Thirteenth International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

Museums are hierarchical institutions that value academic expertise. Many continue to operate on an object-centered mission, inevitably sidelining the museum worker’s voice. What knowledge exists within the museum that isn’t centered around its objects? Through this project, I investigated museum security officers’ role and position in the Art Institute of Chicago through the stories they tell about the experience. My research sought to create space to discuss “What the guards saw”, but also what it meant to them. Their stories are “counternarratives” in the museum; they exist alongside the museum’s main narratives, which are frequently structured by a white, academic voice. Pilot research at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation informed the final iteration at the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC). The bulk of the research took place at the AIC. A total of 21 participants signed up for the project and were compensated by the museums for their time. 80% of the participants were female and all were people of color, mostly African Americans between the ages of 30-65 years. I conducted semi-structured interviews and facilitated a group art-making session in the museum. The interviews gave me insight into the guards’ work and their connection with the art, allowing me to see the museum through ‘unacademic’ eyes. In the art-making session, guards created original artworks and shared anxieties about working in a large institution. This project created both direct and indirect opportunities for building and capturing narratives from vantage points not generally seen, and people not generally empowered to tell them.