Presentation to ICOM CECA conference, Washington, DC September 2015

1. #EmpatheticMuseum
Empathy: the Key to Cultural
Accessibility
Gretchen Jennings
Gretchenjennings@rcn.com
@gretchjenn
Museum Commons Blog
www.museumcommons.com
CECA Conference, Washington, DC,
September 2015

2. The Empathetic Museum Project
• Colleagues Janeen Bryant, Jim Cullen, Elissa Frankle,
Matt Kirchman, Stacey Mann, Rainey Tisdale
•New Website www.empatheticmuseum.com
•Tumblr site: http://empatheticmuseum.tumblr.com/

3. Focus of this presentation
•Application of the Empathetic Museum construct to the
concept of Accessibility, broadly understood.
•The Empathetic Museum is one that, through its
structure, mission, policies, collections, exhibitions,
programs, staffing, --- in all its manifestations—is closely
connected to its community, is able to “stand in its
shoes.”
•Thesis: without institutional empathy, our museums
cannot be fully accessible.

4. Characteristics of Empathetic Museum
1. Civic Vision: Cultivates links with a broad range of civic organizations, from city
or town officials, police force, school and library leaders, to churches and community
organizations.
2. A Habit of Mind: such that whatever is happening in the community (whether
or not it is related to museum type or collection) is of interest (and is considered to be
legitimately of interest) to the institution and is taken into consideration in its planning
and activities.
3. Timeliness: Because the museum has planned ahead, & has consistent
connections with its diverse audiences, it is able to respond in a timely fashion when
a crisis (almost by definition something that is not anticipated) occurs.
4. Resonance & Responsiveness: The museum has strong and trusted
connections with all the diverse (and often neglected) aspects of the community, in
terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, socio-economic status.
5. Accessible Institutional Body Language: The unspoken
messages the museum communicates through its structure, staffing, advertising,
exhibitions and programs say all are welcome; you are part of us, and we of you.
#EmpatheticMuseum

5. Characteristics of Empathetic Museum
1. Civic Vision: Cultivates links with a broad range of civic organizations, from city
or town officials, police force, school and library leaders, to churches and community
organizations.
2. A Habit of Mind: such that whatever is happening in the community (whether
or not it is related to museum type or collection) is of interest (and is considered to be
legitimately of interest) to the institution and is taken into consideration in its planning
and activities.
3. Timeliness: Because the museum has planned ahead, & has consistent
connections with its diverse audiences, it is able to respond in a timely fashion when
a crisis (almost by definition something that is not anticipated) occurs.
4. Resonance & Responsiveness: The museum has strong and trusted
connections with all the diverse (and often neglected) aspects of the community, in
terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, socio-economic status.
5. Accessible Institutional Body Language: The unspoken
messages the museum communicates through its structure, staffing, advertising,
exhibitions and programs say all are welcome; you are part of us, and we of you.
#EmpatheticMuseum

6. Resonance & Responsiveness: The museum has strong and trusted connections with all
the diverse (and often neglected) aspects of the community, in terms of race,
ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, socio-economic status.
The Museum is an “anchor institution” In the larger community

7. In Cities, Museums, and Soft Power, Lord and Blankenberg
refer to museums as “anchor institutions.”
• “A city’s anchor institutions are those that have proven to be sites of
community sustainability, such as hospitals, universities, libraries,
community centers, places of worship and museums .
• Museums as anchor institutions exercise soft power (the power of influence)
based on community participation
•Transparency and the inclusion of multiple voices are critical to achieving
soft power. “
(Lord and Blankenberg, 20-22).

8. Characteristics of Empathetic Museum
1. Civic Vision: Cultivates links with a broad range of civic organizations, from city
or town officials, police force, school and library leaders, to churches and community
organizations.
2. A Habit of Mind: such that whatever is happening in the community (whether
or not it is related to museum type or collection) is of interest (and is considered to be
legitimately of interest) to the institution and is taken into consideration in its planning
and activities.
3. Timeliness: Because the museum has planned ahead, & has consistent
connections with its diverse audiences, it is able to respond in a timely fashion when
a crisis (almost by definition something that is not anticipated) occurs.
4. Resonance & Responsiveness: The museum has strong and trusted
connections with all the diverse (and often neglected) aspects of the community, in
terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, socio-economic status.
5. Accessible Institutional Body Language: The unspoken
messages the museum communicates through its structure, staffing, advertising,
exhibitions and programs say all are welcome; you are part of us, and we of you.
#EmpatheticMuseum

9. A museum’s institutional body language (non-verbal
messages)
•The Board members it recruits and cultivates
•The staff and volunteers it hires
•The images the museum chooses for advertising its mission and activities
• The objects it selects for its collections
•The stories it tells in its exhibitions and programs
•The design of the building
Can often speak more loudly to the public than written
communications:
• mission statements
• hiring policies and procedures,
• diversity and accessibility policies

10. The institutional body language of most US museums is out of step with our
society’s most progressive aspirations. Museums’ institutional body language
values regressive, exclusive, and inaccessible hierarchies:
•In an era that emphasizes women in leadership, most museums are led by (white) men
Women make up the majority of staff in lower positions- curators, educators, etc.
•In the 21st century, museums’ structures resemble the Upstairs/Downstairs hierarchy of the
19th century: White people on the administrative floors; people of color in the basement.
In art museums, where “ 28% of staff are from minority backgrounds, the great majority of these
workers are concentrated in security, facilities, finance, and human resources” (The Andrew Mellon
Foundation, July 29, 2015.
•In an era that cries out for racial justice and diversity, museum boards, leadership, and
professional staff remain consistently homogenous
Among museum curators, conservators, educzators, and leaders, only 4 % are African American
and 3% Hispanic. (The Andrew Mellon Foundation, July 29, 2015)

11. The institutional body language of most US museums is out of step with our
society’s most progressive aspirations. Museums’ institutional body language
values regressive, exclusive, and inaccessible hierarchies:.
•In an era in which physical accessibility is legally mandated (ADA), the topic of disability
as a life experience common to many is absent from our exhibitions, programs, and
collections,
• In an era when the LGBT community has made great strides both legally and in the
wider society, this community is almost invisible in our museums in terms of collections,
exhibition themes, programs.

12. Most museums have a We/They
relationship with “diverse
audiences”
• People of color
• LGBT community
• People with
disabilities
• Low SES
#EmpatheticMuseum

13. Many “inclusive” efforts betray a
“We/They” mindset.
• Hiring a “community coordinator” to bring in
“new audiences” when the museum has not
diversified its staff, volunteers, board.
• Mounting the occasional exhibition to attract a
“diverse audience.”
• Outreach TO new audiences rather than asking
communities how the museum might work WITH
them.
#EmpatheticMuseum

14. Our institutions must become Empathetic Museums in
order to move beyond physical accessibility to social and
cultural accessibility.
• We must embrace our roles as anchor institutions in our respective
communities
• We must carefully examine the non verbal (conscious and unconscious)
messages our institutions send to our communities, and seek to transform
them.
• We must move from We (the Museum) invite Them (the community) into our
spaces to a relationship in which our community says
MUSEUMS ARE US
#EmpatheticMuseum