We’re pleased to announce a new C21 Collaboratory for the 2019-20 academic year: #ArtinHigherEd: The Role of University Art Collections and Museums. The core members of #ArtinHigherEd come from diverse perspectives in Art History and Archeology, Anthropology and Museum Studies, Public History, Special Collections, and the Stahl Center for Jewish Studies. Their project, which will build toward a Spring 2020 symposium, is described below:
University art museums occupy a unique place in higher education, positioned as an ideal agent to fortify an institution’s mission to promote experiential education and research in the humanities, while also serving as a vehicle for local outreach. At the same time, as Nicholas Mirzoeff poignantly noted during his recent C21 visit, museums have also found themselves on the frontlines in the battles to decolonize institutions and foster social justice, protect and even restore cultural patrimony, and create inclusive, accessible spaces.
The #ArtinHigherEd Collaboratory will convene a working group to think critically about the Mathis Gallery and the UWMAC, specifically in the context of two questions: How do such art institutions act as cultural capital at UWM; and, What are the roles of museums and art collections (defined broadly across diverse media and embracing multiple traditions) in classrooms, on campuses, and in the community?
Read about all our current C21 Collaboratories.