Twelfth International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

This poster offers my preliminary work on the need for diversity and inclusion when developing narratives for museum exhibitions. We live in a world where participatory museums are encouraged, but often the issue of narratives are not a part of that conversation. My observational research has shown that through implicit bias the narratives told can be counterproductive to a museum’s objectives, particularly when the goal is a participatory environment. The use of two of the most visited museums in Alabama, The Museum of Alabama (housed within the Alabama Department of Archives and History) and the Legacy Museum, both housed in Montgomery, Al, showcase the stark differences that can occur when implicit bias is not taken into consideration due to the lack of diversity at the table. Both of these museums tell similar stories (at least in part) although they are told in dramatically different ways. The results are that one institution is able to engage their visitors and evoke powerful realizations and emotions, whereas the other unknowingly perpetuates racist ideologies. The overall work discusses how these results scream at us to start the process of being more diverse and inclusive when we create the narratives of the stories we are trying to tell.