Introduction to Museums and Social Justice

Catalog description

A recent spate of scandals and protests have forced some of the world's greatest museums and heritage institutions to face up to some difficult ethical issues. These include reassessments of their board-vetting procedures to avoid reputational controversies, a more thorough review of corporate sponsors vis-a-vis a museum's mission, the development of action plans to address the legacy of colonial theft and Nazi looting. Nonprofit organizations and heritage institutions are also reassessing staffing demographics, salary differentials, and discussing ways to address racial and gender diversity in acquisition policies, permanent collection displays and exhibition schedules. Examines past and current controversies and investigates the ways in which these unprecedented events are fundamentally changing the definition of what constitutes arts and heritage institutions in the twenty-first century.