Since Nina Simon published The Participatory Museum in 2010 and Anne Bergeron and Beth Tuttle released The Art & Science of Engagement in 2013, the topic of how museums and cultural institutions can engage visitors has exploded and field leaders like the IMLS have invested heavily in spurring innovations that activate participation.

MMoAA Founder Laurelin Kruse discusses the museum as a mode of storytelling, and how going beyond the global and the local, into the deeply personal, can reveal shared meaning in our everyday lives. For more information visit www.theMMoAA.org. In addition to this lunch time talk, the MMOAA will be in Providence all week, culminating in an appearance at WaterFire, on Saturday, May 16.

What does it mean for a state-run public history institution to insert social justice into their exhibitions and programming? Join Margaret Koch, Deputy Director, and Kate Betz, Head of Education and Interpretation, from the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, Texas, for a presentation and conversation about the museum’s efforts to explore the nuanced topics of race, ethnicity, class, and gender throughout Texas history.

Professor and Mapping Arts Project Founder, Dr. Lara Stein Pardo, Beverly Ledbetter, President of the Edward Bannister Society, and Keila Davis, Project Manager of the Mapping Arts Project will lead an insightful discussion on the importance of space, history, and the arts. Following the discussion there will be a brief walking tour to nearby sites associated with Mapping Arts Project- Providence.

In the Garden of Sonic Delights is a major exhibition of sound art located throughout Westchester County, NY, including work by such noted artists as Laurie Anderson, Annea Lockwood, Trimpin, Ed Osborn, and Stephen Vitiello.

Dr. Kerill O'Neill, Director, Center for the Arts and Humanities, Colby College will discuss the new center, how it connects to the academic departments at the College and how it engages students. A Mellon proposal to fund the new Center will be circulated in advance. 

Contact [email protected] for a copy of the Mellon proposal.

How can we actively engage and learn from new audiences that have traditionally been underserved by museums and other cultural institutions? Danielle Linzer will share case studies from both The Andy Warhol Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art, offering insights into the challenges, successes, and opportunities of community-based museum work. The discussion will offer strategies for building connections with new audiences and a vision for a more inclusive future for the field.

The enduring influence of George Gershwin’s work is explored in this FirstWorks Creative Conversation with journalist and jazz critic Larry Blumenfeld, bassist, composer and producer Melvin Gibbs and saxophonist, composer and arranger Russ Gershon.  Their conversation delves into the relationship between Gershwin’s music — including his controversial 1935 opera “Porgy and Bess” and his iconic 1924 composition "Rhapsody in Blue"— and African American music and culture.