Museum As Site for Social Action

Elisabeth Callihan Head of Multi-Generational Learning, Minneapolis Institute of Art What is the role and responsibility of the museum in reflecting and responding to issues affecting our communities locally and globally? How do museums’ internal practices need to change in order to align with, and better inform, their public practice? What would it look like if museums were radically transformed from the inside out – and are they capable of such change? The MASS Action (Museum As Site for Social Action) project was created to address these urgent topics. Through a series of public convenings and the creation of a toolkit of resources, this project’s intention is to share the strategies and frameworks needed to foster greater equity in museum practices. The project launched in 2016 when 50 museum practitioners, representing museums of all sizes and types (art, history and historical sites, science, children’s), gathered in Minneapolis for an action-oriented conversation around topics of equity inside the museum, decolonizing practices, and authentic community-building. MASS Action is now inviting museums across the country to join the project, deepen their understanding of how to embed these suggested practices within their work, and commit to transforming–indeed revolutionizing–the ways in which institutions operate. Imagine what museums could look like if they decolonized to become spaces of more democratic participation, centered around community voices and stories.