This is my section for a collaborative paper made with fellow Museum Professional Seminar Participants. To read the full essay, click here.
On Education
The purpose of “X” Institution is to be at the service of art, ideas, and the people of their specific local community. It is well known that physical and intellectual health are linked, and cultural institutions cannot ignore that fact. As necessary as physical well-being is to a community, so is its communities’ ability to participate in idea-driven discourse. “X” Institution is uniquely positioned to foster cultural, intellectual, and physical health in its community. This can only be enacted if an expansive and holistic idea of education and learning rests at the core of the mission and structure of the institution.
A comprehensive idea of education starts with research and listening: understanding and forging friendships with people in the community is paramount. This place where the community and institution are thoroughly integrated will blur the line between the two seemingly separate entities. The information derived from this endeavor will color how the institution does its work. Now the institution knows how to best allocate its resources.
Together, those working inside “X” institution and those in the community can shape the institution into a form that is most acutely relevant to its geographical area. That could mean organizing world-class art exhibitions and growing a community garden. It could mean hosting school programs—whether after school or remote—that focus on art education, but also have tutors in math, literature, history, and science.10 Whatever the case, with education, learning, and love at its core, “X” Institution can fulfill its role as the intermediary between the ideas held in art and the daily life of the community.
Read the full essay here.