Rae Gibson

Statement

My Senior Inquiry project focuses upon the importance of preserving the active intention and practice of keeping museum spaces diverse. As the current political climate reigns down a plethora of changes - specifically the cutting and removing of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) departments or efforts from certain museums - I find myself more and more worried about how artists, museum visitors, and museum professionals that don’t fit into stereotypical moulds of identity will find a place to be heard.

The museum space is an intriguing cultural phenomenon where the norms of society are laid out on view and perpetuated further to those who are keen to visit these spaces. Through this project, I plan to shed light on what exactly the norms perpetuated by museums are and how we as an art historical and museum community should prioritize showcasing and encouraging diversity within our institutions. Presenting diversity of gender identity, race, and sexual orientation has been and still is a contested issue within the museum space. Best encapsulated by the work of the anonymous activist group the Guerrilla Girls, I aim to point out historical instances of exclusion, erasure, and even persecution within the museum institution and advise against this practice going forward.