ABSTRACT This co‐authored paper reflects on participatory action research as a form of activism in a university museum. Motivated by social justice, our enquiries build on long‐established learning programming to develop more collaborative and equitable approaches to knowledge creation and practice in museums. Initiated through a series of reflective conversations, we examine our entangled positionalities as practitioner researchers and how our approach is shaped by both the values and multidisciplinary perspectives we bring and by our community co‐researchers. We consider the ethical tensions of participatory research and practice and reflect on the challenges and opportunities inherent in this relational, careful and response‐able work. We conclude by suggesting that, in an era of unprecedented social, economic and political polarization, participatory action research can generate “microscopic revolutionary acts” that enable museums to become more inclusive, relevant and socially connected institutions, bringing diverse communities together and fostering change through dialogue, empathy and mutual understanding.
ABSTRACT The exhibition “Made in Germany? Art and Identity in a Global Nation” ran at the Harvard Art Museums between September 13, 2024 and January 5, 2025. Focusing on labor migration and German re‐unification as its two pillars, the exhibition presented German art since the 1980s and brought new names, many of whom have migration backgrounds, to awareness for the North American audience. The review makes two claims about this exhibition. First, political developments in Germany, especially the electoral successes of the far‐right party Alternative für Deutschland , made the exhibition more relevant than its organizers expected. Second, the review asks about the potential to expand the network of what constitutes German multicultural identity as described in the exhibition through the inclusion of contemporary Jewish artists.
ABSTRACT Remember the Children: Daniel's Story , a permanent exhibition at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, follows a fictional Jewish boy living through the Holocaust in Germany. This novel exhibition is specifically designed for children, a rarity among programming in painful heritage sites. This article discusses the findings of a qualitative analysis of over 500 archived comments from visitors ages 12 and younger, which investigated how young visitors engaged with this exhibition. Comments comprised three themes: (a) comments about the exhibition, (b) expressions of one's experience, and (c) communication to others. Findings revealed that young visitors called on others to act and showed empathy for victims, often comforting Daniel. Children's misunderstandings were also evident in comments. These findings underscore the value of young visitor comments as dialogue with other visitors and museum staff. More broadly, the findings have implications for designing exhibitions in memory museums and expanding programming directed toward children.
ABSTRACT This study examined the inclusivity of a virtual tour of a virtual museum, which was presented on a government platform. It was based on the experiences of 10 non‐disabled (ND), 10 hearing‐impaired (HI), and 10 visually impaired (VI) participants. After the virtual museum visit, the participants took part in semi‐structured individual interviews. These interviews were transcribed from audio recordings, and the data was evaluated using reflexive thematic analysis. The results were divided into six thematic areas: (i) accessibility, (ii) user experience, (iii) multimedia experience, (iv) satisfaction and perceived value, (v) technical infrastructure and digital barriers, and (vi) participants' suggestions for improvement. The results show that the virtual museum partially breaks down physical and spatial barriers. However, inclusivity is determined by various factors in the digital environment, such as sensory equivalence, cognitive accessibility, orientation, and technical performance. The study therefore conceptualizes accessibility not as a final compliance check but as a design and governance responsibility embedded within digital curatorial practice.
ABSTRACT This article presents the results of a research project aimed at identifying the Social Representations of a group of preservice teachers who participated in a museum internship and inferring the influence of these representations on educational practice in this context. The research employs a mixed‐methods design with a qualitative approach. The sample consisted of eight preservice teachers of natural sciences from a Colombian university. Following a previous examination of the social representations associated with museums and the pedagogical practices developed in this context, data collection took place during a workshop that explored content related to museum education. Findings suggest that the Social Representations perceived by the participants identify a museum as an educational space conducive to teacher training, where learning, mediation, and motivation are aspects that occur with various audiences.
