For the theme of its 2017 annual meeting, the American Alliance of Museums chose “diversity, accessibility, equity and inclusion”. This was evident across the conference programme and there was a call for museums to abandon the idea of neutrality and embrace practices that support social justice goals. In his latest book, Museums, Moralities and Human Rights, Richard Sandell makes a similar appeal.
The work of all museums is inextricably bound up in human rights struggles, Sandell says. As a result, “it is no longer appropriate for museums to operate as impartial observers or spaces for dialogue in which alternate viewpoints are respected, aired and debated. Rather they must be prepared to take sides and speak out against attempts to justify unequal treatment of people.”
Sandell’s focus here is human rights issues related to LGBTQ populations, identifying this as an area where many institutions grapple with interpretive content. But his argument has implications for human rights issues and museum practice more broadly.
The author’s assertions about the role of museums in human rights struggles rests on the idea of the museum as part of a larger cultural mediascape and on an analysis of LGBTQ people’s experiences in negotiation with museums as artists, advisers and visitors. He advocates for a shift in thinking from “museum as forum, in which the responsibility for weighing up the legitimacy of divergent moral standpoints is sometimes left to the visitor, toward the idea of the museum as arbiter”, where museums are willing to take a stand amid competing moral claims.
Sandell draws on examples from western, mostly English-speaking countries although most of the detailed case studies are from sites in the UK and the US. Indeed, the array of examples – from the Walt Whitman home in New York to Te Papa Tongarewa (the National Museum of New Zealand) and the Museum of Liverpool in the UK – is a strength of the book. Taken together, they illustrate the wide implications of Sandell’s arguments. They also document various controversies related to LGBTQ programming, which will prove useful for years to come as museum professionals seek to track evolving approaches to this group’s inclusion.
The author makes a particular effort to consider transgender rights, dedicating one of the six chapters to the “transgender tipping point”, as illustrated by a creative partnership between the Scottish Transgender Alliance’s Transforming Arts group and the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow. Sandell points out that efforts at LGBTQ inclusion often serve to privilege the experiences of lesbians and gays, while ignoring bisexual and transgender voices. He tries to rectify that by overtly discussing transgender issues.
The highlight of the book is its last chapter, Museum Work as Human Rights Work, where Sandell provides a clearly articulated treatise in support of museums embracing human rights, even when it means abandoning the illusion of neutrality. He offers suggestions on how museums might take this stance while still allowing visitors to engage with new content and create their own meaning. Some options for balancing support for human rights with visitor agency, Sandell says, are pairing rights with responsibilities (for example, the right to self-expression comes with a responsibility to treat others with respect); framing discussions of rights “in ways that highlight all forms of discrimination as unwelcome”; and interrogating the idea that museums are truly neutral in their presentation of content.
Like Sandell, I too am a staunch advocate for the inclusion of LGBTQ voices in museums, but that has not translated into immediate acceptance of the growing call for museums to take a clear stand in support of social justice issues. I have hesitated, fearing the erosion of museums as sites of debate and dialogue.
However, Museums, Moralities and Human Rights makes a compelling case that supporting human rights is a social obligation for museums. Its arguments are sound and reading this book has had a significant impact on how I think about this topic. Whether you agree with Sandell or not, this book will enrich the debate with its reasoned and impassioned call for museums to serve their communities by advocating for justice.
Susan Ferentinos is a museum consultant
The work of all museums is inextricably bound up in human rights struggles, Sandell says. As a result, “it is no longer appropriate for museums to operate as impartial observers or spaces for dialogue in which alternate viewpoints are respected, aired and debated. Rather they must be prepared to take sides and speak out against attempts to justify unequal treatment of people.”
Sandell’s focus here is human rights issues related to LGBTQ populations, identifying this as an area where many institutions grapple with interpretive content. But his argument has implications for human rights issues and museum practice more broadly.
The author’s assertions about the role of museums in human rights struggles rests on the idea of the museum as part of a larger cultural mediascape and on an analysis of LGBTQ people’s experiences in negotiation with museums as artists, advisers and visitors. He advocates for a shift in thinking from “museum as forum, in which the responsibility for weighing up the legitimacy of divergent moral standpoints is sometimes left to the visitor, toward the idea of the museum as arbiter”, where museums are willing to take a stand amid competing moral claims.
Sandell draws on examples from western, mostly English-speaking countries although most of the detailed case studies are from sites in the UK and the US. Indeed, the array of examples – from the Walt Whitman home in New York to Te Papa Tongarewa (the National Museum of New Zealand) and the Museum of Liverpool in the UK – is a strength of the book. Taken together, they illustrate the wide implications of Sandell’s arguments. They also document various controversies related to LGBTQ programming, which will prove useful for years to come as museum professionals seek to track evolving approaches to this group’s inclusion.
The author makes a particular effort to consider transgender rights, dedicating one of the six chapters to the “transgender tipping point”, as illustrated by a creative partnership between the Scottish Transgender Alliance’s Transforming Arts group and the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow. Sandell points out that efforts at LGBTQ inclusion often serve to privilege the experiences of lesbians and gays, while ignoring bisexual and transgender voices. He tries to rectify that by overtly discussing transgender issues.
The highlight of the book is its last chapter, Museum Work as Human Rights Work, where Sandell provides a clearly articulated treatise in support of museums embracing human rights, even when it means abandoning the illusion of neutrality. He offers suggestions on how museums might take this stance while still allowing visitors to engage with new content and create their own meaning. Some options for balancing support for human rights with visitor agency, Sandell says, are pairing rights with responsibilities (for example, the right to self-expression comes with a responsibility to treat others with respect); framing discussions of rights “in ways that highlight all forms of discrimination as unwelcome”; and interrogating the idea that museums are truly neutral in their presentation of content.
Like Sandell, I too am a staunch advocate for the inclusion of LGBTQ voices in museums, but that has not translated into immediate acceptance of the growing call for museums to take a clear stand in support of social justice issues. I have hesitated, fearing the erosion of museums as sites of debate and dialogue.
However, Museums, Moralities and Human Rights makes a compelling case that supporting human rights is a social obligation for museums. Its arguments are sound and reading this book has had a significant impact on how I think about this topic. Whether you agree with Sandell or not, this book will enrich the debate with its reasoned and impassioned call for museums to serve their communities by advocating for justice.
Susan Ferentinos is a museum consultant
