences overcoming the historical mistrust of the museum among local people of color, incorporating the community as stakeholders in the exhibition, including the voices of family members whose ancestors were represented in the exhibition, and developing a website to incorporate a new technological platform, allowing the content of exhibition to have a life beyond the walls of the museum and establish an ongoing connection to the community.