Eleventh International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

The title and inspiration for this paper grew out of Franklin Vagnone and Deborah Ryan’s 2015 manifesto, which begins by asking simply: “Why do house museums suck?” From their observations of traditional historic houses as being “all about objects,” to experiences of countless “boring” guided or audio tours, where the focus is placed “stepping back in time,” Vagnone and Ryan advocate anarchy, calling for us to react against a museum paradigm that simply isn’t working. Responding to this notion, this paper will present the Matilda Joslyn Gage House (Fayetteville, NY) as a case study embodying the perfect “antidote to anarchy.” In her home, this important women’s rights activist is brought back to life through her ideas, rather than solely her life events, and as such the history presented, while historically accurate and authentic, is simultaneously inclusive and thought-provoking, creating a site of civic engagement and reflection. While many visitors enter expecting a traditional historic house experience, with velvet ropes, reenactors offering information, and plenty of “old stuff,” the Gage house upsets these expectations in its encouragement of dialogue, its “disrespect” for artifacts (sit on the chairs, play the piano, write on the walls!), and its role as a site of activism as well as of history. The Gage home truly demonstrates how these museums have the potential to become important centers for cultural discourse, reverberating with contemporary audiences in innovative new ways.