Museums are not Neutral — Nothing is #MuseumsarenotNeutral
As a “first year” in college, I sat in a bright room that belied the imposing gothic facades that populated campus. My professor asked us to raise our hands if we were rational beings. We all raised our hands. He asked us to keep our hands up if we were not biased. He then asked …
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Team Dynamics in the Nonprofit Workplace / The Pride and Prejudice Guide to the Non-Profit Workplace
Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen, was first published in 1813. In the subsequent 200 years, the tale of a family of unmarried daughters and their subsequent marital aspirations remains a popular novel. In my recent reread of the book, I started to focus on the staying power of this literary classic. This novel …
Inclusion-Centered Leadership
Inclusion occurs through considered actions. Leaders play an important role in transforming the ethos of inclusion from words into actions. That said, often, inclusions practices are translated into large actions, like requiring diversity training or implementing diversity hiring policies. Those are like bringing in the right ingredients for a great feast. If you don’t deal …
How White Museum-Workers Can Combat Museum Supremacy
Today’s post has been written by Brilliant Idea Studio co-principal, Joe Ionna. Illustrations made by Seema Rao. As competing narratives, histories, and facts have battled it out in the media, public spaces, and our political life. Like many of you, I was dumbfounded to see flags of Nazi Germany and the Confederacy paraded through the …
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Inaction is an Action: #MuseumsResist is a better One
I had the extreme pleasure of being part of this year’s MuseumCamp hosted by Nina Simon at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History. For those who are unaware of this program, it’s sort of a hybrid museum conference, personal growth program, and summer camp smushed into three days. Intense would be a useful …
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Drawing to Help Construct Meaning
Drawing is a dividing word. For some people drawing highlights their weakness. Few people it turns out can draw like Michelangelo without practice–not even Michelangelo. Artists are trained. They practice their craft. No one is born drawing. If you can get past your hesitation about drawing out of the equation, drawing can be an incredibly …
6 Steps to Combat Implicit Bias in Institutions
Museum staff are in power to combat implicit bias in organizations. This work is imperative to maintain current audiences and grow new ones. But confronting bias can be scary and challenging. Here are some concrete steps to help museums start on the path to combat bias. 1.Don’t ignore bias Bias will not go away just …
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Systems-Thinking
There is this myth that some of us are details-people and some of us are big-picture folks. Most of us are able to toggle between the two ways of making sense of the world. The more successful of us are able to do this effectively and efficiently. Others struggle, focusing too intently on one or …
Agile Thinking to Manage Change
Agile was a buzzword, drawn from software designers who came up with an effective means of developing, testing, iterating, and launching in the most efficient manner. There are plenty of posts that talk about using Agile (and related iterative processes) for personal development. For me, I find agile particularly useful when thinking about weathering change. …
Keep Clean Data
Data seems pretty cut and dried, but don’t be fooled. There are plenty of ways to fold in bias. Here are some concrete steps to help you do your best to counteract the most common pitfalls. Start with a clean tool/ protocol to collect data. 1. Keep data clean There are plenty of ways to …