How can even a single visit (in person or virtual) to a museum, public exhibition, or display help us grow and inspire positive social change?
I interviewed Dr. Elena Gonzales whose research focuses on the roles of museums and exhibitions for social justice. She is the author of the book Exhibitions for Social Justice, which reports on how museums empower our society to become more egalitarian, hospitable, and sustainable.
Source: Juan and Ricardo Compeán Ilene Berns-Zare: How can exhibitions for social justice help us deal with the current crisis – the world-wide pandemic?
Elena Gonzales: Action steps help us feel empowered in a scary time. This is because step-wise thinking and emotional thinking act like a seesaw. As we make a plan to take action, we begin to feel less overwhelmed.
It’s not a straight line from museums and exhibitions to change, but there is a powerful link. While news media are generally trusted sources of information, museums are the most trusted information source and thus have an even more profound role to play.
Museums are memory keepers that will help us make sense of what has happened for generations to come. Future generations looking at this time in history will gain an understanding of the role of government, how people respond to crisis, and how countries deal with these situations. Museums will help us use this information, make sense of it, and remember it.
Right now, like many other institutions, museums are trying to move their operations online. Many museums are trying to help people cope – to entertain, offer information and education, and teach children and adults. But these institutions also need to discuss how we address the digital divide. Many of the people who could most benefit from museums’ free resources during the pandemic have no internet access now that libraries are closed. How can we change that in the future?
Berns-Zare: In the book you write “… for those who see themselves working for social justice, cultivating empathy is essential.” Why is cultivating empathy so essential and how can museums inspire a more mindful, flourishing society through empathy?
Source: Ben Gonzales Gonzales: Empathy is a beginning, not an endpoint. It’s a stepping stone – humans bond with humans. That’s how we’re wired. Humans also decide what matters, and who matters, in society. Museums function as forums, public squares, or laboratories where public behavior can be worked out by people in action together – museums can provide environments to teach, inspire, and practice empathy. Stories and activities can inspire visitors to feel kinship with other individuals and other groups, creating person-to-person and group-to-group connection. These experiences enable, provoke, and inspire empathy. As empathy coalesces into solidarity, these connections can start to move the compass on what is acceptable, what matters, and who matters at the societal level.
Berns-Zare: What was your biggest “aha” when you were writing the book?
Gonzales: The ways museums inspire action – people can feel a sense of inspiration and empowerment that they can take into their own lives and make a difference. I was fascinated as I looked at museums that were intentional about this like zoos and aquariums who have living collections and justify their work in terms of conservation.
Three Steps to Inspire Personal Empowerment and Social Change
- Visit museums, zoos, and exhibitions – virtually and in-person. During the current crisis, when sheltering in place is the name of the game, many museums and exhibitions offer online access and many, many resources. Search the internet for topics and venues of interest to you.
- When you “visit” museums, exhibitions, or displays, consider engaging with a focus on learning. Let yourself become engaged. Reflect on the information, experience, and what you might want to take into your own life.
- Consider how museums, zoos, exhibitions of different kinds have influenced your thinking and development from childhood into adulthood. If you are a parent, how might you want to introduce your children to these kinds of experiences?
“It’s exciting to think about how museums can be part of how we grow and develop over many years, just from a single visit!”
—Elena Gonzales, PhD
*This post is for educational purposes and should not substitute for psychotherapy with a qualified professional.