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The Empathetic Museum: A New Institutional Identity
Author(s) -
Jennings Gretchen,
Cullen Jim,
Bryant Janeen,
BryantGreenwell Kayleigh,
Mann Stacey,
Hove Charlette,
Zepeda Nayeli
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
curator: the museum journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.312
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 2151-6952
pISSN - 0011-3069
DOI - 10.1111/cura.12335
Subject(s) - empathy , identity (music) , field (mathematics) , maturity (psychological) , sociology , aesthetics , psychology , social psychology , political science , art , law , mathematics , pure mathematics
The Empathetic Museum is a group of colleagues who advocate institutional empathy as a transforming force for museums. Our initiative emerged in the second decade of the 21st century amidst a confluence of seismic events in the US that forced the museum field to examine its relationship to social issues. The Empathetic Museum arose as a critique of museums’ indifference and reluctance to engage with issues deeply affecting their communities, especially those of color. We propose a lack of institutional empathy as a subtle yet powerful cause of this indifference. The article traces the development of the Empathetic Museum initiative; the evolution of its philosophy of institutional empathy; the creation of the Maturity Model as a key tool for empathetic practice; and its use and impact in the field. As a work in progress, the Empathetic Museum initiative has evolved and expanded through constant observation of, reflection on, and engagement with the important issues of our time.