ICOM-New Definition of Museums
The International Council of Museums approved a new definition for museums which states in part, “They operate with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection, and knowledge sharing.” It is within this cultural context that museums need to reconsider their roles and work towards becoming more accountable to all communities. This has led to many questions regarding the precarious nature of contemporary museum practice.
We need to develop new models for art galleries and museums that will engage with everyone in our communities. Our curatorial facilitation process challenges dominant cultural narrative and alternatively reveals the voices of those who have been excluded, marginalized, and who are outside of mainstream cultural discourses. Our practice offers disenfranchised communities’ opportunities to explore community-based ways of seeing and knowing that embrace inclusion as well as individual and societal change. The foundation of dialogue-based dialogic interactions exposes the public to contemporary ideas through the interaction between alternative voices and dominant narratives.
The process of incorporation of dialogue into artistic practices means developing collaborative models, making links to community, supporting local and regional art practices, and situating the direction of the local community engagement. Our focus is on presenting innovative dialogue-based visual arts programming and social engagement strategies for art galleries and museums across Canada.
We assert that narrative-based visual art programming can make connections to communities through the incorporation of artists perspectives, community participation and curatorial facilitation. It is within these practices that the act of conversation becomes a critical part of the artmaking process which re-defines community engagement with the aim of developing new and connections to artists, art galleries, museums, and communities
Dialogue-based practices focus on the development of a creative form of active participation which re-defines community engagement and explores collaborative forms of critical inquiry with the aim of developing new knowledge about art galleries, museums, and alternative engagement strategies. Dialogue-based art practices offer opportunities to explore greater capacity and social responsibility in our communities that will lead to more social engagement and civic action.
The goal is focused on development of a creative form of participation which re-defines community engagement and explores collaborative forms of critical inquiry with the aim of developing new knowledge about our communities utilizing art galleries, museums, and critical public engagement strategies.
Our curatorial process works with partners in the developmental process, exploring practical solutions and establish the direction, goals and prioritizing the needs of the partner, review past activities, research, and develop potential projects, conduct mid-term reports, evaluation and develop final report and follow-up.
The process will include the following activities:
To collaborate with selected partners in developing achievable goals for community arts programming
To establish a relationship between partners that will create a creative space to build trust, mutual respect and definitions of collaboration which will be foundation for community-based arts programming
To create a process of dialogue that will be encouraged multiple voices and experiences to help facilitate a process of collaboration, and exchange, between the partners and myself
To research through a local community-based art programming lens
To collaborate with local organizations on local definitions of community engagement existing and examine past arts programming
To co-develop community-based arts programming that make links to community, supporting local and regional art practice, and situating the direction of local community engagement and begin a new engagement between community and cultural organizations
To guide the collaborative process working with partners, conduct a mid-term review process of project as well as final evaluation
To facilitate the development of new artistic work and/or programming aimed at community engagement strategies